K-12 education has become a quagmire of social, emotional, health, nutrition, gender and other focuses such that the core of education has faded into the background. A number of demands come from Federal and State government entities; some come from special interest groups and others are local decisions.
It’s time to strip everything away from education as we currently know it and rebuild from the ground up. The focus should be on helping students learn what they need to live in tomorrows world and to fulfill their interests and develop skills and knowledge that will make them productive, confident and happy people. This doesn’t mean producing robots who are programed. This doesn’t mean pushing social agenda’s.
Far too many students are pushed through the system without the knowledge and skills needed to function in a competitive world. Students quickly learn that there are few consequences to refusing to learn or engage. That must stop.
Why are we in this situation after spending billions and billions of dollars over the past 30 years? We found an article titled “Education: Getting back to basics can’t hurt” written by Steve Fischmann and published at NMPolitics.net in April 2010. That’s now 10 years ago and nothing has changed. Here are some comments from his article:
- We’ve got too many cooks in the kitchen
- We’re not spending money wisely
- Focus on the basics
Employers are begging for educated and capable employees. Colleges and Universities are screaming that entering freshmen need remedial courses.
Common Core was to have been the solution…but has been an abysmal failure. Bored teachers and administrators seek or develop “new” approaches. They decry memorization. They toss out cursive writing. In the name of diversity in learning styles they change math…simple math…into something that baffles non-educators. Parents are told NOT to help their children because they’ll “screw them up”.
Let’s walk through the basics of education that should be the core of what is taught:
Math
Communications (verbal, written)
Reading
History (world and US)
Sciences
Arts
Life skills
Advanced versions as students progress through school or are accelerated for those who show aptitude and interest.
Add to this parental education choice of where their child/ren go to school: public or private
Why not make these changes?
1) Teachers unions will fight them tooth and nail
2) Special interest groups may fight because they have a social agenda’s
3) Bored teachers and administrators grow tired of teaching the same thing year after year and, rather than seek other career opportunities, change education to suit their needs
So what can we do?
1) Go to your local school board and ask…demand…that they revisit K-12 education
2) Demand that they focus on the basics first and “prove” they can do that job before adding anything else
What will this do?
- It will produce results and help assure the core of education is delivered
- It will cut costs
- Most importantly…it will help the students
Are you prepared to join the fight and take education…Back to Basics?
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