REAL WORLD SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING SCHOOLS

Public school reformation is not an issue to be taken lightly. Without any sort of drastic change, our society will quickly become undereducated and our economy will soon be surpassed. Though change is drastically needed, we must also understand that large scale change will not happen over night. We must start to focus on changing the way our schools operate at the core.

I suggest more power in the hands of our parents and less in the hands of political figures. After all, it is the taxpayers money which is funding public education. If any true changes are to be made, we must encourage parents to take a stance in fighting for their children’s education. Parents should be allowed to chose what school to send their children to, especially in inner city areas, where poor schooling runs rampant. Instead of allowing public policy makers to mandate what we can and cannot do, we ourselves must take control. By putting the power in our own hands, we discourage corruption within schools, while ensuring that funding goes to the children. In addition, parents must utilize the PTA and other opportunities which exist to encourage parent involvement and change within schools. We must engage our communities and conduct our public schools based on what the public desires.

Secondly, I propose that we put money in the hands of researchers and “think tanks” in major universities and institutions in order to develop a more advanced, better informed curriculum for our students. Instead of being taught by professors who have little to no actual field experience, prospective teachers should, alternatively, spend more time working with highly esteemed and experienced teachers who are more able to prepare college graduates to enter the classroom.

We should undoubtedly take international test results more seriously, moving forward to examine areas in which we lack and make an honest effort to change. At the same time, we must jointly understand that standardizing education is not the answer. Although testing is a necessary evil, we must prevent ourselves from becoming obsessed with meeting standards. In having standardized tests, we must simultaneously recognize that we should not do away with the arts. We must maintain some principle process of evaluating material learned inside the classroom, but we must also retain creativity and insight which is frequently lost as teachers begin “teaching to the test.”

In addition, teachers salaries should be increased according to the success of the educator. We must realize, "teacher employment [should] be tied to performance, not just showing up," as Gov. Arnold Schwarzanegger suggested. ("Dismissing") We should begin to take his proposal and apply it to public schools across the country. By increasing pay according to performance, degree, and certification level, we can support good teachers while deterring under-qualified prospects. Without incentive to enter education, smarter students will continue to chose more demanding and higher paying fields. In addition, without an opportunity for more pay, current teachers have no incentive to improve teaching techniques. We should follow Schwarzanegger's suggestions and, "financially reward good teachers and expel those who are not." ("Dismissing")

Public education has approached major crossroads. If we chose to continue down our current path, our nation's population will undoubtedly become uneducated and increasingly ignorant. If we want great opportunities for our children, we must opt for change. It is vital to the future of America to make substantial changes within our system. Our children-who will grow up to lead our country-demand it. If, for nothing else, it should be done for them.