Education system requires drastic changes

As if Fieldcrest hasn't got enough problems with its financial woes and such. Now we have to worry about how we can improve our education system. What is a beleagured school system to do, especially when it is encumbered with a school board suffering from inertia? Hopefully, the latter case will be taken care of when new board members are elected in April. But how do we improve our education system when we are broke?

Drastic times require drastic measures. It is a time when we have to really brainstorm all options and scenarios. One thing is certain. The world is changing fast and we must change with it. Past traditions and ways of doing things have to be tossed aside and a new system must be created.

I am not an educator but am a businessman. One thing I understand about business is that those who adapt best to changing conditions survive and make a profit. We need to take a business approach to how we run our schools. What is the most cost effective way to educate our children properly for the future? Here are some of my thoughts that we can kick around.

Just as the internet is changing the way we do business, it also will be changing the way we educate our children. The internet is a revolution in its infancy and we must sooner or later take advantage of its tremendous potential. Already some schools in Minnesota are instituting internet schooling. While internet schooling is not for everyone, it is appropriate for self-motivated and high aptitude students. Internet schooling can be made elective or it can be made available to students based on aptitude tests and could start in the 9th year after the students are taught fundamentals.

The advantages of internet schooling can be many. First, it allows students to learn at their own pace, which may mean that a student could finish high school in 3 years instead of 4. The student is not hindered by the progress of the rest of the class. Secondly, less classrooms are needed if students are allowed to do home schooling through the internet. Class assemblies could be held once or twice a week at the school.

My personal experience is that I learned most of what I know on my own. Even through college, I learned mostly by reading rather than by listening to an instructor. In fact, everything I learned about programming computers, which was the core for my career, was from my own research. I never took a computer course in my life. The point I am making is that a self motivated student needs guidance and structure but does not need constant exposure to an instructor.

After the Eighth grade, aptitudes should be determined for each student. Those who want to pursue a career in science, math, teaching, computers, etc. should be allowed to do home schooling through the internet. Those who want to pursue a career in the trades such as carpentry, plumbing, mechanical repair, should be enrolled in a different curriculum geared toward onsite instruction. There is no reason they should be taking the same type of courses in high school. It is assumed that basic skills in reading and writing can be achieved by the high school level.

Other benefits from internet home schooling is less transportation costs due to the reduced need to bus students. Also, discipline problems can be resolved at home rather than at school.

Schools should operate all 12 months of each year to allow students to learn more and perhaps graduate sooner. There is no reason why teachers should just have to teach 9 months out of the year. If the school is to pay their insurance and other benefits for 12 months out of the year, they should teach 12 months. This will also reduce the operating costs per student by spreading the fixed operating costs over a smaller period of time assuming the student can graduate sooner.

The funding of sports should be done by the community rather than the school. Every emphasis must be made on improving our education curriculum, not extra-curriculars. Parents will have to accept more responsibility in raising their children. No longer can we expect our schools to become babysitters and providers of entertainment.

There are plenty of details to work out on the changes I suggested. However, it is time to start thinking differently and to be prepared for a new way of educating our children. Hopefully, these suggestions will lead to further refinement of ideas. Fieldcrest is at the point in which it has to make dramatic changes. Why not be the leader in a new way of educating our children?