Is education valuable? You bet!

Is education important? Of course! But will the current trend, the constant worry over testing and measurement, lead to a more educated population? I don’t think so! K12 education has a thirteen-year period in which to inspire students to become a life long learners. We need to get kids excited about math and science. We need history classes that inspire kids to learn more. We need English classes that hook kids on reading for life and we need a lot more exploration in electives and the core classes.

Scripted instruction, teaching to raise test scores, teachers all forced to teach the same lessons the same way is not inspiring. So many teachers are forced to “cover ground” at the expense of a rich exploration into any given area. Talk to kids! So many are dragging through school. And all education officials discuss is improving test scores, raising the bar, higher standards. Faced with a shortage of funding schools are cutting elective programs and talking about back to basics education.

Read the previous post and think about what was really important from your years of education. Was the content of you K-12 education all that important or was it the inspiration you gained along the way. Do we want our children dragging their way through school or do we want them to come home excited about what’s going on in their classrooms. I have had five pretty bright students go through high school and not one found the experience the least bit inspiring.