I loved school. I went to public school for grade school and high school. In elementary school, I was in the advanced classes, I had a diverse group of smart and caring friends all coming from different backgrounds with different religions and races and economic classifications because our common denominator was a sheer love of learning. In high school, I was a cheerleader and the yearbook editor and was voted “Most School Spirit” by my peers when I graduated. I feel my experience was enhanced by going to public school and could never imagine any alternative providing a more enriching experience.
Now, ahem, something like 10 years later, I am married, with two preschoolers, and the idea of sending my children to public school scares me like I never thought possible. In the years between the culmination of my public school education and the time now when I am preparing to register my oldest for preschool, there have been countless newspaper headline accounts of abductions, molestations, bullying and even shootings. Kids bring guns to grade schools now and not JUST in the big cities.
I though, a LOT, about home schooling, but I can’t get past the importance, necessity, of not only the social skills one acquires in a classroom setting, but also the thought of my children missing out on having and making friends.
There are budget cuts in school districts all over the country. Educators at every level are expected to do more with less. Class sizes are getting larger, teachers have more responsibilities and children are slipping through the cracks.
All these thoughts have made me reminiscent of the days of yore, the days of the one room schoolhouse. It was small and quiet and quaint. The kids all knew each other, they all walked to school together and there as never any fear. In fact, everyone knew each other everywhere. A typical journey to school consisted of kissing mamma goodbye, walking a couple blocks, all the while stopping at friends’ houses, checking in with friends’ parents, acquiring yet another addition to the little gaggle and arriving quite safely at their destination. There was no possibility of abductions or crime, because if the parents weren’t watching, the local store keeper was or the old men sitting on their front porches, or the old ladies hanging laundry to dry.
When the kids got to school, the teacher was able to focus on teaching each individual child in the classroom, at their own ideal pace, without worrying about standardized testing quotas or the healthcare benefits in their union contract. The teachers never had to be vigilant about bullying or gun toting students- and the reason they didn’t have to worry was because they KNEW their students. No one fell through the cracks.
What has happened to education in this country? There are other countries who achieve far more with far less. Finland, for instance, has managed to establish solid rules that have remained in effect for over 40 years. These rules allow for students to continue to excel, with appropriately allocated funds and only the top educators are given jobs. Finland, has figured out a way to make use of their resources, specifically money and talent, not because they have limited funds or Mensa candidate educators, but simply because they know how to spend their money wisely and they can prioritize with a system that focuses on shaping each individual student instead of being concerned with standardized testing . For a more in depth read, check out http://bertmaes.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/why-is-education-in-finland-that-good-10-reform-principles-behind-the-success/.
We have resources in the United States that we ignore every day. Think of the money wasted on up keep for traditional brick and mortar schools: heating, air conditioning, lighting, even toilet paper . Think of the money spent on busing, grounds maintenance, ad infinitum. Then, after roughly 9 months of instruction, minus, of course, snow days, holidays, in-service days, delays, early dismissals and the like, children get three months off from school, forget half of what they had learned, and go back to do it all over. And we wonder why our country is so far behind? Investing in education is investing in the future of our country. We need to shop smarter and spend our dollars wiser.
What if we could easily achieve a personalized learning experience for each and every child, for a fraction of the cost? What if we could take all those extraneous expenditures, and roll them into a single laptop (with webcam) for every student, a high speed data voucher (or maybe rebate on school taxes, ) and create a one room school house for every student? It would be a one room school house that would eliminate bullying and other threats of violence. It would eliminate the need for snow days and busing and soaring fuel and heating costs. It would eliminate the need for building maintenance, especially on the increasing number of dilapidated structures strewn throughout our country. School work could be just that, school work. There would be no dress codes or metal detectors or locker searches or even note passing. Physical education? Can be done online too. Sporting events? Make use of community rec centers and create outdoor fields that can be shared for a fraction of the cost. Lack of interaction with others? Anyone have a child over the age of 6 that actually doesn’t know how to chat online? Low income meals? Simply work the rebates for feeding the children at home into the tax structure. Childcare options for the younger set? Come on folks, we’re talking quality education for a fraction of the price, why not take your boss up on that flex scheduling and team up with some of the neighbors you never talk to, get to know them, trade cookie recipes and take turns. It’s worth a shot?
Obviously, the way we have been doing things has gotten us poor results, for a price tag high enough to call most diplomas full fledged lemons. Maybe we need a carfax report for school systems before investing in them? Or maybe, just maybe, we need to think outside the box a bit. The last time the country had one room schoolhouses, it eventually yielded minds that were innovative enough to engineer some of the greatest years in all of United States history and those lessons from the past, always find a way to creep back up on us.
Now, ahem, something like 10 years later, I am married, with two preschoolers, and the idea of sending my children to public school scares me like I never thought possible. In the years between the culmination of my public school education and the time now when I am preparing to register my oldest for preschool, there have been countless newspaper headline accounts of abductions, molestations, bullying and even shootings. Kids bring guns to grade schools now and not JUST in the big cities.
I though, a LOT, about home schooling, but I can’t get past the importance, necessity, of not only the social skills one acquires in a classroom setting, but also the thought of my children missing out on having and making friends.
There are budget cuts in school districts all over the country. Educators at every level are expected to do more with less. Class sizes are getting larger, teachers have more responsibilities and children are slipping through the cracks.
All these thoughts have made me reminiscent of the days of yore, the days of the one room schoolhouse. It was small and quiet and quaint. The kids all knew each other, they all walked to school together and there as never any fear. In fact, everyone knew each other everywhere. A typical journey to school consisted of kissing mamma goodbye, walking a couple blocks, all the while stopping at friends’ houses, checking in with friends’ parents, acquiring yet another addition to the little gaggle and arriving quite safely at their destination. There was no possibility of abductions or crime, because if the parents weren’t watching, the local store keeper was or the old men sitting on their front porches, or the old ladies hanging laundry to dry.
When the kids got to school, the teacher was able to focus on teaching each individual child in the classroom, at their own ideal pace, without worrying about standardized testing quotas or the healthcare benefits in their union contract. The teachers never had to be vigilant about bullying or gun toting students- and the reason they didn’t have to worry was because they KNEW their students. No one fell through the cracks.
What has happened to education in this country? There are other countries who achieve far more with far less. Finland, for instance, has managed to establish solid rules that have remained in effect for over 40 years. These rules allow for students to continue to excel, with appropriately allocated funds and only the top educators are given jobs. Finland, has figured out a way to make use of their resources, specifically money and talent, not because they have limited funds or Mensa candidate educators, but simply because they know how to spend their money wisely and they can prioritize with a system that focuses on shaping each individual student instead of being concerned with standardized testing . For a more in depth read, check out http://bertmaes.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/why-is-education-in-finland-that-good-10-reform-principles-behind-the-success/.
We have resources in the United States that we ignore every day. Think of the money wasted on up keep for traditional brick and mortar schools: heating, air conditioning, lighting, even toilet paper . Think of the money spent on busing, grounds maintenance, ad infinitum. Then, after roughly 9 months of instruction, minus, of course, snow days, holidays, in-service days, delays, early dismissals and the like, children get three months off from school, forget half of what they had learned, and go back to do it all over. And we wonder why our country is so far behind? Investing in education is investing in the future of our country. We need to shop smarter and spend our dollars wiser.
What if we could easily achieve a personalized learning experience for each and every child, for a fraction of the cost? What if we could take all those extraneous expenditures, and roll them into a single laptop (with webcam) for every student, a high speed data voucher (or maybe rebate on school taxes, ) and create a one room school house for every student? It would be a one room school house that would eliminate bullying and other threats of violence. It would eliminate the need for snow days and busing and soaring fuel and heating costs. It would eliminate the need for building maintenance, especially on the increasing number of dilapidated structures strewn throughout our country. School work could be just that, school work. There would be no dress codes or metal detectors or locker searches or even note passing. Physical education? Can be done online too. Sporting events? Make use of community rec centers and create outdoor fields that can be shared for a fraction of the cost. Lack of interaction with others? Anyone have a child over the age of 6 that actually doesn’t know how to chat online? Low income meals? Simply work the rebates for feeding the children at home into the tax structure. Childcare options for the younger set? Come on folks, we’re talking quality education for a fraction of the price, why not take your boss up on that flex scheduling and team up with some of the neighbors you never talk to, get to know them, trade cookie recipes and take turns. It’s worth a shot?
Obviously, the way we have been doing things has gotten us poor results, for a price tag high enough to call most diplomas full fledged lemons. Maybe we need a carfax report for school systems before investing in them? Or maybe, just maybe, we need to think outside the box a bit. The last time the country had one room schoolhouses, it eventually yielded minds that were innovative enough to engineer some of the greatest years in all of United States history and those lessons from the past, always find a way to creep back up on us.
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