Band Aids & Big Talk

One of the most interesting things I've learned about education, is that Education doesn't seem to learn very well, and education seems very reluctant to change, if at all.

Sure, politicians love to talk the talk, but we all know that's just politics. We've actually gotten accustomed to the big talk and the non-change. That too is politics.

As if the massive teacher shortages, record dropouts, crowded classrooms, standardized testing problems, crime in schools, language barriers, special education challenges, administrative roadblocks, legal set backs, weren't enough, NOW it appears that our college freshmen are so ill-prepared that they have to take remedial classes before they can even enroll in the standard college courses.

This is a serious problem but it appears we may have an answer: "a 104-page proposal, which is scheduled to come before the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board next month, outlining what students should learn before enrolling at one of the state's public universities.

Those who do not meet the standards will be directed to community colleges, where they can get extra help at a lower cost to themselves and the state."

I thought that's what grades, and class standing and SAT's and ACTs did, silly me.

The funny thing is, that there is a push now for students to earn college credits while still in high school. Has anyone looked at this?

So, we've got one group saying our students aren't learning enough and aren't prepared for college and another saying let's give them college credit for what they've learned in high school.

I say, "How about students earning high school credit for high school courses!" and letting college credit happen when it's supposed to---in college.

At this rate, we'll soon have kids earning college credit in middle school and still get into college without the education that they need.

Seriously, how bad does it have to get before we really take the bull by the horns, scrap the whole educational system and build it from the bottom up? Make it relevant and make it real so that it actually does what it's supposed to do----prepare our students for success in higher education and for success in life.

That's my recommendation. Start over. Look at the entire system and rework it from the beginning, starting with Pre K all the way up.

We don't need another study. We don't need another program. We need real change now, because from what I can see, our students are getting short-changed, big time.