Basic Education

As I watch the march of time go by and think back to when I was in school, I remember the conversations I had with my grandparents. It occurs to me that one thing is missing in today’s basic education system. Today we place a great emphasis on how poorly our education system is in regards to the rest of the world. The point of fact is that our priorities in education have become so skewed towards meeting that worldly goal that we don’t educate our kids to become productive citizens. I am introducing this topic tonight as I have several ideas on it; however, I am trying to keep this blog to shorter entries and if I was to go on with all the ideas I have it would fill the chapter of a book rather than a one page blog entry.

Somehow, we have lost the real reason to have a free public education in this country. Today we focus on letting the schools prepare the kids for college while we prepare them for athletics. Seriously, how many parents out there have spent as much time with your kids working on their math as you have throwing them the ball. Hey, we’re all guilty in this. Even if your child is doing well in school and has book smarts, how prepared are they to handle their future and be a productive participant. Whether they go to college, attend a tech or trade school, or enter the work force; K-12 school should be the place for the kids to get this education. There needs to be a better representation across the board on the subjects taught. The courses taught must fit the students whether academic, technical, or practical.

Another area of thought is the teachers and there qualifications. Why is it that every teacher needs a four year college degree and a one year teachers qualification. My grandfather worked his way through his first two years of college by teaching primary school. These kids turned out fine, one even became the governor of his home state and a pretty significant senator. So if he taught as an undergrad in his first two years of college, why can’t a college graduate with an associates degree and a teacher’s certification teach sixth grade and below - more on that in another blog.

Why do we pay so much for high school athletics and under-fund other areas of the school. Currently, in our local high school, we fund our athletics program (granted not like other schools in the area) and have no budget for our agriculture program or our theatre arts program. I know this may sound petty, but we have had just about as many theatre scholarships as athletic scholarships given to our high school graduates. What is really sad is that while very few if anyone from the local high school has had a significant career in sports or theatre, we have and do produce professional farmers and ranchers each and every year. I don’t know, does this sound like a fair use of the tax-payer’s money?

To sum up this first blog on education, the basic problem is that we don’t allow the local entities in charge to forge the education path of their local school while meeting a basic standard. Instead, we have a nosy state government that delves into all aspects of the education arena and a massively huge federal bureaucracy in the form of the Department of Education that has failed to make any positive advances overall in 30 years of existence.

Thanks,
Bill