Education Is Crucial To Our Future
Education wasn’t part of my initial interview guide but when I asked what rights we Americans have beyond those explicitly provided in the Bill of Rights, the answer that kept coming back was education.
Greg in Edgefield: I think just about every problem we have in the United States, we can find the basis for that problem in education. If we don’t start doing a better job of educating our young people, we’re going to be in a real mess. As you go through this process, I’ll guarantee you that education will come up more than you think.
Greg has a particular interest, given that he once served as Edgefield’s superintendent of schools, but he was right. The subject came up frequently.
Pat in Superior: When you know better you do better, in all things.
“Education Is Crucial To Our Future” is the last — but to some of the participants the most important — of “10 principles to unite America.” The principles look both to the past and to the future, reminding us of what we hold dear as Americans and at the same time challenging us to do better. They stand out as common purpose for our nation.
Based on four very different locales
It can’t be said that we as a country haven’t done at least somewhat well when it comes to education. How else would we have become a world leader on so many dimensions? We have a rich tradition of providing free schooling to all children. Enrollment in college continues to reach new highs. The doctoral programs in our major universities are so good they draw students from around the world. And yet testing in recent decades shows that the basic skills of our children have fallen behind those in a number of other developed nations.
Perhaps a major part of our “education problem” is that we as a nation can’t agree how our education system should focus its attention and spending. Mike in Concord predicted: All of [the participants] will think education is important. It’s their take on what is important that will be variable.
A variety of possibilities did arise. More emphasis on pre-school and primary education. Teaching civics and government, in keeping with Principle #3 Our Great Democracy Is Only As Good As We Make It. The importance of critical thinking. Keeping pace with technology.
Tom in Edgefield: So that everybody can participate, everybody can find work, everybody can respect the rights of others, I think education is the answer to that for all people.
One consistent theme did emerge. A cross-section of participants suggested what’s needed in the workplace isn’t being taught in the schools.
Jackie in Edgefield reports the biggest problem for the one remaining manufacturing company in her town is a shortage of workers who are at least minimally qualified to do the work.
Bill in Superior: I’m not saying that we all need to have a 5-year or 6-year college degree, a doctorate or master’s degree. But education is going to be the key.
Radha in Concord: We need to have a lot more emphasis on vocational kinds of education. Everybody doesn’t have to borrow money to go to some fancy college.
Bettis in Edgefield: People need to be educated to what they are going to do in life, and so we need to work on that.
The general public seems to be in accord. When asked what should be first and foremost about education*, 52% of voters answered training that is suited to needs and interests, 25% said learning life lessons, 13% favored formal book learning, while 3% mentioned religious training. The remaining 7% said something else or not sure.
Three-quarters agreed though that education is the foundation for our advancement as individuals and as a society. Surely education is crucial to our future. It has been part of our common purpose and needs to remain so.
* Our Common Purpose’s nationwide poll of 1,500 voters conducted by SurveyUSA in June 2020.
I find myself with the majority in the first nine Principles and see no need to comment further. Number 10 which deals with education is really in my wheelhouse — I am a retired teacher. Of course, everyone says education is important but when it comes to action there is another story entirely. We pay people who primarily deal with children the lowest salaries. Teachers are the lowest paid professionals. Pediatricians are the lowest paid doctors. Childcare providers are the lowest paid caregivers. And I would surmise that if a study were made (probably has been, but I haven’t seen it) judicial awards for injuries are significantly lower for children than adult victims. So more money is needed. But the problem goes way beyond money. The day I mentally resigned my teaching job (high school history) was the day a student said to me “Why are you teaching school? You are way too good for that”! Respect for what teachers do, especially, as well as other child-centric givers is central to the problem. Then look at the absentee rate in our high schools. Someone is not getting across the notion that the way up and out of poverty is education. This could well be because it hasn’t been for far too many of our citizens. And that might be because of systematic racism. But there are other factors as well. Educators are not good at making what they do relevant to what people need (or think they need.) Educators are extremely slow in changing what and how they teach. One of the few bright spots in this pandemin is how it is shaking up public education from the bottom to the top.