Comment Re:Confirming What We All Already Knew (Score 2) 745
Don't be under the impression I am a xenophobe because I'd count it unfortunate that the US has to hire foreigners to fill technical roles; those allowed to immigrate to this country at the moment are counteracting many of the problems I've described. It's just worrying that we cannot prepare our own citizenry for the better possible future. For some reason, people who like to throw the word "national security" around don't often see the relevance of education to the national security of a country that cannot balance its budget or understand historical precedent to world affairs that when handled badly give fodder to people who want to kill us. I'll know that tides have turned when "strong educational system" has become part of the hawk vocabulary.
I realize I've been very negative so far, so let me tell you what I'd advocate:
First of all, paying teachers more, demanding more education from them (both in pedagogical technique and their area of specialty) and lowering student to teacher ratios, especially in poorer areas, seems like a good call. Hiring social workers whose job is to engage parents and help students manage their lives outside of the classroom would be wise. There's no particularly good reason students shouldn't be working longer hours or doing more homework as long as recess is available (it's oddly been cut out of most programs). Daily math and foreign language classes as part of a broader curriculum will cultivate vital skills. We also need funding for the arts and a way to tie it to community engagement. This will, naturally, take more money that we don't particularly have, so let me propose the sure-to-be-popular curtail future benefits/entitlements and raise taxes scheme. I realize many people won't be happy, but if made to bear the burden of being cared for by people with no professional and civic skills today, I think they'd choose the former in a heartbeat. I should also emphasize that whatever fixes we make must be long term and must involve changes in parenting culture. Parents should be told that if they're there to help with homework--yes, even in math--every day, monitoring Facebook will be less necessary. I realize this is time-consuming, but until it takes precedence over other, probably also valuable things, the situation is unlikely to change.