Public education, as a concept, was a fairly decent one. At the beginning. Making it possible to help achieve literacy for those families who did not have the time nor the ability to teach their children how to read and write and compute.
Unfortunately, the major source of that computing, now, is that of statistics and "full time equivalents" as that is how our children are measured in relationship to the funds that our schools and local governments receive from the federal government, in the guise of education.
Rather than care about the literacy and intelligence of our people, government funded schools have devolved into a competition for numbers. Our children are only numbers to our government, numbers that equal money to them.
But I say our children should be more than statistics.
My daughter was in the infamous class of 2008 when the Washington State's WASL was implemented. I was a staunch opponent. Even though both of my children in school at the time excelled at that particular standardized test, I was horrified at the devolution of their education as SOON as it was implemented in our schools.
EVERY class's curriculum CHANGED to ONLY focus on passing THAT PARTICULAR test.
It is an ABOMINATION. This country's education system is a JOKE. It has devolved from inspired teachings of creative instructors to the rote memorization of alleged facts that are meant to answer standardized tests in the manner in which will net the school the most amount of cash from the government.
IS THAT EDUCATION????
I am so incredibly fortunate to have given birth to brilliant and creative children. IN SPITE of the standard educational environment offered to them within our public school system, each one of them sought out supplemental educational interactions due to their own personal needs and desires.
I DO applaud the educational system in our state and the area of Tumwater for making many of those opportunities available. However, even years later, many families do not know that such programs even exist.
During my daughter's Junior and Senior years of high school, as well as participating in her high school orchestra and color guard team, she attended both the local Community College AND the vocational skills center.
This was NOT an easy task: My daughter did not drive, and I was severely disabled at the time. She had to take many public buses in the pouring rain and cold wind, but I heard very little complaints from her.
In fact, what I DID hear were stories of what she had learned each day, whether it be in one of her many classes, or at her job in the math center at the college, where she as a 17 year old was tutoring people of all ages (most her parent's ages or older). She was full of excitement for each day of learning. She was driven by her own curiosities.
The college classes were funded by our state's Running Start program, and we asked for assistance through the college for her books. She also attended New Market Skills Center for two years, completing near the top of her class, their Robotics Engineering program, and having her first experience with politics having been voted her class president in her class.
I am exquisitely proud to report that she graduated with her Associates of Arts degree from the college the day BEFORE she received her high school diploma.
Unfortunately, my daughter is the exception. Most children don't seek out their own educational opportunities. That is OUR job as parents and extended families. It is OUR job to research and offer creative and PERSONALIZED educational experiences to our children.
It is OUR job to LEARN about our children and KNOW what they are interested in. It is a perversion of that job to sit them in front of an LCD screen full of animation or any unsupervised content and expect them to be entertained or educated.
It is pure unadulterated LAZINESS to put them on a bus to send them off to a governmental institution to be brainwashed into whatever the current fad of our government decides that they desire, in regards to their statistics.
Don't EVEN get me started on the "United States Government and THEIR current version of world history".
Talk to your children. Your little ones, be they grandchildren, nieces, nephews or friends. Get to know their interests and TEACH them what YOU know. They will surprise you.
Our little ones are full of ideas and inventions. They are BURSTING with curiosity. TEACH them what they WANT to learn. NOT what is in some handbook that says what our government decides they should know.
Teach your children your family history (yes, you have to learn it first, to teach it :) )
Someone a long time ago taught me something that has stuck with me all my days. A friend, not too long ago vehemently denied she had the ability to teach anyone anything ... and it came back to my mind:
You don't really know something, until you have taught it. Learn one, teach one, KNOW one.
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