Public Education in the United States: Why its so screwed up, and how to fix it.

There is little doubt that the public education system in the United States could use a major overhaul. For some time now, the system has been plagued with ever-rising costs, budget shortfalls, unstable student attendance, a shortage of qualified educators, peer pressure, and a host of administrative problems. To make matters worse, violence among students has increased, as has violence between students and teachers. And if that isn’t enough, there’s also a fair amount of sexual abuse within the system. Pretty glum, huh?. Add to the mix our current society mindsets - Instant gratification, replaceable and disposable everything, and multiple options for almost every circumstance from ordering a cup of coffee to gaining a spouse. Some of these factors interact, and some are simple cause-and-effect. All of these things combined along with other factors result in just what we have today - a very expensive and dysfunctional public education system for the grades k thru 12. But there is hope…….

Fix #1:

A few years ago, I learned of an interesting and somewhat different type of school: the Sudbury Valley School .

This school, located in Framingham, Massachusetts, uses a different approach to education: Individuality and Democracy. A quote from the Sudbury Valley School website:

“…….At Sudbury Valley School, students from preschool through high school age explore the world freely, at their own pace and in their own unique ways. They learn to think for themselves, and learn to use Information Age tools to unearth the knowledge they need from multiple sources. They develop the ability to make clear logical arguments, and deal with complex ethical issues. Through self-initiated activities, they pick up the basics; as they direct their lives, they take responsibility for outcomes, set priorities, allocate resources, and work with others in a vibrant community.

Trust and respect are the keys to the school’s success. Students enjoy total intellectual freedom, and unfettered interaction with other students and adults. Through being responsible for themselves and for the school’s operation, they gain the internal resources needed to lead effective lives.”

Further reading on this excellent model of education can also be found at http://www.sudburynetwork.org/model.htm.

An interesting aspect of this concept is that students as well as faculty are equally involved in school administration.

Judging from the current state of affairs within public school administration, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to allow a few 10-year olds to help with this - they might do a better job.

I, for one, believe that this is a viable alternative to the current education model. At present, there are approximately 40 schools worldwide which practice using the Sudbury method.

Fix #2:

When I attended elementry school (Mid 1960s - early 1970s), students were more responsible for their actions. Common methods of discipline included “Detention” (Staying after school or skipping recess etc.) and ”Hacking” (A swat on the butt, often using a wooden paddle made for the purpose). Hacks were usually administered in front of one’s peers so that the proper embarrassment effect was achieved. School staff members had much more descretion regarding disciplinary action for a given incident. Police officers in schools were unheard of.

Nowadays, children are taught that if they commit an offense, then there must be an underlying reason. Well-paid counselors are on hand to supposedly help the student understand why the offense was committed, and how to prevent future occurrences. Educators rarely raise their voices towards offending students anymore, and they would never dream of any type of physical action such as a swat on the rump like in the old days. Too much potential liability for that. Teachers and other faculty members(and alot of parents, for that matter) try hard to be friends rather than authority figures with their students. 

What this type of passive discipline does in alot of cases is to cause or promote a lack of respect for the teacher or other adult on the part of the student. The line of authority begins to dissolve. In my school days, we kids sometimes got rowdy and rebelled against the rules, but we always knew who was boss, and we respected that.

This brings me to my second idea for the fix to public education. Here is a list:

1) Allow God back into our schools. Stop all of this crap about trying to accommodate everyone’s beliefs and not step on any toes. This is America. God has always been a part of education here, and the choice to believe or not to believe was always up to the individual, not the system.

2) Greatly decrease the role of school counselors or eliminate those positions entirely. Move the role of student counselor back to where it belongs - with the teacher and/or principal. The same level of psychology training that school counselors receive should be a requirement for earning a teaching degree. 

3) Teachers - quit trying to be such close friends with your students. Don’t try to be one of them and teach too. You are older than they are and your generation has already had its childhood. Re-establish authority over your students and command their respect. Do not allow students to address you by your first name. They should always address you by your surname, proceeded by Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. as applicable. In my schools, we rarely even knew a faculty member’s first name.

3) Stop or greatly decrease extra benefits for minority students. Treat them equally. In America, we speak english. Non-english speaking students should be required to learn the primary language here. The present system of bi-linguality is expensive and resource wasteful, not to mention confusing for both kids and adults alike.

4) Add the following to the list of items which are not allowed on school property. Apply this to ALL k thru 12 grade public schools.

Cell Phones

iPods and other mp3 Players

Computers of any type, except those which are owned by the school.

PDAs, programmable calculators and the like.

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5) Last but not least, educators and school administrative bodies countrywide need to concentrate less on large salaries and benefits for themselves, and more on their primary purpose: To educate students and help to prepare them for the realities of life, and try to help them become well-rounded and productive citizens. Decrease the role of or eliminate teacher’s unions. Base teacher salaries and benefits on overall performance merit just like private-sector businesses do, with some consideration for seniority.

Okay, there it is. I’ve put forth two possible ways to fix our educational system. Even if neither of them are the cure-all, then I can guarentee that either is certainly an improvement.

 

 

Written by Darrell Hagan on January 30th, 2007 with no comments.
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