HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Oct 4, 2003 A few months ago I became a "Townhall.com" fan. I added the web site to my "favorites" list and I receive daily notices reguarding the opinionated concerns of the various contributors to that site. One contributor I especially enjoy is Thomas Sowell. He is a voice of reason and sanity in a world sadly lacking of both. Lately, he has penned a series of columns concerning "School Performances" in the U.S.A. He explains comparisons of the academic performance of the youth of America with that of other industrialized nations. His columns have also stressed the wisdom in reading: "No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning" by Abigail and Stephen Thernstrom. I have not read "No Excuses", but I certainly intend to. Education in America is deeply important to me and Mr. Sowell's columns have shown me there are others who sincerely care what is happening in the nation's public school systems. Mr. Sowell explains the educational "gaps" between blacks, whites and asians. He explains the disparities in district funding; showing us that some of the most heavily funded districts still churn out poorly educated children who cannot qualify for college level admission. Mr. Sowell's bottom line tells us that more money will not solve these "gaps", (The cycle of tossing money at the problem must stop!), and he explains that these gaps can be closed by getting back to the basics of education; including the elimination of "dead time" and educational distractions, the elimination of exclusive unionization of faculties, and the elimination of tenured, incompetent teachers. Mr. Sowell has all the facts and is exactly right in his opined solutions. My questions would be: Why are there 600 plus school districts in many states, each requiring a district superintendent, each with assistant superintendents all with salaries higher than actual teachers? Why do each of these hundreds of school districts have differing core curriculum with differing textbooks and differing test standards for advancement? Why are incompetent teachers tolerated and tenured, while newly graduated Education Majors generally denied positions in public school systems? No! This has to stop somewhere. Each state in the union can save a heck of a lot of money by paring down to just one school district each. Each district could support one superintendent with perhaps, up to five assistants for the larger states. This newly downsized entity would be governed and cared for by a five member public school board at the Federal level. This entire system of fifty districts would have a singular core curriculum of: Math, Science, History, English/Language Arts, Literature/Reading, Social Studies/Current Events and Physical Education/Health. The five member federal school board would determine the singular core curriculum. States would be free to fund any extra-curricular activity for their public schools and will certainly have the money for it after the elimination of 300-600 district superintendents at 100K a year. If the fired superintendents wish to remain in education? Let them become certified teachers rather than glorified bureaucrats. Speaking of teachers? Annual testing and recertification should be mandatory. Allow specialization. As there are surgeons who specialize in neurology, so teachers should be permitted to specialize in Math or Science or History. Recertification testing would concentrate solely on the teacher's specialty. That makes things fair all around. A singular, national, core curriculum allows all students the flexibility in moving from state to state (as many military families must). It will also allow the federal school board to easily identify and help struggling school districts. With every state carrying the same core subjects, texts and grading/examination structure, Education Majors need only to learn the core to initially begin teaching right away; eliminating many of today's teacher shortages. Some of the above may seem overly simplified. It is really just the beginnings of a rough outline. There is so much more that could be said here. Mr. Sowell must not be left "crying in the wilderness". Now, if you will "Excuse" me, I have a book to read. ------------ Email Michael John McCrae: michael.mccrae@us.army.mil Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
