First of all, I would like to apologize at the beginning of this post because it may appear dry. I tried adding water and everything but all that did was ruin the laptop. The reason I say dry is the topic for today - education. Go ahead, moan a little. Get it out of your system. Speaking of systems, something has to be done with the education system in this country. "What?!!!", you might say. Yes, it's been proven that our education system is broken and needs to be fixed. "Show us your proof, Mr. Rueuhy!!" is the collective scream arising from teacher's unions. Well, the proof is pretty evident. Look at how many children start kindergarten and how many graduate. "Well, there's always going to be fallout in any war, Mr. Rueuhy, and the war is one that we've fought since the Boston Latin School opened in 1635. Some kids just can't be taught." "Whoa! Wait a minute, are you going to actually argue with the Rueuhy and state your case is based on the principle that some kids just can't learn so there will be a substantial amount who will fail?" said me (Mr. Rueuhy) in that uppity voice I get right after my second cup of coffee. "Yes, Mr. Uppity, there are kids that just can't learn and don't even try. We continually try to teach them but it's obvious that they can't be taught." So, the argument boils down to the children. Children, some at least, are too stupid to learn? That's really what our education system says. So, I ask, "What about the children?" For the past few months, maybe even years, I've always had this nagging sensation in the left rear quadrant of my brain - it just keeps bugging me. If our money can't buy an education system that works, why not spend it on feeding the poor creatures that can't be taught rather than trying to use a failing model that clearly doesn't work? Yes, that's right. I propose the solution is to feed and house them rather than bother with an education. On the first day of school the parents can sign a waiver to all future entitlements such as food stamps and welfare for the new student if the new student doesn't care enough to graduate with a high school diploma. This way, there is an incentive for the child to learn. Imagine that first day the young adult shows up at the state agency to enroll themselves in the welfare system and Betty Thomas says, "I'm sorry. You're not even eligible 'cause your parents signed a paper twelve years ago." Obviously this is a stupid idea and one that would quickly die before it was even brought up for discussion in the House of Representationatives. No, the solution is even more radical and daring. Why not figure out how each child learns and tailor an education system around them rather than force feed an education on a child in a way that they can't learn. (You might have to read that last sentence twice to get what I'm saying.) Each child is born as an individual. We do not actually have a testing procedure in place that actually figures out how a child learns, we just force feed the information to each child and then fail them accordingly. Imagine this, in the first few years of a child's life we figure out how they learn and fine tune each education program to the individual rather than force every child to try to learn in a way that he or she can't learn. There would be some major revisions to our present public school system but maybe there would be a 95% success rate rather than 50% or whatever the current rate is considered. If a child learns through visual application such as videos than use videos. If a child learns through an audio format than teach them that way. If a child needs a mixture than use a 75% visual and 25% audio. If a child can only learn through physical application than teach them that way. The old format of a teacher standing in front of a class room and droning on for an hour is just not cutting it. If a program is set up for each child, based on testing that child on how he/she processes information rather than just force feeding the same rigid techniques, perhaps every child would feel like they could succeed rather than school being a failing proposition after 1st grade. Some children overcome the hindrances the present system throws at them and do succeed with the status quot. Many fall through the cracks and become statistics. I've met a few high school failures who are intelligent and can learn but found out they were worthless because they failed at performing successfully in the public education system. Am I the only one that sees a problem with the "how" and the amount of money that gets pumped into a failing system? Should we start questioning a program of rigid, and often times inflexible procedure, and say "It's just not working and we need a different approach?" or do we keep throwing more money at a system that doesn't work for a majority of students. I see it as putting gas in a car with a seized up engine. It just doesn't make sense. We can continue to test the children to see how well they are failing or we could test them to see how they actually learn and create an atmosphere of success rather than failure. My name is Uppity Rueuhy and I approve this blog.
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