Education System

Why is it that the people in charge of the education of our children can't seem to understand what it is they're doing?  When I say "people in charge" I really mean the policy makers; the Superintendants and Unions and Department of Education types.  The dreaded and much-maligned 'pencil pushers' that no one ever seems to admit to being.

I do not possess a college education in spite of the time I spent in college, I want to make that clear from the get-go.  But it seems to me that the older I get the less that little piece of paper means.  When I was in middle school, a college education was something only few people ever had and it meant a lot.  By the time I got to college age, it was the next expected step and not a big deal if you had one.  Now some decades later it seems that anyone who can chug a beer will get a degree regardless of how much they actually deserve it.

That, to me, is symbolic of what's plaguing our education system: no clear goals.  In my state we have a test that was designed to test the education system so naturally the education administrators have made it the litmus test for graduation.  That's like using a hammer with a screw - yes, it'll work but it's not how it was meant to be used.  

If I Were In Charge 

This is how it would go.  You show up on your little tyke's first day of school.  You meet the teacher and introduce your young one to them.  They had you a packet that has as it's contents:

Emergency Contact information

Pertinent medical information about your child (allergies, known issues that might affect the education environment, pediatrician's name)

Expectations

That section would show what you can expect your child to learn by the end of each grade and what the teacher expects from you the parent.

Every grade would have clearly defined goals and objectives, as would each 'block' (grade school, middle school and high school).  I'm a big one for improvising and making things up as I go along but when it comes to an organization, clear goals and objectives are necessary.  Any organization, be it a military unit, corporate entity, non-profit or government division needs to have a goal to work towards.  Otherwise everyone is just doing day-to-day events that they think applies to their job.

There would be no homework.  Reports and projects are fine, but daily homework is pointless.  What is the purpose of sending a child home with work they should have learned at school?  Especially now that math has apparently changed from the way it was done over the past several centuries; ever do a math triangle?  Have you ever composed a math sentance?  Yeah, me neither.

There would be Reading, Math, Art, Music and Gym in grades 1 and 2.  That's it.  At grade 3 science is added.   At grade 5 US History is added.  At grade 6 social studies and foreign language are added.  At grade 7 civics is added.  

You will notice that there are no computer courses.  The technology industry is changing much to fast for our education system to keep up with.  The computer was designed with a slide rule and so were integrated circuits.  The computers used today look and behave nothing like those that existed ten years ago and our children are in school twelve years.  The IT industry spends billions making computers easier and easier to use - they're in our cars, watches, television sets, radios and even in stoves and refridgerators for crying out loud.  It's called ergonomics; it means that its meant to work intuitively.  Only our education system would think they need to teach someone something that's designed to be intuitive.

Every student would be given a written immigration test in English before graduating high school.  If they fail, they don't graduate.  They will also be expected to balance a checkbook and create a budget.  High school will have as it's goal to teach every student the skills they need to survive in the world.  That means sewing, cooking and cleaning as well as hygene, how to figure simple interest and balance a checkbook, how to read and write with proper grammar and spelling and how and when to vote.

They will not be taught that liberalism is the highest social ideal.  Nor will they be taught that conservatism is the solution to the world's problems.  They will be taught what liberalism is and what conservatism is (preferably by a teacher who is of the opposing viewpoint).  They will be taught above all else that you are responsible for your own actions.  That's something that parents should be teaching and teachers reinforcing.

There will be no "zero tolerance" of anything.  Zero tolerance policies accomplish nothing.  They serve only to encourage the people in charge to ignore whatever issue they're trying to have no tolerance for.  There will be no career counseling.  It is not the job of the school to prepare a child for a job, it is the job of the school to prepare the child for life.  We all start in menial minimum wage jobs and move on from there.  There's no reason to change that.

This may seem harsh to some of you dear readers and if it does then I apologize.  Life is not fair and giving our children too much assistance or protecting them from anything that might bruise their egos is counter productive to what parents should be doing.  Parents should be teaching their children that when you get knocked down you get back up.

Educators are not paid to be day care or substitute parents.