| It a well accepted fact that in today’s ever shrinking world, where competition occurs on a global level, that a sound education is no longer a luxury but a necessity. It is also a generally accepted fact by businesses, parents and the general public that nation’s public educational system is failing in its duties to provide that level of quality education. With those failings in mind I would like to share the following reforms aimed at improving the quality of education available to students in grades 1-12. These reforms are based on the educational system in my state of Indiana, but I feel that many would also be of value in other states.
Below is a list of changes I believe need to be made to the educational system. Some are simple administrative changes others are more radical in nature. Many will not be acceptable to the entrenched entities that control the education monopoly across in Indiana, however, I think it is time that education becomes important to those whose job it is to provide public instruction to our children. The sole pose of education needs to be refocused away from political power and towards what is best for the largest number of children who are the ultimate consumers and who are most affected either positively or negatively by how education is delivered.
Educational funding. To truly bring competition and the change that such competition brings to the table we must change how we look at funding. No longer should money go to school systems based on property tax rates in the school district. Educational monies could still come from property taxes, but all monies would go to the State and be allocated equally to all students regardless of where in the State they resided. This would allow for two major changes in the educational structure in the State. First, it would allow a student to attend any school they were academically qualified to attend. Since all students would have the same financial resources available to them, and since the money would be theirs (more properly their parents or guardians) the student would no longer be tied to one school district and the district’s funding would no longer be tied to the whims of property values. Because of the portability of the student funding students and parents could research their available options and choose the school that most closely met their needs. Secondly, this would in turn push schools to improve their offerings if they wanted to be competitive with other schools in their area. Some might focus on Science, others the Arts and Humanities. Some might decide that small class sizes and more individual instruction is what they wanted to offer, while others might decide that a more open concept where the student was more involved in their own learning process was their cup of tea. The facts are that not all students learn in the same way or have the same interests. And while it would be expected that all schools would have core curriculum standards to meet, much like college general studies courses, once those were met the schools could concentrate on their specialties. Schools that did not perform to a high enough standard to attract sufficient numbers of students would either change or go out of business.
Merit pay. Merit pay should be instituted as State policy. In every other profession individuals are paid based on their education and skill level, and on their performance. Education should be no different. Having been involved in education for much of my life I have seen both good and bad teachers. What I have also seen is that they all get paid the same regardless of the effort put out or the results they obtain in the classroom. NEA/ISTA will argue that you can’t hold teachers accountable for their result, I ask why not? If a salesman can be held accountable quarter to quarter for his production and if a doctor can be held accountable for the health of her patients then why can’t a teacher be held accountable for what transpires in the classroom. All jobs have uncontrollable aspects that affect the outcome of the work being performed, the difference is that in most other professions the professional is expected to overcome those difficulties and succeed, only in teaching is it accepted that conditions beyond the control of the teacher should absolve them of responsibility for results. Good teachers should be rewarded for what they do and bad teachers should find new work. Merit pay would reward those teachers who consistently year and year out produce results. It would also allow teachers to sell their skills on the open market. The better teachers would be in high demand and could in turn demand higher compensation. Again in any other profession the best of the best get rewarded with better compensation, more recognition and better working conditions. Teachers should be no different.
Tenure. Tenure laws should be repealed. No one should be given guaranteed employment for life. If you are doing a good job you should be rewarded. If you are doing substandard work you should not be protected by the State. Tenure as law is no more than a way for the Unions to protect substandard teachers. If I take a job with an engineering firm to design bridges and a number of the bridges I design fail I should expect to lose my job. If I am a tenured teacher and many of my students fail I just keep on teaching. That is not right and needs to be changed.
Second career teachers. Laws should be reviewed to determine if any are keeping dedicated professionals who want a second career as a teacher from becoming one. If a former Lilly scientist or Blue and Company professional wants to take their education and life experiences and bring them into a high school classroom they should be able to do so without spending a minute in an education class. Having spent time in the aforementioned classes I can testify to the fact that they are a true waste of time and teach you nothing that makes you a better teacher. What makes a great teacher is great knowledge and love of the subject matter, the ability to transfer that love and enthusiasm for the material to your students and the burning desire to do so. None of that comes from an Ed. Psych or Methods class.
Age of Compulsory Education. The age for compulsory education should be lowered to 14 years or 8th grade. Nothing is gained by forcing students to attend school past the age of 14 or the 8th grade if they have no desire to do so. Students after that age that are forced to attend school are disruptive and trying to educate them is counterproductive not just for them, but also for the other students who must attend classes with them.
As an adjunct to this I would recommend that elementary education standards be strengthened. All non-essential subject matter should be removed from elementary instruction and the instruction should be geared towards basic reading skills, basic math skills and a general understanding of history and government. No one should leave 8th grade being unable to read at grade level and do basic everyday math. Students that want to train for a career that does not require college should have the option to attend trade schools instead of high school. It has become accepted gospel in this state and across the nation that all children have a right to and should be pushed to go to college. It is not a matter of rights it is a matter of abilities. While all children may have a right to attend college not all are academically qualified or have an interest in doing so. These students should be given options that better suit their needs.
Core curriculum. A core curriculum should be developed by the State for all schools. At the grade school level this curriculum should include phonics in Grades 1-3 along with reading and math. History, grammar and general science should be included starting by Grade 4. The subject matter should be grade appropriate and mastery of the material should be required for passage on to the next grade level. Reading, History, Math, general science, Art and Music should continue into the middle school curriculum. Additions to the middle school curriculum should include one semester of government/civics, one semester of Biology/health, where applicable computers should be available so that students can become computer literate.
The High School curriculum should include; one year of American History and one year of World History, two years of Math, one year of American Literature, one year of World Literature, one semester of Government, one semester of Economics, one year of a foreign language, two years of science and one year of writing.
Teacher standards. Every incoming teacher should be given a minimum skills test to test for proficiency in their subject matter, and writing and communication skills. A person can not teach what they don’t know and they can’t teach what they do know if they can not express themselves proficiency with the written and spoken word. It is not enough to accept a diploma from a college that says someone has mastered their subject matter they should be able to prove it by passing a minimum proficiency test on the subject matter.
Teachers should also be required to attend continuing education classes like other professionals to stay abreast of the new information in the area of study. A teacher who graduated with a degree in Biology 15 years ago that did not keep up in with the rapidly changing landscape of genetics and environmental science would be shortchanging his students.
And finally:
Schools of Education. In order to receive a teaching degree it should be required that students take a minimum number of credit hours of subject matter. To use Biology as an example, a student wanting to teach high school biology should be required to take the same number of biology, math, chemistry and other science courses as a student majoring in pharmacy, pre-med, pre-dental or any other professional discipline, courses such as ‘Biology for Education Majors’ should be excluded from the required course load. If teachers want to be accepted as professionals then they should train as professionals. Education course in general should be limited to no more than two semesters not counting student teaching and participation classes.
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