Dumb Ideas

There's a columnist they run in our local paper whom I really enjoy. He's a conservative editorialist who almost routinely pisses me off. Wednesday's editorial was no exception right from the get-go: "Why not teacher evaluations by students?" Mind you, he's not talking about university course work.  His essay goes on to discuss how teachers need to be more aware and involved in students' lives. How teachers need to be more focused on those students who are struggling or not fully engaged. Teachers, teachers, teachers.

I'm a little sensitive on the subject because the same thing is happening in medicine. Both fields are struggling with validity issues in the form of outcomes and performance measures. Both fields are being flooded with cadres of experts and consultants. Both fields are being increasingly placed in the public spotlight for failings more so than successes.

With respect to healthcare, many of the proposed changes are for the better. Many are reasonable and respond to changes in available technology and evidence based knowledge. But, as with education, many of the accusations and alleged shortcomings are misinformed and misdirected at the provider.

As in healthcare, education is currently suffering from an enormous void in personal accountability. In medicine we battle with patients who choose unhealthy habits, diets, and lifestyles. In education, teachers battle with children who come from homes where education is not cherished or esteemed, where there is little or no support or encouragement to learn. And it's not enough to lay this at the doorstep of poverty or social struggle. There were plenty of poor families and families that struggled in the early part of the twentieth century, a period when great ideas, great industry, and great accomplishments were brought forth from the public schools of this nation. Likewise, there are plenty of students who come from homes where they are well-fed, well-dressed, and afforded the luxury of every currently available form of distraction.

I don't pretend to have the answer to our tarnished system of public education. I do believe, however, that until public education is restored to a position of esteem, until our financial investment in open public schools and teachers is commensurate with our purported outrage and expectations, and until families find the motivation to encourage and support their children-- in short, until we demonstrate that we as a society value public education-- we will continue to witness the current decline in learning. We will continue to see an ever increasing army of so-called experts, we will continue to spend more and more money on more and more so-called bright ideas, and we will continue to see more and more teachers leaving education frustrated and cynical. We will not, however, see our children getting any smarter or any more engaged in the process of learning.

This country is in a crisis of personal responsibility. It is a void that breeds charlatans and hucksters, snake oil and potions. Until we collectively recognize the mandate of personal responsibility for ourselves and our children, we will remain desperate in our pursuit of half-baked remedies, victims of our own ignorance.