Those who have followed this blog may know that I rarely been in agreement with Michele Rhee and her philosophy for changing public education in America. However, an article by Ms. Rhee appeared in the August `1st edition of USA Today that I concur with. Rhee believes that if we in America would put forth as much effort in striving for excellence in education as we do toward training our Olympic athletes, then the academic performance of our school students would also improve significantly. She goes on to cite reports from both the Council on Foreign Relations and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that point to the fact that American students have been falling behind on their performance in internationally rated assessments, most pointedly in science and mathematics.
Who is to blame for this? Is this not reminiscent of the US in the 1950s when the Soviet Union grabbed the lead in the “space race” and exposed our inadequacies for the world to see? Obviously the priorities of a nation are in a different place.
One does not have to look any further than the recent debacle at Penn State University. The voluminous amount of press coverage has focused on Jerry Sandusky and the impact of the recent NCAA rulings that will affect the football team. We heard about the reduction in athletic scholarships. We heard about the bowl game participation ban and we also have been reading about current student athletes who have been deserting the Penn State football programs for other opportunities.
The one thing we have not heard word one about is ACADEMICS. The primary focus of a university must be to educate students and teach them how to become independent thinkers. A college education should also prepare graduates for life-especially career preparation. All of this has been lost for the sake of football-at least in the stories of the last several months.
Coincidentally, an article appeared in the August 6th issue of Sports Illustrated about the Israeli Olympic team. The author noted that “Israel takes far greater pride in its ten Nobel Laureates and the multitude of Israeli tech start-ups on NASDAQ- than it does of its 7 Olympic medalists.”(SI. P. 73)
America cannot expect to narrow the achievement gap merely by conducting studies or appointing commissions. Nor can the expenditure of money alone fix the problem. Methods of teacher preparation, the crucial importance of parental involvement, a rigorous curriculum are all importance. Additionally, students need to know the importance of going to school and the value of obtaining an education. The blasé attitude of students toward learning and lack of seeing education as important is a further impediment of getting America back in the education game. The stakes are high. If we expect to remain competitive in the global economy, if we expect to have a population who will be able to guide the country, provide health care to an aging population, be at the forefront of the w world stage, then we must be more serious and focused on improving education. And No, we cannot afford to wait until November!
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