"Kids today not dumb - they are victims of low expectations..."
One of my favorite topics (for years now) is the state of our public education. I have never heard so much static as when the "experts" discuss the current and future state of public education in America. First first a bit of disclosure - I am a product of public education in Minnesota, in particular District 281 (Robbinsdale). I graduated in 1967 in class sizes that were consistently in the mid-thirties (like my 5th grade pic above). We did not have lap tops, iPads, diversity, bullying or inclusion classes. In short, school was there simply to educate the youth.
Most everyone got along and looked forward to coming to school. Our graduation class was over 800 - very large even for today's standards. Yet out of that large number, very few smoked, alcohol consumption was rare, and drugs were not yet in the picture.
As good as things were, they were not perfect. There was the Viet Nam War, the draft, and how they related affected most of us. In addition, the country started experiencing the first seeds of social unrest. However for the most part, life was very good. Fridays in the fall were full of high caliber football, sock hops, pizza, and of course, cruising the local A+W.
A radio show describes a mythical town in which the boys are strong, the girls are good looking, and all are above average. To me, that was our graduating class. We dressed up for school, respected teachers, led relatively clean lives, went to church, and hung around as friends. There were no metal detectors, no drug sniffing dogs, no gangs, and very, very few pregnancies. It was a time if you could safely walk to and from school without worrying your parents.
Today it is a much different landscape. I won't go into details as the problems with education are exposed in the press most every week. Our standing in the world continues to slide in math and the sciences as the cost of primary, secondary and post secondary education continues to shoot up like a roman candle. The debt that many kids carry when they get out of college is staggering, and yet many don't understand simple things, like how government works. I have been shocked talking to college graduates that know less than what used to be required in high school. In short, today's public education gets a failing grade.
After one of my many rants on Facebook on this topic, a friend chided me by saying "Not all kids today are stupid or losers". On the contrary - I think kids today are every bit as smart, if not smarter than my generation. I do however think that many of our kids today are victims of low expectations. And low expectations are much more damaging than a bad curriculum. In fact one of the local media stations reported recently that the passing grade for math scores was lowered in Minneapolis to help kids graduate. The result - many of these kids do not understand basic math. In today's competitive world, that is a huge problem. We did not help these kids - we hurt them.
What to do other than bitch about this. First, just like in substance abuse, ADMIT there is a problem! We can't fix it unless we all agree it is broken. Our education system is awash in money and resources so these fixes can be done on the financial margin. Buckle up - the following ideas are not for the feint of heart.
Our school year is way too short. Many other countries that we compete with go to school 240 days a year and we go 180. That is a big problem. Start year round school immediately (some states already have it) with one month off in the summer and one month off in the winter. Having the summer off is a tradition that goes back to when we were a farm based economy. Many call summer vacation the "summer of forgetting".
Longer school days. School should go from 8am to 4pm for all grades. Our kids can take it, they can learn, they can stay engaged. I hear so many excuses on why our kids can't handle longer school days. Set high expectations. When kids graduate and go to work, these are the hours (or longer) they will work in a full time environment.
Next, the entire grade system needs to be restructured. For years now we have heard from many we need Pre-K as it prepares kids for more structured education. Lets take their word for it. Primary grades will be Pre-K through 6th grade. Intermediate grades will be 7th through 9th grade. Secondary grades will be (get ready) 10th through 14th. Yes the concept of the Associate Degree would go away and be replaced with high school lasting two more years (look at India).
Every class taken would be accompanied by a CD or DVD that would have the entire curriculum on it. If a concept is not understood when taught, the CD or DVD can be used for review until the concept is learned. At the end of the class year, the book as well as the CD or DVD would be turned in.
This is a tough one. Teachers will become "at will" employees and not union. The politics that infect our schools due to the teacher unions have been and continue to be an impediment to innovation. Getting good teachers and getting rid of bad teachers will become much easier. Of all the reforms, this one will be the hardest to implement.
Abolish the Department of Education. We don't need it and it adds no value (just cost). It does add unfunded mandates which tend to underfund state and local funding. The state Department of Education should stay as so many kids are mobile these days. However, the hard core decision making should be at the local level.
Today it is a much different landscape. I won't go into details as the problems with education are exposed in the press most every week. Our standing in the world continues to slide in math and the sciences as the cost of primary, secondary and post secondary education continues to shoot up like a roman candle. The debt that many kids carry when they get out of college is staggering, and yet many don't understand simple things, like how government works. I have been shocked talking to college graduates that know less than what used to be required in high school. In short, today's public education gets a failing grade.
After one of my many rants on Facebook on this topic, a friend chided me by saying "Not all kids today are stupid or losers". On the contrary - I think kids today are every bit as smart, if not smarter than my generation. I do however think that many of our kids today are victims of low expectations. And low expectations are much more damaging than a bad curriculum. In fact one of the local media stations reported recently that the passing grade for math scores was lowered in Minneapolis to help kids graduate. The result - many of these kids do not understand basic math. In today's competitive world, that is a huge problem. We did not help these kids - we hurt them.
What to do other than bitch about this. First, just like in substance abuse, ADMIT there is a problem! We can't fix it unless we all agree it is broken. Our education system is awash in money and resources so these fixes can be done on the financial margin. Buckle up - the following ideas are not for the feint of heart.
Our school year is way too short. Many other countries that we compete with go to school 240 days a year and we go 180. That is a big problem. Start year round school immediately (some states already have it) with one month off in the summer and one month off in the winter. Having the summer off is a tradition that goes back to when we were a farm based economy. Many call summer vacation the "summer of forgetting".
Longer school days. School should go from 8am to 4pm for all grades. Our kids can take it, they can learn, they can stay engaged. I hear so many excuses on why our kids can't handle longer school days. Set high expectations. When kids graduate and go to work, these are the hours (or longer) they will work in a full time environment.
Next, the entire grade system needs to be restructured. For years now we have heard from many we need Pre-K as it prepares kids for more structured education. Lets take their word for it. Primary grades will be Pre-K through 6th grade. Intermediate grades will be 7th through 9th grade. Secondary grades will be (get ready) 10th through 14th. Yes the concept of the Associate Degree would go away and be replaced with high school lasting two more years (look at India).
Every class taken would be accompanied by a CD or DVD that would have the entire curriculum on it. If a concept is not understood when taught, the CD or DVD can be used for review until the concept is learned. At the end of the class year, the book as well as the CD or DVD would be turned in.
This is a tough one. Teachers will become "at will" employees and not union. The politics that infect our schools due to the teacher unions have been and continue to be an impediment to innovation. Getting good teachers and getting rid of bad teachers will become much easier. Of all the reforms, this one will be the hardest to implement.
Abolish the Department of Education. We don't need it and it adds no value (just cost). It does add unfunded mandates which tend to underfund state and local funding. The state Department of Education should stay as so many kids are mobile these days. However, the hard core decision making should be at the local level.
Consolidate school districts. We don't need as many as we have with each one being led by a Superintendent making six figures and owning a golden parachute. Cut the number down by at least half.
Finally, testing which gives an honest assessment of how much was learned will be given on a yearly basis. Social promotion will be a thing of the past. If you don't pass, you don't go on. Trust me, we are not doing our kids a favor by passing them forward unprepared.
This subject is to important to dismiss. My former High School Civics teacher warned us to study hard and stay sharp because kids from other counties were studying harder to take what we have, to "eat our lunch". He was right, but his timing was a bit off. Today China and India are poised to be world leaders in many technologies, technologies we should own. As to the victor goes the spoils, losing this race will redefine our country for many years or generations. For this issue, failure is truly not an option.
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