An Introduction to A New Educational Reform

by Vajlea

It has come to the attention of one, the perspective of mine, that America has taken for granted a tool for true and good utilization of power. It has come to my attention as well that the most attributing factor to all of the problems we as a society share is being allowed to further slip from the grasp of our control. I speak of course of the Educational System. Private schools, which provide a small percent of the population with a supposedly higher education and Public Schools, the supposed ‘free’ education, though good in intention, have fallen well below the bar of an efficient means of educating. Is it the school’s fault? A little. The Government? A little more. The students? Not really. The truth is that we have a generally weak system overall. Without mentioning that the Government puts a stack of burdens on the states to give to schools and provide only 2% of their funding is a small portion of their problem. My proposal for a new and effective means of education lies in this statement : Teach all of them to live and learn. All of them, as in everyone should be educated. Before every adult who lays on this huffs at me for this idea, I suggest you read further. Schools hands have become tied by separation of church and sate, federal laws, threats to school security, and, of course, fear of lawsuits from overzealous parents. Although there really is no fool-proof solution to all of these problems, there is a way to make Education a more satisfactory investment. First and foremost, the Schools all must be put into the control of the states. There are many good things that can come out of this. Only the locals know truly how they can adapt to the environment of their community – though not everyone will agree, the drastic difference in schools tailoring to their own people will make it more enticing and less anonymous. The federal government should interfere as little as possible – however, there should be some common national standards and regular inspections to ensure not only quality, but effectiveness. Because, to be blunt, If the feds aren’t going to pay for it, they shouldn’t be able to dictate it. Next, I believe that ethical and moral training ought to be involved in the curriculum. Of course, even when I say that to myself, I think of a George Orwell Nightmare where everyone acts and thinks alike, because they’ve been forced into a certain type of ethics and morals – this is not what I think should happen. I believe that each parent and teacher should interact and help the child explore possibilities in religion and ethics while teaching them the basics of society’s expectations (i.e. Violence is wrong, drugs are harmful, ect). This should be done in a way that is almost individualistic, and always sensitive. Teachers should be chosen by a rigorous screening process as well as a board of electors – without teachers, there is no education, and thus is should be a position of high respect. This will not only help to ensure a good candidate, but it will utilize the spirit of competition in order to keep mediocre instructors out. These election will be a popular vote method, with no electoral college (we all know what that can do to the vote). The specifics of such an election I will cover in a different essay. Going back to ethical training – I think one of the national standards to be set ought to be that Indoctrination, basically forcing your values on another, should be strictly forbidden. However, introduction, exploration, and promotion of tolerance of other cultures and beliefs are necessary. If anyone disagrees straggly with this idea, they can start a school of their own – so long as they can pay for it.

There should be a standard in which no parent or child, unless abused, mistreated, or a victim of the violation of a federal or state law, can file a formal lawsuit against a school. Parents attempting to dictate the way schools operate (and vice versa, of course) are detrimental to moral and dignity of both sides. This is self-explanatory. Lawsuits in general have gone out of control. Schools should be among the most highly respected establishments in the country, and should therefore be protected from stupidity. I also believe that each of these lawsuits must be determined worthy on a case by case basis. That is, each one must be looked at individually and thought out before making a valid decision.

The schools should have no legal or capital power. They should be non-profit, non-political establishments until their dooms. This will make better efforts to control corruption and anything else that may not be in the best interest of the students. This is also pretty simple.

School hours should depend on the community, but should last anywhere form 10 am to about 4 pm. All schools should also be dormitory equipped – as in anyone from anywhere should be able to go to school anywhere they want. This will provide for student to student interaction and broaden each student’s horizon of tolerance.

The spirit of competition should be incorporated into the students. It should be hyped up enough that every student wants to do well, but not so much that students become subversive in order to achieve it. The collapse of communism taught us one thing – if you want to achieve anything with a group of humans, you must give them a motivation. As most psychologists would agree, positive reinforcement is the best way to deal with undesired behavior. This will tie into my next suggestion. But this positive reinforcement doesn’t have to be a tangible reward. Recognition is most often enough. Respect and admiration is enough as well. To make success in learning an all-around positive thing will bar negative emotions – not all of course, but most. The important thing in this situation will be to balance competition with equality among the students. Success in school should come with very few if any privileges above others, and, conversely, punishment of any sort should not be used, which leads me to my next thought.

Punishment should not be used. Every psychological organization of any importance agrees that positive and negative enforcement are the most effective means of learning. Besides, in learning, if someone isn’t doing so well, its probably because that student has an issue to be dealt with that can’t be explained by leaving it to an assumption like “She’s a slacker,” or “He’s just a little punk.”

Education should be required until completion of programs. Programs are multiple levels of education and years of training for a specified field or application. Programs, though ultimately branching off into different types of fields and occupations, start essentially the same. There are three beginner levels – Average, Gifted, and Below Average. No occupation is barred from a student of any one of these beginner programs. This would last about from age three to age ten. Afterwards, there are the Intermediate programs on two levels – Normal (Names pending) and special cases. Each student will be given a basically free choice of method of learning and will have a set of requirements to complete before advancing. They may move on at any age so long as they complete every necessary requirement. From there, they move to Pre-Advanced Programs. Most students will rage from thirteen to nineteen, beginning with a short exploration program. The Exploration program will include a free study of all of the different types of fields and occupations they choose to study. Based on which general field they choose, they will be given a set course. Each time they advance, their program becomes more specific, challenging, and full of choices. Afterwards, there are the Advanced Programs, in which they are trained for the field they have chosen. They can change at any time; after which they start back to the Pre-Advanced program. To make all of what I just said short, they go to school until they’re fully trained for whatever task they chose. That choice will become a powerful tool for efficiency. The potential of every human being should be utilized – but they are the sole owners and controllers of their mind and will.

These are the beginning of a very complex restructuring plan I have devised. E-mail me and tell me what you think.