Posted by Rick Denney on September 06, 2002 at 15:22:55:
In Reply to: Re: Re: In Defense of HS Teachers posted by Dan Clouse on September 06, 2002 at 09:47:01:
As far as establishing an alternative, I think there is a way. But the point of my outline is that people, down deep, are satisfied. The educational establishment meets the needs of most Americans.
To the extent that parents can only work one school at a time, I agree with your notion of bringing education back to the "village" level. But this will not be easy. There are so many state and (now) federal regulations concerning what education must do that local prerogative is almost gone, and the local school boards are fighting for the crumbs in terms of actions they have much control over. They can hire and fire (except in Prince Georges County, where the State of Maryland came in and over-rode the school board--probably with justification), and they can stand in front of microphones and bleat. But they can't go through the systematic process that I suggested, and they can't define the purpose and requirements of education within their jurisdictions. They might as well not exist.
But, of course, before the educational establishment can be tackled, the real problem has to be solved. We as individuals (not as a society) have to start caring about our kids in personal and committed ways. We have to spend time with our kids, and make sure that however they are educated fits with our values. But we have to have values before we can do that. I'm afraid that our current educational system is just a symptom of a larger problem, and until people improve their moral commitment to their kids (and to their own moral values), we will be doing no more than putting a band-aid on a cancerous growth. We can't blame the schools when they do what we expect of them.
Examples abound: Why would parents use the capability for a separate restriction for what school kids can watch on TV versus what Mom and Dad watch? If the kids know that the folks are watching the good movies with the sex, foul language, and drug use in the bedroom, they will be hardly encouraged to set higher standards for themselves. Parents lead most effectively by the excellence of their example. Even having the TV in the parents' bedrooms is an example. My wife and I just moved, and before moving we toured many "model" homes being constructed in this high-growth region. Master bedrooms have become entirely separate apartments, with kitchenettes, sitting areas, fireplaces, and so on. The kids can rampage through the house, and the parents can hide in their sanctuary. But this disengagement is offered by homebuilders because people want it and are willing to pay for it.
This can't be fixed by politicians. For one thing, the education establishment is politically very powerful. For another thing, no politician is going to get up and say, "You people don't care about your kids and that's why things are bad." That sort of brutal honesty is not and never has been rewarded in our system. This is a problem we will have to solve ourselves, without government. But to do so, we will have to look into our hearts, and decide what is most important to us. There will be many choices to be made.
For example, will I give up earthly pleasures to pay for a private school that fits with my values? Or will I take on the huge challenge of educating my kids myself, even if it is spending a couple of hours with them after they get home from public school? Some of the people who send their kids to private school just want their wrong-headed needs fulfilled with more style, but lots of folks send their kids to parochial schools at great expense to their lifestyle, because they are afraid of what their kids will be taught in public schools. And the only folks dedicated enough to attempt total home-schooling are those who are so passionate about their values that the sacrifice is worth making. Most of the rest of us think they are wackos on the fringe, when to my thinking they set an example of real commitment to their kids, even if you disagree with what they are teaching.
The notion that teaching is hard and can only be undertaken by teachers is balderdash. We don't seem to mind that math teachers can't add and subtract, but woe to the professional mathemetician who tries to teach his own kids math. The pro doesn't know how to present it to the young mind so that it is grasped! The methods of teaching are more important than the content. This is lunacy. The mathemetician at least knows the subject and cares about it, which is a huge advantage over the professional teacher who can't add and subtract.
Of course, there are many teachers who know their subject material well, but are saddled with rules and poor administrative support that prevent them from teaching it, so I'm not laying it on the teachers at all. They are doing the job we (indirectly) asked them to do. But the educational establishment has largely succeeded in brainwashing people into believing that expertise in teaching methods is more important than knowing the subject matter.
I just submitted a proposal to conduct a federal training program in a subject area where I'm considered a top expert. The "adult learning specialist" in our company wanted more hours in the budget than I proposed for myself, even though I would be developing the technical content of the course. 90% of what he knows is what the fed learning specialists want, and the other 10% he could tell me in a day, even assuming I don't already know it (I do, having actually taught more classes than he has).
We are reaping what we have sown. Complaining about schools is no alternative. We must be prepared to replace them for our own kids, or get into them and make them work, or supplement them with hours of our own active involvement. As soon as we expect a politician to solve it for us, we are part of the problem and not part of the solution.
Rick "donning Nomex" Denney