My Education Reform

Here is my recommendation for how to start fixing our education system.  You need to start with the next kindergarten class.  Kindergarten should be required for all children.  Some states like Illinois, don't require children to attend kindergarten.  There should be a clear set of benchmarks that every child needs to meet in order to pass to the next grade.  If a child does not meet all of the benchmarks, the child must repeat their current grade.  Its time to stop promoting children to the next grade when they have not mastered the skills necessary to do the next level of work.  There are too many high school students who can barely read and do basic math at an elementary school level. 

This has to stop because it is not helping anyone.  Its hurting these kids because its leading them to believe that they know more than they actually do.  A child who is held back in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd grade is better equipped to handle it emotionally than when they are in 9th grade.  Most high school students who are far behind in school eventually drop out of school.

A student should not be allowed to disrupt a class on a daily basis.  Its unfair to the other 28 students, if the teacher is constantly disciplining a student instead of teaching.  There should be schools for children with discipline problems.  It should not take months to move a student to the school for undisciplined students.  The school should be staffed with social workers, psychiatrists and mentors to help address all of the students' issues. 


Many people attribute well performing schools' success to parent fundraising.  Its not all about the money.  Most schools in poor neighborhoods have just as much or more money than those schools that fund raise.  Schools get extra money for every low income student enrolled.  If you don't have good teachers and a good principal, all the money in the world is not going to make your school great.  There are successful schools in poor neighborhoods because there are parents at those schools who care.  When you have parents who care, you have kids who come to school ready, willing and able to learn.  Think about a world where the students come to school to learn and they are well behaved and are mentally ready to learn.  A teachers' dream......................

A recent survey by ACT revealed that 75% of students are not fully prepared for college.  Many of those 75% that are admitted to college, will be required to take remedial classes.  Will colleges lower their standards or will it take students seven or eight years to earn a college degree?  What will become of our future if the education system is not fixed?