The schools I attended growing up were not bad schools, but they were far from perfect. The schools my kids attend now are good, but are also in need of improvement. Nationwide, not all kids are as lucky. America’s education system is broken. How do we fix it? I don’t think anyone has the correct answer, but in an ideal world, here’s what I would do.
1. Make early education opportunities available to everyone and increase the accessibility for programs like Head Start in low income neighborhoods. Research nearly unanimously agree that investing heavily in the early years of education is a public benefit, even if those rewards are not seen for twenty years after the service is provided.
2. Instead of focusing on what traditionalists call the three R’s (“readin’ ritin’ & rithmetic”) emphasize what I call the three A’s: arts, athletics, and academics. For youngest groups, each of these areas should be given equal time in the daily curriculum. As kids age, more time should be allocated for academic study, yet some form of artistic and physical education should remain a part of every student’s daily routine. Incorporating music, theater, and art in classrooms help children with critical thinking and creative problem solving skills, increase student’s ability to participate in self-directed learning, and improves attendance. Physical education encourages kids to live healthier lifestyles and would fight our nation’s obesity epidemic; PE also increases a pupil’s learning capacity, attention span, and ability to concentrate. Participation in arts and athletics positively impacts traditional academic courses.
3. We cannot legislate parental participation but we should encourage and reward it. Students excel when their parents are actively involved. However, the government cannot (and should not) control how or what parents teach in their home, so schools must be prepared to fill the gap and support kids that are not getting parental support at home.
4. Encourage teachers and reward them if they can successfully incorporate hands on experience or technology into their lessons. Schools would save a lot of money on textbooks if text books can be digitally presented or other alternatives can be used.
5. Set national standards and minimum competencies but give states and individual school districts the autonomy of how to maintain those standards. What works in rural communities will not work in urban neighborhoods and each school should be free to do what works best for their students.
6. Students should be scored in both growth and proficiency. Students should not be able to move up a grade or continue to the next level until they meet the required competency. However, teachers should not be penalized for students who fail to meet the minimum competency if they can demonstrate student growth. The goal should be to help the student improve, not to help the student pass a test.
7. All schools, whether private or public, should adhere to Individuals With Disabilities Education Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 to qualify for any government funding.
8. Enhance funding for rural schools and schools in depressed urban communities. Provide better incentives for teachers to work in these schools. We need to recognize kids in these locations deserve equal access to kids in wealthier neighborhoods.
9. Success for all schools would be measured from multiple sources to compensate from the shortcomings of using standardized test scores alone. Teachers and classes should be rated by students like the K1 assessment in the Kirkpatrick Model. Standardized tests or other standard grading should be used to measure both student proficiency and growth. Teachers should be reviewed by both their peers and administration so teachers can share best practices and leadership can hold educators accountable for meeting individual goals and district standards.
Would schools under my command be perfect? Probably not. But I hope it would be better than what we have now.
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