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Jay Evensen: Let's face it: U.S. schools need reform

To there it is. The real reason for education "reform" and for vouchers - "all schools would be run by independent contractors.." - so that schools can be run by contractors and we all know that "contractors" work for a PROFIT!

The real call for reform is that businesses have figured out that there is money to be made in education and they want their cut. It has nothing to do with educating students.

Jay--

Thanks for your comments. I agree that the US Education system is long overdue for an overhaul that will allow us to compete globally. However, like or hate vouchers they show us the problem with reform. The teacher's unions only care about the teachers and have no interest in reform. They do not have the school children's best interest at heart; teachers might but the union doesn't.

I don't fault the union for taking this stance but we should not be confused about their intentions. The baseball players unions care about the players not fans, the auto workers union cares about their employees not the consumer, the teacher's union cares about teachers and not parents or kids.

I applaud Utah legislators for being willing to profer a solution. It may not be the right solution but it is an alternative. Although not optimistic, I call on the UEA to offer some solutions and alternatives. I have a feeling it will call for more money and no other changes.

I have to agree with AJR; the vision of schools run by "independent contractors" is a betrayal of public schools as the great equalizer, which resists our tendency towards self-perpetuating classes of rich and poor. The classless society, of course, is an ideal but a noble one that should be pursued.

If Kim Burningham and his cronies would've spent half as much energy proposing changes to the staus quo as they have in fighting vouchers we wouldn't have needed the vouchers. The problem is the powers that be are afraid of change, just like the teacher's union is afraid of change.

I would be out of business if I wasn't willing to make major changes in how I do business. But very little change has taken place in education. Major changes must take place as we are falling behind in global competition in the eduation of our children.

In today's global economy the only constant is change, but the education industry (union) seems to want to continue to live in the past.

With all these inadequacies pointed out, I'm curious as to where you think the breakdown is? Do you think elementary schools are not doing their job in teaching students to read, write, and do math? Are students not being taught to think? Or is it jr. high? High School? What about the changes in society? Divorce, drug use, poverty, immigration? I'd like to know what changes you recommend?

Let me offer a perspective on the breakdown. It happens at all levels result ingin a feedforward system which complicate the problem. Todays educational system focuses on abstract knowledge rather than skills. Further, there is no emphasis on how knowledge can be acquired and utilized independently.

What does this mean? It means that elementary schools should be focused on teaching kids on how to learn, junior high schools should be focused on helping children learn the techncal and professional languages of the disciplines and communities they are interested in, and high schools should be focused on teaching competency in a core set of skills.

This means that students interested in science and engineering should actually understand how the scientific process works and should be comfortable in a lab setting... or students interested in journalism should understand what is involved in finding, filtering and then presenting informaiton in a consumable fashion. I suspect that you would be hard pressed to find either student graduating from any Utah school in the immediate future.

A second major failing involves a failure to adapt. Education is lifelong, but students don't see it that way. Many individuals stagnate because they lack the ablity to learn.

Yes, we need real reform. Vouchers will do none of that, nor will they influence public schools that are tied down under legislation and court rulings of the past 50 years to reform. They can't with all those mandates on them and society the way it is.

Some REAL reform is on the ballot in the Jordan District this election however. I hope people can see past those who are trying to pit one side against another and vote to create new, community school districts. Several states are watching and hoping we are successful. They want to do it too.

I will not say that schools can't do better. That would be silly, but I also think it is important to note that the US is the ONLY country with a stated goal to educate ALL the children. Most other countries begin separating children for vocational training or college at the age of 12. We hold the lofty goal of educating all children and giving all children the hope that they can rise as high as they are willing to work. And those that are willing to work do rise, and they do it in the public school system. When standardized international testing is used as the measure of US education it should be known that we are measuring all of our children against the top of theirs. Perhaps we are not doing as badly as we have been led to believe.

Also those who say that we do not offer students real world opportunities in public school should check out the Granite Technical Institute and the equivalent organization in Jordan District. I think they would be amazed at what public school is offering to children who take advantage of the opportunities.

Thank you RCM for pointing out some very important facts!

We do need change and reform....we always have and we always will. What we have to be most careful about is maintaining the equalizing nature of public education (or better yet, enhancing that function; it has slipped quite a bit over the decades, I believe).

FYI, there are some independently run schools that are trying REAL reform right now. And the leaders of the schools aren't making a dime for their endless hours of service and sacrifice. No profit at all. They aren't private schools, they are public. The founders of these schools are selfless and truly in it for the improvement of education. They are called charter schools. Problem is, the established schools and leaders are so paranoid about competition that they won't even look to them for innovative ideas.

The educrats are so set on preserving the status quo that our students are now pathetic when compared to international students--but we're too dumb and happy in Utah to realize it. Anyone who does a little research can see the frightening picture immediately.

And for more information about the changes that are recommended, read the first chapter or two from any book written by E.D. Hirsch. There is a reason that a large percentage of charter schools use the Core Knowledge sequence and philosophy. Once a school is independent from the political establishment of traditional schools the board can do what is best for the students, unfettered by counterproductive rules and regs.

I have to say that the concept of public education being an "equalizing force," as put by Joe Moe, is precisely the reason that some of us think public education is fundamentally flawed, at least as currently constituted. Instead of equalizing everyone, shouldn't education be about allowing every child to reach their greatest potential? Not every child will be the next Yo Yo Ma, the next Albert Einstein, etc., and when we focus on "equalizing" students, that results in bringing every child to some mediocre middle ground. I believe that the system is designed to "equalize," and that is why so many parents feel stymied in their efforts to help their children excel, and why there will continue to be a push for major educational reform, much to the chagrin, I am sure, of Joe Moe and others who believe that everyone suffers when one person excels.

There is a powerful case for expanded school choice that few will have encountered. Find it by going to Google and typing two words: "academic" and "weakness."

That piece, which I wrote --- "U. S. Academic Weakness: Root Causes" --- will be #1 of 2 million or so hits.

Another piece, "Hidden Bias in American Education" will illustrate why our current method of funding schools is doing much harm to children and families: