|
FEBRUARY 16,
2004 – Head Start, school funding, more money, testing.
The ideas being
tossed about by both parties show that neither get what is actually
the problem with our free public education system. So we at
The Moderate Independent are here to lay out three simple,
low-to-no-cost steps that could drastically change the nature of
public education and make a high school diploma once again something
worth attaining in and of itself.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
The basic issue
is not generally about money.
Having said
that, we must note that there are absolutely some schools that are
being given short shrift, schools in places like the south side of
Chicago where rodents attend with the children and text books don't
exist in useful numbers. We are not addressing such pathetic
aberrations, which are inexcusable and should be remedied
immediately.
But the
American secondary education system - otherwise known as high school
- has a general problem. It is only useful are a catalyst for
admission to college.
In other words,
in and of itself, high school does not actually educate students in
a manner that is useful in the world. The base education up
through 10th grade is fine, but unless the last two years contain
matter which makes a high school diploma useful - indeed important
to attain - in and of itself, there is nothing that can be done to
improve our education system.
As a matter of
explaining the problems and remedies, here are three simple
curriculum changes that would render high school graduates truly
ready for the world, and a high school diploma a desirable - and
respected - thing, as it used to be before usefulness was afforded
only to those who could afford college.
CHANGE 1 - MAKING A HIGH SCHOOL
EDUCATION AN END IN AND OF ITSELF
Unless you want
to go on to college, what you are taught in high school beyond the
10th grade is pointless. You will not need trigonometry or
calculus. Advanced history is nice to use during bar
conversations later in life but not that useful.
So the question
arises, what would be useful? In order to be truly educated to
step out into the world with a useful base of knowledge, what should
a modern day student be taught?
Basic to every
profession - be it mechanic, investor, inventor, artist - is one
necessary school of information: how to start and run a
business. While a Harvard MBA degree certainly will offer more
than any high school ever could, the basics of accounting, what
forms are required, what laws exist - the basics of how to start and
run a business - could easily be taught over the course of junior
and senior year. And such information would not only be useful
to every student, no matter what pursuit they choose or whether they
go on to college or not, but, just as importantly, would appeal to
students, making those last two years of high school something they
have a reason to want to complete and learn from.
The biggest
problem with a high school education today is that it enables you to
do nothing in the world. But the basic knowledge of how to
start and run and business is the central building block that made
America. No matter whether someone's fancy is Karate, music,
auto repair, or if they go on to get an advanced degree, knowing how
to start and run a business, how to file the forms, keep the books,
the basics of regulations involved with hiring people, would open a
new world of opportunity to all.
And while now
the only incentive during junior and senior year in high school is
to get good grades if you wish to go on to college, and nothing if
you don't, because the the classes presented offer no useful, real
world information in and of themselves, teaching how to start and
run a business during these last two years would give students
something they truly can take and apply no matter what path they
choose in life. And so suddenly a high school education would
become a useful end.
STEP 2 - PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE BASICS OF THE REAL WORLD
Years and years
of public school education and students come out not knowing even
the basics about: the stock market, mutual funds, money
markets, options. Sure students hear of these things, but they
are not taught what they actually are, how one can participate in
them, what are the risks and what are some useful strategies for
investing.
Last year - yet
again - the number of personal bankruptcies in our nation reached an
all-time high. Our nation cannot continue on in a prosperous
manner if our citizens continue to go belly up from poor financial
choices.
And so central
to the junior and senior year curriculum should be money management
and investing. Knowing how to take advantage of IPO's, knowing
long term investment strategies, knowing what a 401K is and how to
use one if you end up with one, knowing you can get a better return
by putting savings in a money market instead of a basic savings
account, understanding the problems of revolving credit card debt,
all of these things are easily taught, vitally important, basic
knowledge for today's world. And none of these things are
taught to high school students, who instead are stuck in classes
that have no meaning to them.
Making the
basics of financial management and investing a part of the junior
and senior year high school curriculum would once again not only
provide a vital knowledge base to America's young adults, reducing
the number of personal bankruptcies and enhancing the ability of our
citizens the thrive in the world, but would make a high school
education and diploma things worth having, things that, in and of
themselves, prepare you to lead a productive, prosperous life in the
world.
And of course,
even for those who go on to college, this information about
financial management and investing is not taught in many college
curriculums, such as engineering, psychology, the arts, medicine -
even though it is central to the lives of anyone who chooses to
pursue these fields. So even for those who plan on going on to
college, this information will make a high school education a more
useful and desirable thing.
And the reality
is, that people do better in school and learn more when they have a
reason to - not because they have a test that demands they do well.
You catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar. And it is
the same throughout life. The stick of reprimand for bad test
scores - such as dictated with programs such as No Child Left Behind
- are meaningless. Unless you give students a reason to want
to learn - though a curriculum worth learning - you will not improve
the situation.
STEP 3 - CAREER PATHS AND SKILLS
Students
complete high school without ever being taught how to put together a
resume or what career paths are actually available to them.
Many complete college without learning these things as well.
The single
biggest problem in the worst schools in America is not underfunding,
it is a culture in which students don't understand what the point of
an education is. The only comprehensible ends in life are
success in sports, in the entertainment business, or in gangs
selling drugs.
Even among
students in the better public schools, the knowledge and
understanding of all the options out there is extremely limited.
For example,
students who have an interest in sports don't consider that while
only a select handful get to make a living by playing professional
sports, many can make livings as certified athletic trainers, still
working in the environment they want. There are also
opportunities in marketing and management.
Students are
aware that they can go on to be doctors, but for many this seems out
of reach for a number of reasons. These students frequently
never consider many other opportunities, such as nursing,
researcher, medical technician, lab tech, pharmacist, or numerous
other careers.
In other words,
there is a sort of all or nothing mentality, that if you are not one
of those on a career path through medical school or the NBA, there
is no career worth working towards.
This is the sad
reality for the majority of American students today. And,
again, it is one that is easily remediable and not about money.
How can you say
students are ready to be sent off into the world if they don't know
how to put together a resume? How can they know how to proceed
if they don't know what employers look for in a resume, how a base
level career can lead to better things and how to see that it does?
How can they make decisions and choices about their futures if they
don't know the possibilities.
Basic
vocational and career skills education during junior and senior year
would provide students with skills that are both vitally useful and
desirable to the students. And local businesses and
professionals are more than willing to participate in such courses,
making them that much more useful and tangible.
So let's look
at the changes proposed.
Instead of
looking ahead to yet more of the same, more history, english, etc.,
junior and senior years of high school would offer students the
opportunity to learn how to start and run a business, basic
financial management and investing, and teach them what career
choices are out there and how best to pursue them.
So while the
Bush Republicans offer mandates and punishments as their solutions
but no actual, useful positive changes, and the Democrats simply sit
around complaining about what the Bush Republicans offered - which
they supported to begin with - The Moderate Independent offers a
better way, an actual solution that is not about more money or less
money or about reprimands and pressure, but about making a high
school diploma something worth having once again.
| 
