US Educational Reform May Be on the Horizon
December 18th, 2006One Education Under All
What if free education began at 4 years old, high school ended in 10th grade, and birth certificates came with $500 bonds to be used for college? These educational reforms, outlined in a brain-storming report compiled by key educators, politicians, and CEOs, may be a reality by 2021. This diverse panel’s mission is to create ideas to rebuilt America’s lagging educational system, in order to stay competitive for high-tech jobs as China and India meet the market. Americans have become accustomed to a high standard of living, which may begin to slip away if our economy weakens.
New Ideas Funded By Microsoft Money
The group, called the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, is partially funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In the think-tank’s report, independent contractors, rather than school boards, would oversee school districts and money would be allotted to schools based on demographics. Teachers’ pay would rise, but their pensions would decrease. The ideas are drastic, and have faced opposition from teachers’ unions and national school board associations—this should be expected though, as these two groups would suffer the largest changes in their regular routines. Much of the feedback from the government has been positive though: several senators have stated that the report merits serious consideration in Congress. This report may be well-timed, as Bush’s ‘No Child Left Behind’ Act is soon up for review and may be altered at that time to reflect new ideas.
Students Will Graduate Earlier
One especially revolutionary idea would “change the way students move between high school, college, and the workforce.†Specifically, that all students would take an exam at the end of 10th grade that would dictate the next step in their education “(vocational school, community college, university, etc).
“Now many students just slide through high school, because they know that all they have to do is get passes in their courses or a satisfactory score on an eighth- or ninth-grade-level literacy test to go to college, the report states. “With this system, they will know that they have to work hard in school to get anywhere.”
In addition, eliminating 11th and 12th grade would save the school system $67 billion nationally, which would free up that money to be used for earlier education like free preschool. My thoughts on this report are mixed. On the one hand, I do agree that a drastic overhaul of the educational system is warranted. Privatizing schools I believe is a great idea to promote fiscal responsibility, but I believe they should interact with seasoned educators who know the ins-and-outs of running a school filled with crazy teenagers (rather than employees on the payroll!).
Beginning education earlier is a fantastic idea—studies evaluating the impact of early preschool and HeadStart programs have all been overwhelmingly positive. However, dumping 10th graders into the workforce or into college might not be such a great idea. High school is about more than just learning; its also about reaching the emotional maturity to excel in college or a job and not all students are ready at the 10th grade level. Actually, many aren’t even ready at the 12th grade level!
