IF IT’S BROKE, LET’S FIX IT.

THE RIGHT SIDE
BY BUDD SCHROEDER
FEBRUARY 8, 2012

IF IT’S BROKE, LET’S FIX IT.

            Education is one of the most important aspects of our society.  How we teach and train our children has the greatest impact on the future of our civilization.  All our progress depends on improvement and without new minds and new ideas, a culture and innovation stagnate.  That is how important a good education is.
            We have seen decades of failure in education, and in spite of all the money spent on the educational system, the results have, for a significant portion of our student body, been very disappointing.  So what’s the problem?  Many people have an opinion and few are worth considering.  Some, not so much, because of the self-interest that feeds the opinions.
            This is just my personal opinion and it could be completely wrong or it could be worthy of consideration.  Again it depends on perspective and perception, but many ideas are controversial. I doubt if this will be an exception to that rule.
            If I had absolute power to change the system these are some of the suggestions I would like those in power to think about and then implement.  The first suggestion is to really focus on the reason for schools.  It is for the benefit of the students.
            If that is the focus, then it is most reasonable to believe that the most important people in the educational system are the teachers.  They are the ones who are directly responsible for making sure the students are properly taught and leave the system with the skills necessary to function properly in a civilized society.
            We understand that this can be a real challenge in many school districts.  Some districts are comprised of family units that are strong and supportive of a good education.  In other districts, many children are sorely handicapped by being in a family where there is a abundance of indifference and an “education don’t matter” attitude.  Some children are abused and/or have genetic learning disabilities.  They deserve an education too, but may have to need special attention in order to progress.
            That is the reason we need exceptional teachers and a better system for them to use their talents and abilities.  The system needs revision and many or the bureaucrats who are living in the ivory towers and the superfluous administrators can be more of an impediment than a asset to education.  In fact, when they cut education budgets, they should save teachers and lay off assistants and deputy superintendents in the systems.
            A good place to start would be for the federal government to get rid of the Department of Education.  It spends billions of taxpayer dollars and the results have shown the money has, for the most part, been wasted.  The State Department of Education could have the budget cut in half and I will bet the farm this would not have any negative effect on graduation rates.
            It has been my experience that most bureaucracies and the bureaucrats who run them have as their prime directive to: 1. Justify their existence, 2.  Expand their power by raising their budget, and 3. Hiring more people and requiring a lot of paper work.
            Granted, there are some bureaucracies that are necessary.  They aren’t so necessary in the field of education.  If you agree with this concept, let’s continue with some ideas for improvement.
            First, give the teachers the respect and protection they deserve, like make any assault on a teacher a felony.  If a parent or student assaults a teacher, a minimum of a year in jail is not excessive.
            Second, change the way the system works.  Put an end to social promotion and put the students in modules that are made up of students of similar abilities.   Integrating students of lesser abilities in the same classroom hinders the good students for reaching their learning potential, and hasn’t shown to raise the abilities of the educationally challenged students.
            A classroom that has even one disruptive student is a distraction for those who come to learn.  The disruptive and the academically challenged students should have their own classes with a specially trained teacher.  These teachers deserve a premium salary if they are able to progress with these students.
            Future columns will offer more suggestions regarding education, and more research is necessary, but if something is broken and doesn’t work right, it is our obligation to fix it.  Let’s make sure it gets fixed.