Florida, as with so much of the rest of the U.S., doesn’t know what it wants its educational system to be. Should it be one that stresses “the 3 Rs” or concentrates on STEM subjects. Some would want it to provide a classical education with the study of Cicero by reading the original text in Latin and Plato in Greek. Each of the above has merit.
What many parents, school boards and teachers believe is that there is far too much testing and not enough emphasis on a well-rounded education. The phrase “teaching to the test” is in almost every conversation that we have regarding our schools. Even with the continuous testing, the U.S. still ranked 31 out of 35 for OECD (The Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation) nations. These numbers are abysmal. Nationally, Florida ranks 29th. So, when we hear that Martin County is number 2 or 3 in the state, that doesn’t give me much cause for joy.
It appears that, as a nation and state, we can’t agree on how and in what subjects our children should be educated. We ask our school systems to come up with a curriculum that will please everyone from the “flat earthers” to those that want quantum physics. Like everything else in America today, we all have our “alternate facts” when discussing public education. In fact, we can’t even decide on the definition of a public school.
Years ago, there were two types of schools — public and private. Most private schools were religion based. There was no such thing as “home schooling.” Parents chose to pay extra to send their children to private school if they thought it was a better education. Today we expect some of our private schools to be publicly supported and we give them the name of Charter Schools.
It may be time that the state declares all schools to be Charter Schools. Let parents decide where to send their children to school, not just based on geography. By use of vouchers, this can become a reality. This approach has been tried in New Orleans with success. There are still academic standards for students to meet. And the state must be ruthless in closing those schools that constantly fail. The state becomes a regulator instead of a provider of education.
This may seem radical, but I know one thing for certain, the present model is not working. It is a failure that is giving our children, at best, a mediocre education. By continuing on the same educational path, we will become less and less competitive in the world. My grandfather, who was an immigrant to America and had at best a rudimentary formal education, could read and speak three languages. My father, who never went to college, could quote St. Augustine, Socrates and recite poetic verse, all of which he learned in school. Can our children do the same?