Public Education: An Instrument of Stupidity & Lies?

Preface: The author spent twelve years in an intercity classroom and subsequently taught
every grade, K-12 as well as adult extension classes, to students from every social
background. He is writing this because he is retired and able to. He misses his
students and salutes all teachers.

Of all the published rhetoric describing the state of American education, perhaps none has been more damning than this:

The school, excepting its sedulous care in teaching the basic
principles of the physical sciences-interesting, necessary, and
pertinent though they are-is the instrument of stupidity and lies.

We've heard over and over, from talk show hosts, TV pundits, and candidates for school boards all the way up to president, that our system is "leaving children behind." They clamor for more student accountability, and vouchers to parents to move their kids from bad schools into good ones. Teaching sessions are too short; tenure is a travesty; and teachers' unions have become evil entities. Schools, we are told, are falling apart and failing. From all of this we know that our schools have been sliding steadily downhill since-well, the quotation above was written by Philip Wylie in 1942.

So why are we the richest, most comfortable nation on earth? Is this some sort of fluke or miracle? Not exactly. The truth is, by any standard, ours is the best educational network on earth (emphasis on network).

Notwithstanding, could our public school system use an overhaul? You bet!

At its core, the problem is as old as the system itself. From the very beginning our approach to education has been one of convenience. The venerable one room schoolhouse was built to keep out elements and to contain children. Schools received only what the school board decided was the least they could get by with. There were no frills and (contrary to the prevailing myth) not much in the way of enlightenment. Children didn't necessarily have to "learn" as long as they could "perform."

Little has changed. The way we "school" children is based on a model as old as Henry Ford's production line-great if you're turning out Model Ts, not so great if you seek enlightenment at the end of the tunnel.

To solve problems we need to rethink what we are doing and why we are doing what we are doing. In an age where issues are routinely reduced to sound bites, we must resist

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