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JCE · #5 11-23-2002, 12:37 PM

tkd_m119 has some excellent points. My friends, my wife, and I have spent much of our adult lives working in California's educational system, from the elementary school to the State University and University of California levels, and I would like to add to and comment on these points.

First, the university system admits students from the top 15-20% of high school students. Yet two of the most crowded college freshman classes are remedial English/composition, and remedial math! It is not uncommon to encounter students who have never heard of Joseph Stalin, Isaac Newton, Robert Frost, the Emancipation Proclamation, or even the Wright Brothers. Some students can't perform 4-function math without a calculator, and others don't use caps, ANY punctuation, or decent sentence structure in their writing. And in recent surveys, 75-99% of students (depending on their major) admitted that they regularly cheated on exams. If this is the top 20%, I can believe the original post, and question that California has good public schools.

Second, while Federal expenditures on education are MUCH greater now than during the 50's and 60s, California spends less money per student than almost any other state, ranking in the high 40s every year. (We are 50th in what we spend on roads, but that is another issue!). Yet on 'special' programs such as ESL, Developmentally Challenged, etc. the spending ranks towards the top of all 50 states. Special interest lobby groups, politicians, and lawyers drive these costs upwards every year. Ditto parents, many of whom regard the school as extended day care for their kids so the parent can get on with their career and life. Yes, longer hours and dual incomes often cut into home life and the extended education process. But are those long hours necessary, or is it just more satisfying to have nicer cars, homes, and vacations than if one parent only worked part time when the kids were in school and devoted the extra hours to family relationships and education? I know a number of bright, talented people with graduate degrees who have curtailed their law/science/business careers and income so that they could assume their responsibilities in educating their kids. Education begins and ends at home, folks. Teachers are your partners, not your substitutes!

Throwing money at the problem isn't the answer. Spending the available funds wisely is required. For example: One of our friends is a certified master teacher with over 30 years experience. Her present job is not in a classroom, but to mediate sessions between schools/teachers and lawyers/parents of developmentally challenged children. Your severely autistic child 'could' benefit from being in a normal classroom environment, so the school must provide a full time adult aid for this child while in the classroom. Special summer school in Texas? Your lawyer will get your child $4000 per week for the school, and weekly transportation/accomodation expenses for a parent to visit. Swimming with Dolphin's therapy? With the right lawyer, the school may pay for it. A special bus 20 minutes after the regular school bus because your child "can't" make the normal one? No Problem! Wouldn't it make more sense to distribute these resources more equitably?

Thirdly, pay for a teacher is terrible. Yet hiring and promotion in the public schools is based on being current in Educational Theory and Development classes! Public schools have had PhysEd and History majors teaching math and science. While this doesn't mean the teacher is incompetent in the field, we sent our kids to a private school because the school required a degree in the field you were going to teach, as well as a teaching credential! The degree doesn't insure competency, but is an indicator of some degree of familiarity and interest in the subject.

Finally, our entire educational system is aimed at college prep, yet not all students will benefit from or are capable of a college education. A high school diploma was once considered a decent education for moderately ambitious people who wanted to get ahead in life. We assume that everyone wants to go to college, when all too many don't even want to finish high school! We lack a decent system of trade, skills, and practical education for students who don't necessarily want their lives to focus on Kippling, Li Po, or Fermat's Theorem. However, politicians consider this concept elitist and potentially discriminatory, and won't consider it.

So yes, I can believe the original post. It fits in pretty well with what I saw every day, unfortunately.