This post is actually inspired by another education class I am enrolled in. Some background so as to understand the premise might be appreciated. I submitted a piece of writing to the professor detailing what was gained from listening to class presentations. In it I mentioned that I was glad to see some controversial topics being discussed. At the end I noted that America debates things it need not to and that that real debates are demanded by the circumstances but are not happening.
The professor commented that the class wasn’t one on debate, but rather an overview of the American education system. She then invited me to discuss with her such topics that I might feel need debate. I intend to fully accept such an invitation, it is not often professors seek student comments on how the class might be conducted; more importantly I realized that there had been a misundertanding.
I raise that debate comment at every chance I get because I am trying to spread awareness of how much time is being blown on discussing pointless topics and getting nowhere fast in solving America’s problems.
A large portion of the problems that are facing the American education system today are because America has been riding the post-World War II (WWII) coattails for much too long. Allow me to elaborate, America after WWII was undeniably the most powerful nation on Earth. Europe was struggling to recover from the devastating effects of the war. The only nation that could rival the US was Stalin’s Soviet Union.
At this time we were the most scientifically advanced nation on the planet. We were, for a number of years following WWII, the only nation in possession of an atomic weapon. Russia struggled to find the solution and would have been delayed, it is estimated, by four years had the secret not been sold to them.
This is not the only place we excelled. We were also, perhaps not surprisingly, ranked number one in particle physics during this time. The proof of this rests on the periodic table of elements and you will see down the bottom, Californium, Berkelium, and Americium. They were named for these places because we discovered them first and had the naming rights.
What all of this is leading up to is that during this same period our education system was producing the best and brightest minds in the world. Let us not forget that the children who were educated in the classrooms of the era immediately post WWII were the same students who would, twenty-four years later, be part of the phenomenon of putting a man on the moon. During the period following WWII America also succeeded in the Cold War and halted the spread of Communism.
America was at the peak of her prowess. We were far ahead of the other nations. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union it seems that America has lost the drive it once had. The country became complacent and lazy. I submit the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva as evidence. There were plans to build an even bigger one in Texas back in 1993. Congress voted it down, citing budget issues. Our enthusiasm for science, it seems, died with the USSR.
After such a long-winded explanation I’ll cut to the chase and connect this to education. In that time Europe has redoubled its efforts to catch up having fully recovered from the war. In modern times America is still flying on autopilot while Europe has competent people in the driver’s seat making progressive changes to their education system. They have surged ahead and we have dropped sharply, last I knew we ranked an abysmal twenty-third in the education rankings.
Much of the problem is that we’re still debating whether or not to switch over to the common core, the benefits of standardized testing, whether or not to teach Intelligent Design “theory” alongside Evolution in science classrooms. We are not pushing a respect for a scientific examination of the facts. Instead we’re making allowances for utterly nonsensical opinions under the guise of tolerance. Examples of which include revisionist history, climate change deniers, and the insertion of religion into classrooms. These debates are senseless, yet we’re still having them.
School is where facts are taught. Opinions like those of climate change deniers and religious fundamentalists are dangerous and are fully deserving of refutation and ridicule given that there is no evidence to support anything they have to say. That’s not being intolerant; it’s being rational. People cannot have their own facts. If they want their own “facts” then they go to the internet, as long as they do not try to impress their warped views on children.
Attention should be given to the education problems mentioned above. Europe has not only resolved them, but has put them into practice with excellent results so far. They are leaving standardized testing behind which opens new paths for teachers to take a much more creative and active role in planning their curriculum and how to best teach their students. If we want to fix our education system it’s time to admit that we let ourselves slip a bit, bite the bullet and reform education to match European standards. Once we’re on level footing we can adjust as we see fit, but until we've gained equality we have no right, nay we cannot afford, to dodder around.
To fall even farther behind would be unacceptable. There are reforms being considered, but the incessant debate on what is the best way to approach this are stonewalling progress. This is the heart of my point. The debates over problems that have been solved are not necessary. We already have a perfectly good model for education reform all that we need is someone, just one person, who can get something done about it.
