Improving education has been on the national agenda since the landmark writing,'A Nation at Risk,' was introduced to congress in 1983!
Educators have the answers. The problems are numerous, though.
1. Corporations are overly involved with public policy, especially under this administration, which has adopted what they call a scientifically sound reading program that is based on research that McGraw-Hill did in a Texas school district. I am not completely against the Open Court Reading system BUT, it is not a one size fits all program. It MIGHT benefit part of the population but it leaves many kids out in the rain. LEAVE THE POLICY MAKING TO THE ACADEMIANS WHO TEACH EDUCATION AT OUR FINEST UNIVERSITIES, PLEASE!
2. Sometimes, programs are adopted that are misunderstood by the teachers who need to implement them. This is evident in the field of mathematics, a subject where our American culture defines the topic incorrectly. Do you want to know why many Asian countries outrank the US in math? Study their definition of the subject! Many people in the USA are still stuck on book-keeping math. This is the math that our forefathers brought from England so we could keep our books while trading goods. Notice that the British are not internationally ranked high in math either. They gave us our cultural definition of the subject. It is time to redefine the subject. This was covered in TIMMS. Research it.
I will go on later...
