Our Education System

One of my best friends back home is a school counselor at the high school that we both went to 8 years ago. He has quite a unique viewpoint on our education system because many of the teachers that taught us are now the teachers that he manages, works with on a daily basis, and considers peers. I love talking with him about our former teachers, I suppose mainly because it's just fun to talk about, but also because I think it gives me a better understanding of our education system and why elements of it sucks so bad.

Before you hear (or ignore) my opinion, know that I'm critical of only a handful of teachers. Several of my greatest influences in my life have been teachers, people that truly cared about my future and ability to be successful. I'm critical of those that stand next to these honorable role models and call themselves equal, yet do damage beyond what they realize.

One of the obvious conclusions that comes up every time we talk about our former teachers is how the useless teachers that taught us years ago are still useless today. I would ask my friend to describe a teacher that I had in mind, and his description was almost exactly what I would have described from my experience. We both feel that there are people that become teachers for reasons other than bettering kids lives through education. Whether from their own weaknesses they want to be in a position of power in the classroom, didn't know what else to do in college, or are just plain poor teachers, they're still there. Where I work, if someone doesn't perform, they are removed. I could give you example after example of teachers that don't just not teach, but seem to even reverse the process. I don't see why our education system that's costing taxpayers billions of dollars should be based on any other business model than providing a quality product. Yet teachers have something called 'tenure'. High school teachers obtain tenure in 3 years, and after that it is nearly impossible to be fired. Tenure's purpose is to "protects respected teachers and researchers when they dissent from prevailing opinion, openly disagree with authorities of any sort, or spend time on unfashionable topics." This internal policy should be reserved for colleges and universities, not high schools where foundational topics are taught. We need an education system that demands quality from those we are paying to provide a necessary service to our culture. Rather than have an education system where educators have an indefinite stay after only 3 years of moderate observation, we should remove tenure and create a system based off of performance and objective review. With this, I believe increased salaries for those that provide quality education will naturally follow.

I started writing my thoughts about this topic while listening to a caucus debate and hearing the presidential candidates chatter about their opinions on how the education system should be reformed. I think Einstein's quote is a good illustration of the problem we face with this issue: "The world we've made as a result of the level of thinking we have done thus far creates problems that we cannot solve at the same level at which we created them for." I feel additional steps and outside influence need to be taken to create progress in the existing educational system we currently have. I like idea's that I've heard such as a 'West Point' for teachers to train excellent teachers for the worst schools, programs for students not planning to continue on to college, getting rid of tenure, and so on.

I feel very strongly about the importance of our education, so I thought it important to give my opinion. The fabric of our nation is laid on education. Information is essential, indispensable, and all the other synonyms for the expression 'crucial'. Information is power, and is only attainable through education. People make poor decisions because of their personal lack of education. There are so many areas that this nation struggles with on every topic including crime, business, jobs, families and so on and so on, that improved education could and would positively impact. The larger the percentage of the general public that obtains a well rounded educated, the safer, wealthier, and kinder our nation will be.

I ran across an interesting article today (09/01/08) that might be worth further reading. It's from an organization's website called Global Business Network - they are an organization revolved around collecting and generating insights, research, and opinions about the forces shaping the world.