Dear Editor,
America is on the cusp of realizing our education reform now and for the last 100+ years is antiquated and in much need of repair. But will we do this? Common Core and PARCC are terrible and it should be stopped immediately but there is more wrong. Why fix part of the broken system? We have too much testing and instead of bringing education to a local level to understand and address the needs of each student, we continue to allow the overreach of BESE and Big Government.
When we do come up with a plan it is a ten-year experiment that brings more angst than promise. Have you noticed new reforms replace old ones with similar threads of failure yet are tagged with a new name? We’ve been failing kids for years and it’s certainly not for lack of money.
According to the Huffington Post, citing U.S. Census Bureau data, “New York spent $19,076 per student in the 2011 fiscal year, as compared to the national average of $10,560.” In 90 of New York City’s public schools, Families for Excellent Schools found that not a single African-American or Hispanic student received a passing grade on state test. Performance of American students has not improved dramatically in recent decades even though education spending has soared!
We continue in the pattern of throwing more money in education sinkholes and grasping more “dangling carrot” grant money, etc. Our current state of affairs proves that our education reform needs major tweaking.
Today’s education system is Prussian (German) in origin that started in American schools in the 1840’s.
Prussian schooling had the view that the rightful parent was the State and the children were trained in obedience to the State. They weren’t given intellectual training. Is this not where we are today with the heavy-handed mandates from BESE and our Legislature? Isn’t it time for a change for the better?
Solution: Quit spending so much money on reforms that will never work! Involve true educators who are qualified and who show records of positive performance. No guessing and save the experiments for guinea pigs and mice. Cut those ties with BIG Business which drives the bus of this failed pedagogic debacle. The right reform will be the one that teaches our children how to think NOT what to think! A better education reform will NOT train children to become predictable labor force ready and “rank” them by scores but will allow individuals flexibility and freedom in the classroom. After all, children have the right to follow their own ideals, dreams and goals, not the goals of the State.
The concept of the American Revolution was to limit the power of government, in order to liberate the individual.
In Liberty,
Brenda O’Brock for
Louisiana Power Coalition,LLC
Shreveport, La.
