OVERVIEW
This primer is designed for parents and other citizens who are concerned about the
quality of education in America. The future of our children depends in large part on their
education. And the future of America, in a turbulent world, also depends in large part on the
quality and financing of American education.
The ongoing and accelerating development of technology in most fields – medicine,
warfare, computers, economic production, communications – offers all of us a higher material
standard of living, but at the price of a world of daunting complexity.
To cope effectively with the many choices and problems of today and tomorrow, and for
society to identify and manage successfully the benefits and risks in major areas of policy and
subcultures, individuals will require a very high quality of education.
Lacking high quality education, society may be increasingly dominated by the few, and
these few may have inadequate competence and values. Their leadership will thus be
questionable, yet the rest of society will be poorly equipped to question them. History
suggests that a contributing cause for the decline and collapse of some empires and nations may
have been the weakness of their education systems, compounded by the incompetence of their
leaders. More recent examples are the incompetenceof both leaders and citizens in the great
Western democracies in the 1920s and 1930s which led to the Great Depression and World War
II.
American education today has many important strengths. These include many excellent,
dedicated teachers, administrators, librarians, and support staff; a greater range of educational
choices for most than in many other nations; a sufficiency of actual or potential resources for
better education; and democratic traditions and procedures that give parents, other citizens, and
the media a high degree of open access to the policies and operations of educational
organizations.
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But along with these strengths are weaknesses that demand attention. Both the strengths
and the weaknesses depend on many factors. These factors vary from system to system, from
school to school, and even from classroom to classroom.
Recently, public and private advocates have stressed the need to improve our weak
science and math education, in order to remain economically competitive with foreign nations.
We agree on this need, but we believe that three other weaknesses are equally, if not more,
important: weaknesses in developing early childhood readiness for school, weakness in
literacy, and weakness in preparing students for civic responsibility.
In a democracy, citizens and parents have the ultimate responsibility for public policies,
including the scope and quality of education and the schools’ civic mission. At the same time
education, as actually conducted in this country, is a very complex process, which needs the best
efforts of professional educators and of researchers on education. As a practical matter, progress
in education depends on cooperation among all the concerned groups.
This primer is intended to help in the exercise of civic responsibility for education. It is
not a scholarly thesis, dissertation, or research report. Its practical value can perhaps be judged
by its contents, and by the appendix which describes the nine persons who drafted it and the
many and varied outside experts whose comments on the draft were taken into account before
publication, a process which took over three years.
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THE BASICS (Parts 1 through 5)
Part 1: What are the three components of education and what are its five goals?
Education is the development of students’ skills, knowledge, and character. These three
components are produced by schooling and other activities. “Character” refers to an individual’s
attitudes and values, which are important for personal well-being and good citizenship.
Education should include the whole person, not just academic proficiency, and should moderate
any innate aggressiveness.
The five major goals which justify spending time and money on education are:
(a) Productivity: To help develop knowledge and skills for work in order to earn a
living;
(b) Identity: To foster bonds and transmit knowledge needed to support responsible
citizenship;
(c) Socialization: To provide a basis for successful participatory relationships within
families, schools, communities and other groups;
(d) Perspective: To preserve some of the beneficial knowledge and skills from the
experience of the past, thus “transmitting the cultural inheritance” and providing a data base to
help with problems affecting the individual and society;
(e) Maturity: To enable the individual to engage in effective personal planning and
decision making, based on available information with regard to health, finances, and other major
concerns, and to support the responsible and effective pursuit of happiness for self and for others
in an increasingly complex and volatile world.
The most important knowledge needed to support these five goals is knowledge of the
real world, both natural and social, as it was, is, and may become. The most important skills
needed to support these goals are reading and critical thinking. Critical thinking requires that
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students develop not only analytic skills but also enough personal self-reliance to resist peer
pressure and similar manifestations of conventional wisdom and herd behavior. Critical thinking
also requires that students be made aware that words are symbols which may refer to very
specific or to very general things, and which also may be used to stimulate emotions or actions.
This awareness should include the limitations of stereotypes.
Part 2: What are the main elements of quality in education?
(a) Effective parental involvement, starting in early childhood. When this is missing,
some kind of family or community substitute may be an alternative.
(b) Full professionalism for teachers, in status and compensation, reasonably
comparable to other learned professions that play an important role in the wellbeing
of society.
(c) Effective learning of basic skills, particularly to reach a sufficiently high degree
of literacy to function productively and responsibly in a complex and competitive
democratic society.
(d) Effective learning of basic knowledge, particularly the natural and social sciences
and all the major aspects of history, presented as objectively as possible, to
understand the world in which the student lives.
(e) Academic programs, including the analysis of role models drawn from history,
literature, or other sources, that develop character education and civic
responsibility.
(f) Adequate preparation to meet the risks, opportunities, and uncertainties of a large,
interdependent, and volatile society.
(g) Adequate and reliable financing for all of the above.
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Part 3: What six kinds of curricular subjects should students learn?
The development of knowledge and skills is traditionally the task of schools, and the
kinds of skills and knowledge that schools provide is largely determined by the curriculum. (The
development of “character education” should be shared by the home, the school, and other
institutions.)
A complete curriculum has six major parts, all of which are essential:
(a) Reading and other language skills, such as effective writing and speaking. These
are basic to all education and are generally essential for success in life. An
important tool to develop literacy is the humanities, particularly fiction and
biography, carefully selected for both intrinsic value and reading pleasure,
without censorship by special interest groups. Class discussions and homework
essays based on such books also contribute to character education, by helping
students strike a better balance between the popular or celebrity culture and a
more critical evaluation of possible role models. Well-written stories about
historical characters are also excellent material for critical thinking and civic
responsibility. In an increasingly globalized world, literature can also improve
awareness of the way of life in other times and places.
(b) Mathematics, to the extent needed for effective living and for occupational
advancement.
(c) The sciences, both natural and social, including the scientific method.
(d) History and civics as needed for effective civic participation in a modern
democracy, and for the assimilation of immigrants. (For details see Appendix A.)
(e) Subjects such as music, art, and sports for developing teamwork, self-discipline,
creativity, personal depth and self-confidence. Some students, if they do well in
these subjects, may be motivated to do better in more academic subjects.
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(f) Life skills subjects, especially managing personal health and finances. Some of
these subjects, such as driver education, may be electives, either because they can
be handled by families or because educational resources are limited. For an
outline of what the life skills of health management and money management
might cover, see Appendix B.
Curricula should be sequential: in order for the student to reach the more advanced
levels of a subject, the student must have mastered the more basic levels.
Finally, the scope and content of the curriculum should be clear. Therefore, if a
curriculum is to include a category described as “social studies”, it should clearly specify - -
to students, parents, and the public - - exactly which subjects are included in this category.
Part 4: Who educates (parents, teachers, peers, media)_?
All of these have important roles in educating the child, but the first and most important
is the parents’ role which begins at birth. Talking to the child and encouraging responses, with
pauses and smiles, helps develop vocabulary and the social skills of interacting positively with
others. Reliable research makes clear that if the child is to get a good start on that most vital of
subjects – reading – the child must see the parents often reading newspapers, books, and
magazines. Also, parents must read to the child, and the child should hear parents discuss what
was read.
Today many parents must leave children in child-care centers. These centers vary
greatly in their ability to continue the education of the child. Their first function is to provide a
safe and peaceful place for the children. But they should also provide kinds of guided play that
involve numbers, letters, words and polite behavior. Some states now recognize the importance
of better child-care centers in early childhood development. Parents might encourage these
governmental efforts, and consider making unannounced visits to these centers. Just as weak K9
12 education hurts our colleges by diverting their efforts into remedial education, so does weak
early childhood readiness degrade K-12 education.
After the child enters school, the responsibility of parents is not transferred to teachers, it
is shared. Reading at home with discussions should continue. Parents naturally like to believe
their children are doing well in school, but they need an accurate picture when improvement is
called for, through report cards that they must read and sign, and through required conferences
with teachers, usually involving the student as well.
Parents are responsible for seeing that homework is done, that there are good conditions
at home for developing effective study habits and that children learn to organize their time.
(Parents who cannot help with homework due to language barriers or because they work in the
evening when homework is done may be able to find help from neighbors or other community
resources). Parents and teachers also have important responsibilities in the area of character
education – values, ethics, and attitudes – especially in helping children develop responsible
conduct and respect for others. Naturally parents have the primary responsibility for the health
of their children.
The roles of parents and teachers involve the question of “home schooling”. This is of
two kinds: as a substitute for school, and as a supplement to school. Within each kind there
is great variety, partly dependent on the quality of the school and on the capabilities of the
parents. Franklin Roosevelt was home-schooled to the age of 14, but his family provided tutors.
Other presidents have done well with little formal schooling. When home schooling is a
substitute for school, it may result in a limited or single-viewpoint education. Therefore, state
education departments should provide standards and assistance to parents who home-school,
particularly with curriculum outlines and tests, since society has a strong interest that education,
whether at home or school, be successful.
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For most families, home schooling will be of the supplemental kind, including home
discussions, chores, and entertainment and travel with important educational values.
For suggestions on how schools might assist in preparing parents to support education
more effectively, see Appendix G.
The role of teachers in education is of course pivotal. They are in the front lines of
protecting and hopefully advancing our civilization. Among other things, teachers are often
expected to remedy, as best they can, the shortcomings of parents.
Successful teaching depends on teachers who love children, love learning, and are good
role models. It also depends on effective recruitment and retention of teachers. Good
recruitment means finding teachers who know the subjects to be taught and know how to
teach. Both are essential. Since teaching seldom offers great rewards of money or fame, it is
important not to deter interested applicants. Unfortunately, some technical certification
requirements for time-consuming courses in pedagogy are of questionable relevance to teaching
effectiveness and discourage very promising applicants. These may include persons who have
retired from significant careers, are a valuable educational resource, and would enjoy teaching.
Retention of teachers depends on pay, benefits, and working conditions. The latter
include class size, resources such as textbooks and other things, and whether teachers have truly
professional and supportive relations with parents, principals and headquarters staffs. Even if
bad working conditions do not cause a teacher to quit, they are likely to impair his or her
motivation to teach. According to a recent study by the National Education Association, half of
the new teachers will quit within 5 years; the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides similar
information (Washington Post, May 9, 2006). This rate of attrition seems excessive.
In addition to teachers, many schools provide school nurses and school counselors.
These professionals deal with a variety of health matters that can affect education, including
mental, social, and emotional problems, and provide guidance to students about college and
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employment decisions. The value of quality services in these areas is obvious. They can
improve education by giving individual attention to the problems of students, and thus should be
able to reduce the nation’s excessive drop-out rate, recently reported to average 30%. However,
the scope and quality of counseling services vary greatly from place to place.
Others who educate include a wide variety: other students (“peer pressure”), coaches,
neighbors, relatives and friends; the entertainment media (TV, movies, the internet, video games,
popular music, etc.); organized groups such as scouts and churches; and libraries, books and the
news media. Some of these are inevitable and probably beneficial. But suggestible youths may
be dangerously affected if they are exposed to entertainment heavily loaded with violence, sex,
gang values and contempt for women, or to peer pressure for crime or substance abuse.
Therefore parents and teachers should be aware of the “others” affecting students, and counteract
harmful ones by substitutions and by encouraging the development of students’ critical
capacities.
Finally, those who educate must to a large extent be those who motivate. Children, like
adults, are motivated by desires, fears, and interests. Subjects that are interesting, or presented in
an interesting way, attract attention, study and learning. The desires of a student for recognition
for success, whether measured against peers or against one’s previous performance, is a powerful
motivator if recognition is skillfully applied. Similarly, fear of disapproval by peers, or failure, if
the fear is real but not severe enough to cause hopelessness, is sometimes an effective motivation
for increased effort. Those who educate successfully have used or relied on one or more of these
motivations.
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Part 5: Who controls education (administrators, politicians, others)?
Many officials and many organizations share some degree of control over education,
although direct control is chiefly exercised by or through local school systems.
From a legal standpoint, the states have basic control over education, because local
governments are subject to state control, except to the extent that (a) states and local authorities
must abide by the federal Constitution, and (b) that they choose to accept conditions attached to
grants of federal money.
Traditionally most responsibility for education has been assigned by states to local
governments and their school systems. However, with today’s ever-increasing movement of
persons, trade, and information across both state and national borders, the trend is toward more
exercise of both state and national powers to help assure that states, and the nation as a whole, do
not fall behind other states and other nations.
As just indicated, Congress has some control by funding certain education activities and
by setting conditions for obtaining federal funds, and the Department of Education has some
control by administering the laws passed by Congress.
The states have overall power over local (city or county) governments and their public
school systems, but are chiefly involved in helping to fund them and in setting standards. In
many states the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board of Education, and their staffs
have important functions in education.
City and county governments approve budgets for local school systems and support
them, chiefly by property taxes, but usually leave the operation of schools to the school system
management, consisting of a School Board, a School Superintendent, and their assistants.
School Boards are either elected or appointed. In most places, acting like a board of
directors of a corporation, they hire a School Superintendent to run the system, and they have
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general authority over the system’s policies, operations, textbooks and reading lists. This
authority is often exercised without collaboration with teachers.
The School Superintendent is the executive who runs the system, with assistance from
the school system’s headquarters staff or the “bureaucracy”. This work includes personnel
matters such as hiring, promoting, and assigning teachers, principals and others. It also includes
supervising the curriculum, instruction, and procuring of textbooks and other materials,
construction and maintenance of buildings, providing school bus service, and many other
matters. In large systems some of these functions may be delegated to area authorities.
The system headquarters staff assists the superintendent. Most school systems are
small. But large systems may have a large headquarters staff, which may exercise considerable
actual control over education, even though it is subject to the superintendent. Given the large
number and variety of matters that can claim the attention of the superintendent, a major part of
his or her functions must necessarily be delegated to others. Headquarters staffs, like all the
other players in education, are subject to criticism. They have been criticized on several
grounds: that they are too large and costly in relation to the size of the teaching staffs; that they
interfere with the work of teachers in ways that impair education; and that they serve as a place
to which the system can transfer persons whose work in schools was substandard. The validity
of such criticisms, and the questions of what can be done about them, may obviously vary from
system to system.
School principals (and in large schools department heads) have a unique role in helping
to control education, because they come in closer contact with teachers than do headquarters
personnel. Principals should understand both the practical business of teaching, and the arts of
leadership among professionals and students. While the authority of principals varies from place
to place, they should have an important role in building a strong group of teachers: in
recruitment, selection, motivation, retention, re-assignment, and/or departure of teachers. In
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addition, they can foster supportive relationships with the community: parents, students,
business, labor and professional groups, news media, and various parts of government, which all
can affect the school’s success.
Charter schools are public schools that are independently managed. Thus they are
largely free from control by the headquarters bureaucracy of a school system. However, they are
funded by the system and are expected to meet standards set by the state. They are organized by
citizens who are dissatisfied with local schools, and are chartered as nonprofits by local school
boards, or in some states by colleges or other institutions. Some charter schools have worked
well and some have not. Charter schools are also referred to in Part 8, in discussing various
forms of school choice.
The courts exercise some control over education, particularly in interpreting and
applying legislation affecting education and in resolving various issues about equal treatment in
education.
Teachers unions exercise considerable control over education, since they represent
teachers who, of course, are major players in education. These unions are especially concerned
with school budgets, the pay, benefits, and working conditions of teachers, and any proposals
that might divert education funding away from public schools. Unions are also concerned with
teachers’ job tenure. Generally speaking, public school teachers can be removed only for cause,
as demonstrated after prescribed procedures, and “cause” in many places does not include
incompetence. However, there are other possible remedies for incompetence, such as further
training or reassignment. Unions also may support strict certification laws, which protect
teachers by reducing the number of applicants for teaching jobs. Thus unions, although
necessary to protect their members, may give less attention to the interests of other stakeholders
in education, arguably including the students.
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Vendors of textbooks, computers, and other items purchased by schools may have
limited control of education, by the way their products are designed, and by persuading schools
to purchase the particular kinds of materials that they sell.
In addition, business groups such as the Business Roundtables for Education,
neighborhood groups such as PTAs, and various civic, political, scientific, religious, and other
groups may exercise some control, or at least influence, on education.
Finally, as is natural in a democracy, the citizenry has ultimate control of education, as
over other areas of public policy, but the effective exercise of this control requires much effort.
THE PROBLEMS (Parts 6 through 9)
Part 6: What are the greatest obstacles to quality in education?
The following list of obstacles to quality is not necessarily in the order of their
importance. It is checklist, and only a checklist, for use in evaluating the quality of education in
a particular class, school, system, or larger entity.
(a) Insufficient competence or insufficient authority in teachers or in principals, even
to maintain discipline. (Incompetence can often be alleviated by proper training.
An insufficiency of authority that impedes quality work may be due to legal,
administrative, political, or bureaucratic causes).
(b) Insufficient emphasis on student writing, especially in classes that are too large.
(c) Cheating. (Cheating may be aggravated by “teaching to the test” in preparing for
standardized tests).
(d) Excessive use of, or poor quality, audio-visual materials.
(e) Automatic promotions and mainstreaming of children who disrupt classes or
require teachers to divert excessive attention away from the rest of the class.
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(f) Student intimidation, including bullying, coupled with a lack of effective student
government.
(g) The need of public schools for some alternative to selective admission and
retention that is available to private schools.
(h) Bad outside influences on children, including excessive or improper TV,
antisocial subcultures of “success”, and gangs.
(i) Bad textbooks; poor quality, “dumbed-down”, or not enough for each student.
(j) Inadequate funding. Salaries are the biggest part of most school budgets,
followed by technology, especially computers, which increase access to
information but do little to develop critical thinking.
(k) Mis-allocation of funding, especially to excessive headquarters bureaucracies and
to overemphasized spectator sports.
(l) Substandard administration, including administration that interferes with quality
teaching.
(m) Loss or absence of a required “core” curriculum that covers all the basic parts of a
quality education, including the development of critical thinking.
(n) The educational philosophy or attitude that children should be taught only the
things that they like to learn.
(o) The presence of “turf” attitudes by some of the players in education, to the extent
it may interfere with cooperation and progress toward quality education.
(p) Failure to timely provide adequate analysis, service, and funding to meet the
needs of handicapped children for special education.
(q) Failure to identify and correct the causes of lagging academic performance by
minority children, including inadequate educational services, insufficient home
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support, negative peer pressure by students who discourage academic effort by
their classmates, and social and cultural factors that delay effective assimilation.
(r) Failure to recognize and to adequately prepare the increasing percentage of
students who will need post-secondary education to cope with an increasingly
competitive world.
(s) Failure to accurately measure the high school dropout rate, reportedly 30% as a
national average (TIME, 4/17/06, pp. 30-40), and failure to determine its causes
and take actions to reduce the rate.
Two warnings: this list is not necessarily complete; there are other possible obstacles to
quality education: for example, community attitudes that do not sufficiently understand or
support quality education. Secondly, even when a particular obstacle is found to be present in a
school or system, it may be wise not to overcorrect if that may cause other problems.
Part 7: What are the best ways to improve the quality of education?
(a) Update the relationships between classroom teachers and headquarters staffs to
improve teamwork and morale, and to take better account of modern conditions.
Bright and motivated young women are no longer limited to careers in nursing or
teaching. To attract and to retain good teachers of either gender in today’s
competitive world requires greater efforts, including overall compensation,
professional status and recognition, and job satisfaction. (See in this connection
the high attrition rate among teachers noted under Part 4, above.) At the same
time, both teachers and students are confronted with increasing complexity and
volatility in society and in technology. This requires many new kinds of
specialized efforts, which in turn call for effective headquarters staffing.
Good teamwork between front-line personnel and headquarters is
important in any large organization. Thus it seems vital that headquarters staffs
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establish and maintain good, cooperative relations with classroom teachers—
relations involving two-way discourse, two-way support, and mutual respect.
Teachers should generally feel that they have sufficient freedom in their
classrooms to teach effectively. Have an overall policy of what should be taught,
but give the faculty the freedom and the means to carry it out. In order to do this,
more money may be needed for classrooms, plus more realism and flexibility in
restrictions and rules. Subject to review, teachers must be able to control student
behavior and the academic demands placed on the students. (See also problems
with recruitment and retention of teachers as discussed under Part 4, above.)
(b) Parents must become more involved in academic and ethical education. They
must set a moral tone related to that of the school. They should help their
children enjoy learning for its own sake, as well as for future financial advantage.
Parents should know what and why their children are learning, should be involved
in school activities, and should become an influence on education. Serious
attention should be given to parenting education. Disadvantaged parents need
special attention starting as early as at the time children are born. Hospital
personnel, social workers, the clergy, and outreach agents of schools and Head
Start should be mobilized to acquaint these parents with their importance to
education as described in Part 4 above. Similar contacts should be made with
providers of child-care for pre-school children, since they share the
responsibilities and opportunities of parents. See also Appendix G.
(c) The effectiveness of teachers and principals should be enhanced by the following:
better compensation; improved community status; and a stronger preparation for
excellence in both teachers and principals that includes (i) a solid, liberal-arts
group of college courses in the sciences, history, and public and personal
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concerns, before these future professionals are immersed in specialized studies,
and (ii) special training for principals in the skills of leading other professionals,
such as the techniques of good administration and of fostering collegiality,
teamwork, and esprit de corps.
(d) Student participation and leadership are important elements in improving
education. If it is made popular to study, people will study. This has been proven
in a number of schools and colleges in this and other countries. Studying can be
encouraged by old-fashioned or updated spelling bees and by contests that are
variations on knowledge-based TV programs. If students feel some recognition
for their educational efforts because they see it affects their present and future,
they will accept standards that improve discipline, learning and general interest in
learning.
(e) Supporters can be found to help improve schools. Newspapers have a strong
interest in better literacy. Realtors have a natural interest in communities with
good schools. Businesses have a natural interest in competent employees. And
public officials, especially in law enforcement, have a natural interest in
encouraging responsible citizenship.
(f) Finally, parents and other interested citizens can join together to evaluate their
schools using the checklist of “obstacles” in Part 6 and then develop any
necessary and appropriate response.
Part 8: What are the major issues in education policy?
(a) Class size;
(b) Financing (amounts, sources, and allocations);
(c) Balancing excellence and equality;
(d) Ideology: evolution, sex education, etc.;
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(e) Teacher certification and compensation;
(f) Accountability, standards, and testing;
(g) Parental and community involvement;
(h) Administration and professionalism;
(i) Questionable innovations;
(j) Student empowerment;
(k) School choice (vouchers, charter schools, etc.);
(l) The No Child Left Behind Act.
(m) Regional Versus Local Schools.
This list does not include all aspects of education which may be subject to major dispute. For
example we do not discuss current controversies about whether big city schools should be
controlled by the school board or the mayor, whether our schools should borrow certain ideas
from other countries, whether middle schools should be more like elementary or more like high
schools, or whether modern curriculums sometimes tend to be “a mile wide and an inch deep.”
Also, this list is partly a kind of checklist. It is not an exhaustive, definitive treatment of
the issues discussed below. But it is a useful introduction to most of the main issues in American
education. Obviously, some of the following issues are not a problem in all schools.
(a) CLASS SIZE: Smaller classes are a vital factor in the quality of education. (A large
part of the attraction of private schools is that they often have much smaller classes.) Most of the
tasks in teaching—effectively monitoring the progress of each student, giving help to those who
need it, maintaining each student’s sense of participating in classroom activities and even
preserving order—are much more difficult if the class is too large. These factors apply at all
grade levels. Of course, reducing class size means more teachers will be required, which calls
for additional or at least re-allocated funding. Also, large classes can be improved by better
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teaching methods and by summer school, where teachers have smaller classes and less outside
interference. The conclusion seems clear: smaller class size is a priority.
(b) FINANCING: Public schools are financed almost entirely by taxes although some
may get funds from PTAs or commercial concessionaries. Private schools are generally financed
by tuition charges, plus endowment income or support from religious or other organizations.
School taxes are chiefly on real estate, and vary among localities. Local school taxes are
supplemented by state and federal grants.
A major issue about public schools funding arises from differences among counties and
cities in their ability to raise money: rich counties can raise more per student with a low tax rate
than can poor counties with a high one. This leads to lawsuits and efforts to have states give
more help to the poorer localities, or to have the federal government give more help to the poorer
states. The pro case for these efforts is fairness and upgrading the poorer school systems.
Opponents assert that each community should determine its own levels of school spending, be
encouraged to raise more money on its own, and expect less money in places with a lower cost of
living for teachers. The outcome is often some kind of compromise, which should help to
achieve more equal funding.
There are many other issues about financing schools. One is whether realty taxes should
be partly replaced by sales, income, or other taxes, or by bond issues, lottery earnings, or fees.
Another is the total level of spending and how the money should be divided between the
headquarters staff and the schools, or between academics and sports. These complex issues are
handled by school superintendents and their staffs, by school boards, and by various elected
officials, after getting views from the business community, teachers’ unions, PTAs, and parents
and citizens generally.
(c) BALANCING EXCELLENCE AND EQUALITY: This issue arises because
children do not all learn at the same speed, and because it is more difficult to teach a class
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effectively when there is a big difference among the students in learning progress. In such
situations teachers and schools are torn between excellence (helping all students, including the
brightest, to do their best), and equality (helping the slower students to keep up with the rest of
the class). Both are valid goals which somehow must be balanced.
This issue has taken two forms: disputes about track systems (in which there are fast,
average, and slow classes) and disputes about mainstreaming (in which students with serious
learning handicaps are placed in regular classes). While, as just noted, there is a good case for
some kind of track system (sometimes called “advanced placement” or an “honors program”),
some track systems have been properly criticized as too rigid. For example, a student who is
excellent in one subject but poor in all the rest should probably not be placed in a slow track for
everything. Similarly, a student who is slow but who may later improve – so-called “late
bloomers” – should be able to move to a faster track later. It is also important that any track
system be conducted so as to minimize damage to the self-esteem and morale of the slower
students; for example, by favoring comparisons with students at the same level, or with the
student’s own past results, rather then with the faster students; in addition, enrichment subjects
can help (see under curriculum, above). Educators should recognize that differences in
student achievement are sometimes based on differences in motivation rather than ability.
Mainstreaming refers to placing in regular classes a child with mental, emotional, or
physical disabilities of such a nature that the child (a) may disrupt or distract the rest of the class,
or (b) present the teachers with very difficult or time-consuming problems. Such children are
usually considered in need of “special education”, and they require experts on what is best for
the child and on how to work with parents and the child to this end. Some of these children can
be successfully included in regular classes if the teacher is provided with qualified specialized
helpers, and all students benefit from this experience. To deny that a child needs special
placement, if indeed this is the case, is unfair to the child and to other students.
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About 20% of American school budgets is said to be devoted to special education. Part
of this may be spent, at some schools, on children mistakenly classified as having mental
disability, when in fact their real problem is ignorance, which calls for remedial education. The
need for great care on this subject should be clear.
(d) IDEOLOGY: These issues often are about teaching evolution or some form of sex
education. Such disputes reflect deep-seated differences between traditional cultures and
modern approaches to these subjects. In various parts of the country, educators and citizens who
are familiar with the scientific and factual pros and cons support teaching these subjects. Parents
or others who oppose such teaching may request curriculum changes, or request that their
children be excused from such lessons, or seek alternative schooling, or seek to counterbalance
such lessons by training at home or in religious settings.
Other ideological issues of a more political nature may arise in various subjects,
particularly history, economics, and current affairs. Such disputes can be handled by
presenting the view of expert professionals together with dissenting views. Teachers should not
be discouraged from presenting their own views on these issues if this is part of a balanced
presentation. This approach can stimulate students’ thinking and make them aware that some
important matters are still unsettled, thus preparing them for responsible citizenship in a
democracy.
(e) TEACHER CERTIFICATION AND COMPENSATION: To recruit and retain
well-qualified teachers is essential to quality education. Most states require that teachers be
certified as qualified before employment in the public schools. In many places, certification
requires years of study in special schools of education emphasizing the history and philosophy of
education and the techniques and problems of classroom teaching, rather than emphasis on the
subject to be taught. This excludes from teaching persons with careers that gave them excellent
subject knowledge and good teaching skills (based on teaching in other situations), but lacking
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required credits from schools of education. Shortages of qualified teachers have generated
pressure to revise certification rules to admit such persons, based upon their experience, tests,
and perhaps a short course in school-based teaching.
To retain as well as to recruit good teachers several things are critical: adequate
compensation (salary, benefits, and retirement), an attractive and truly professional work
environment, class sizes that are not excessive, and community support by parents and citizens
who appreciate good teaching.
The compensation of teachers has long been far less than the average incomes of other
professions like law and medicine. Given political realities, the teaching profession can expect
only gradual improvement in compensation. Although teachers are attracted by other factors
(love of learning, love of children, job security, longer than average summer vacations), it is
important that compensation be adequate for a reasonable standard of living or else
teachers will leave for better paying work, or not choose teaching in the first place. The
compensation should also include benefits such as health insurance and pensions.
Efforts to increase teacher compensation through “merit pay” have usually been opposed
by teachers’ unions. They point to the risk of favoritism or political influence, and the difficulty
of evaluating teaching effectiveness accurately. Perhaps a carefully crafted form of peer review
or some objective form of measurement might alleviate these difficulties.
In most other professions, as well as in the career military and civil services, superior
performance is stimulated because it is a significant factor in recognition, advancement, and
increased compensation. A similar development in some public schools may be expected,
according to Edward J. McElroy, President of the American Federation of Teachers. In a letter
to the Washington Post of Sept. 22, 2007, he described as a “common misconception” that
teachers unions oppose performance pay for teachers. He added that some AFT local unions
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have helped develop local plans in which test scores are among several factors to consider on
how teachers should be compensated.
(f) ACCOUNTABILITY, STANDARDS, AND TESTING: This subject is clearly of
great importance, because it focuses on whether education is or is not producing good enough
results. Yet it is very contentious, especially on (a) what results should be required (standards),
(b) how to measure the results that are being produced (testing), and (c) what to do if results are
inadequate.
In 2001 Congress passed legislation to improve school accountability nationwide. This
federal law, the No Child Left Behind Act, discussed below as a separate issue, came on top of
efforts by several states to compel improvement in substandard schools operated by county and
city school systems. For example, in Maryland, statewide tests have been in use for many years,
and schools with consistently bad results that do not improve are subject to being taken over by
the state.
The standardized tests under the recent federal law and those used in statewide programs
have been criticized by parents and teachers as too severe and harmful, in that teachers are
pressured to shift efforts from good teaching to “teaching to the test.” These criticisms are
mostly aimed at the common multiple-choice or “objective” kind of tests, which may test skill in
test-taking as well as knowledge of the subject of the test. There is also criticism of essay-type
tests, which may better show a student’s understanding of the subject but which are timeconsuming
and difficult to grade accurately. The response to these criticisms is that some
testing is necessary – for example, good teachers often give informal quizzes on their own –
and that if standardized tests are not satisfactory, they should be revised rather than
eliminated. Perhaps the worst response, from the viewpoint of education quality, would be to
obtain improvements in test scores by simply making the tests easier for public relations
purposes.
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Even if accountability includes good standards and good testing, it may fail if testing
shows standards are not being met, but that nothing effective is being done to change this.
Actions to end substandard performance in schools and systems can be of two general types: the
carrot and the stick. The first means providing more money and attention to upgrading the
talent, facilities and leadership in substandard schools. The second may take several forms:
disciplining, transferring or terminating personnel; turning the school over to new or outside
managers, such as a for-profit education company that operates the school under contract; or
possibly some form of school choice that will subject the school to competition pressures.
But it should also be borne in mind that the failure of a school to meet established
standards may in some cases be partly due to community factors beyond the school’s control:
crime, drugs, gangs, poverty, slum housing, unemployment, and widespread family breakdown,
all perhaps aggravated by entertainment saturated with violence and sex. In such situations,
restoring quality education probably will need additional remedies from sectors outside of
education.
(g) PARENTAL AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: There is much uncertainty
on this issue. On the one hand school systems want parental and community support in helping
make education more effective, and also in helping obtain larger school budgets. On the other
hand, parental and community involvement sometimes takes a questioning or critical turn,
presenting problems for school personnel. That some involvement is unwelcome should not be
too surprising – educators, like police, transportation people, etc., have a “turf” tendency to
question the competence of critics who are assumed to lack experience in their fields.
There are two main pros for parental and community involvement: it is necessary to have
parental action in educating children (see Part 4 above), and it is necessary to have community
support for better schools. Parental cooperation should begin at the preschool level. Small
children who see their parents reading newspapers, books, and magazines every day are more
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likely to become good readers, which is essential for success in school and later in life. Parents
should also give proper attention to students’ health, homework, use of TV and other mass
media, grades, and conduct, and should meet with teachers and other school personnel from time
to time.
Another form of community involvement is frequently to invite outside speakers in the
classroom – lawyers and judges, doctors and nurses, engineers and businessmen and others,
including retirees, depending on the subject. This not only stimulates learning, it also builds
community support for the schools. Therefore schools should promote establishment of speaker
bureaus that will (a) present significant subjects including controversial ones, (b) hold the
students’ interest, and (c) present various sides of debatable subjects, including unpopular
positions.
While cooperation must come from families, pressure for school-wide or system-wide
improvements usually requires some organization, perhaps through a PTA or some other group.
Such groups can collect information, develop an agenda, and have representatives to deal with
school authorities or, if necessary, with elected officials or the voters. The value to education of
such efforts depends on the soundness of the agendas and the effectiveness with which they are
pursued.
The cons of parental involvement are (a) a tendency to assume things are okay, leading to
weak or absent involvement, and (b) misguided complaints. Thus, parents who are unhappy
about poor grades sometimes demand more lenient grading, instead of looking for ways to help
the student improve. The cons of community involvement also stem from dubious agendas; for
example, overzealous support for competitive school athletics at the expense of academics, or
indiscriminate objection to any and all standardized tests that are needed to find out how a school
measures on established standards.
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(h) ADMINISTRATION AND PROFESSIONALISM: In administration, one
recurrent issue is the performance of the school superintendent and his/her staff, and the relation
between the superintendent and the school board. Here, the pros and cons obviously depend on
the facts in each case. Another common issue, especially in large systems, is the size and value
of large bureaucracies at school system headquarters. Fair questions include whether the
growth of these staffs is at the expense of the teaching staffs, whether some headquarters
activities are really worthwhile, and whether some of these activities may actually interfere with
teaching. Again the pros and cons depend upon a careful review of the facts in a particular
system. Perhaps some headquarters activities common to several counties could be consolidated
or coordinated more efficiently at the state level. However, any such actions should allow for
local conditions. Also it would be wise to have a general policy that those who directly
supervise teachers usually have several years of successful teaching experience, plus some
training in management.
Issues about professionalism in education invite comparison with medicine, law, and
other professions, as contrasted to business and other occupations. Professions are generally
defined by (a) traditions, (b) laws, (c) knowledge and skills for practicing the profession, (d) peer
enforcement of standards of competence and ethics, and (e) an obligation to temper the pursuit of
personal gain by serving others or serving the public at large. The teaching profession, like the
clergy, rates well on most of these criteria.
Issues of teacher professionalism are chiefly related to inadequate compensation and to
the weakness in peer enforcement of competence. On compensation, the pros and cons are
fairly plain: more money would help support pride in teaching, even though wealth is usually
not a priority for a teaching career. As for peer enforcement of standards, no profession enjoys
this unpleasant task, but a profession’s willingness to discipline its own members if they fall
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below standards is important, both in maintaining the standards and in gaining the public’s
respect for the profession.
(i) QUESTIONABLE INNOVATIONS: The teaching profession is not the only one to
be afflicted with fads and fashions – there was a time when doctors routinely recommended that
all children have tonsillectomies. But the list of questionable fashions in teaching is fairly long:
“new math”, the “whole language” method to teach reading; unstructured classrooms, team
teaching, excessively or exclusively bilingual education, injurious or indiscriminate use of
computers or other devices, etc. Why teaching fads come and go may be something of a
mystery – perhaps someone has done a good selling job on persons in authority – but fads are
seldom a good substitute for time-tested methods of teaching important subjects. The pro of
innovations is that sometimes they offer real progress, and they may keep interest alive in some
educational circles. The con is that they are distracting and waste precious classroom time.
In addition to fads, schools sometimes experience “pendulum swings”. Examples:
math and science, up after Sputnik, then neglected, now up due to global competition; character
education, long rejected, then oversold, now apparently fading. The answer may be more
stability, based on better perspectives, to minimize the waste of chasing “the next big thing”.
None of the foregoing should be read as against changes based on research and
observation. Progress often requires some innovation, and education needs progress. The best
hope for changes that will be successful is to apply good judgment, fortified by experience,
research, a variety of perspectives, and a realization that changing cultures, in education as in
other fields, is sometimes a tricky business.
(j) STUDENT EMPOWERMENT: This issue relates to school morale, discipline,
character education, and citizenship training. These largely depend on the school as an effective
community: -- a community that enhances the maturity and confidence of students, and
strengthens society at large.
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While conditions vary from school to school, student participation in decision-making on
non-academic matters, starting at about the sixth grade, works in many schools. It requires some
form of student government, with regular elections by each class or grade, and regular meetings
with defined functions. As in the case of adult governments, decisions may be either general or
specific. General matters, such as some aspects of extra-curricular activities or school dress or
decorum, go to a student council. Particular cases, such as bullying or other bad behavior, go to
a student court or committee. School faculty or administrators will participate in, or at least
monitor, these student activities, but will avoid the appearance of dominating them, even though
the school will retain ultimate authority and responsibility on most matters. Of course, student
government is only effective if the students perceived it to have power.
The pros of student participation have been noted above. The cons are a fear of loss of
control by school authorities, or other harms. But education in a democracy should provide
student experience in orderly discussion and decision-making, and in the selection, practice, and
evaluation of leadership. An elected and admired student government is an excellent asset
against bullying, harassment, and racial or ethnic discord.
(k) SCHOOL CHOICE: The drive for some kind of school choice (vouchers, charter
schools funded by taxes but independently administered, or easy transfers between schools)
arises from (a) dissatisfaction with inadequate schools, (b) the right of parents to choose another
school they can afford, if necessary by moving, and (c) a belief that competition among schools
is good. Opposition to school choice is based on (a) the belief that inadequate schools should be
improved rather than being abandoned by some students, (b) the view that choice by means of
vouchers will encourage attendance at religious schools and thus erode the separation of church
and state, (c) the view that helping some students to leave an inadequate school is unfair to the
students who remain there, (d) the belief that school choice is disruptive and (e) that it diverts
needed funds from public schools. Both sides have reasonable arguments. Which side is better
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seems to depend largely on the specifics of a particular situation, a particular school, or a
particular proposal.
(l) THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT: This law, passed by Congress in 2001,
has become controversial. Despite its sweeping title, its goals are limited. It is aimed at public
schools whose students do poorly in major subjects. It seeks to improve these schools through
various means such as tests, funding controls, and giving students the right to transfer to better
schools in the same system.
The Act has two important pros and several cons. It recognizes that the nation has
many substandard schools, damaging students, the economy, and communities. The Act also
recognizes that public schools have some of the characteristics of a monopoly, thus tending to
lag in quality and value unless there is outside intervention.
But experience under the Act has generated several cons. First, it is asserted that the Act
is underfunded. Second, the Act disregards the fact that educational progress does not depend
solely on the quality of a school’s efforts. There are great differences among schools in the
socio-economic character of their students’ family and community situation. Some live with
poverty, broken homes, poorly educated parents, and a youth culture of gangs, drugs, and junk
entertainment. Also, some schools have more students who are difficult to educate, such as those
who do not speak English, and ones who need special education. Third, in order to measure
progress, many states rely heavily on standardized tests (multiple-choice, true-false, matching,
etc.). Many, perhaps most, teachers feel pressured to teach only the facts likely to get better
scores. This can lead to rote learning and to neglecting some aspects of a subject. It also may
crowd out useful essay-type tests. While the value of standardized tests is usually recognized,
the objection is to overemphasis on them. Fourth, and very important from a national
viewpoint, the Act only tests English, math and science. It thus omits subjects essential for
responsible citizenship in a democracy, particularly history and civics. This omission is not
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justified by varying interpretations of history; such variations can foster maturity by presenting
each side. Citizens should consider whether young voters should grow up without the data-bank
of experience that history affords. Fifth, it is asserted that the Act’s transfer rights have created
unforeseen problems for both the schools involved in transfers. Sixth, it has also been asserted
that the Act, by concentrating school efforts on poorly performing students, causes neglect of the
gifted students, and that the Act may tend to create a caste system, in which poor students get
drilled to improve test scores, while schools in affluent, well-educated areas provide education
that qualifies students for advancement.
These criticisms of the No Child Left Behind Act do not apply to all schools. With more
time, money, efforts, leadership, and a spirit of open and collegial cooperation, including a
primary focus on upgrading the performance of teachers and principals, the No Child Left
Behind Act can develop into an important plus in American education.
It has recently been suggested that the Act be extended to cover high schools.
Consideration of that idea might be combined with a review of the above pros and cons.
(m) REGIONAL VERSUS LOCAL SCHOOLS: In the late 70’s and 80’s, regional
schools became all the rage. 2 or 3 local schools were often merged into a large school of 2000
to 4000 students. This saved money on administration, staff, the number of teachers,
purchasing, sports, transportation, and maintenance. Also, larger schools can offer a greater
variety of courses and course-components, and a greater choice of classes to fit slow, average,
and fast learners. But in time drawbacks appeared: classes were larger, rules and regulations
were imposed impersonally (“zero tolerance” and its often counter-productive results), the
ability of teachers to make sensitive judgments about individual students was decreased, local
pride and interest in the schools diminished, parental authority and parental influence on schools
weakened, and more children became isolated, disgruntled and neglected (shootings at schools
like Columbine were a symptom). Students had less personal contact with adults, bullying
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increased, the best teachers tended to work only with the best students, and both discipline and
academics suffered.
In recent years many states have reverted to local, smaller schools because of the
problems with larger regional schools. However, many of the latter still exist and occasionally
new ones are built.
To the extent that it may be possible to have some of the advantages of big schools in
smaller local schools, and to have advantages of smaller ones in bigger ones, there are obvious
challenges to school leadership and to school system leaders and management.
Part 9: How can parents and other citizens improve education? The answer to this question
has two parts: which improvements should be chosen for priority, and how can they be
achieved.
A. Which improvements should be given priority? This depends in turn, upon two
things: the relative merits of various improvements, and the relative acceptability of various
improvements to decision-makers and to those parts of the public which influence them.
The merits are the comparative costs and benefits of various improvements, and
acceptability is the comparative degree of support or opposition to be expected from the public
and leaders.
Parts 6 and 7 of this primer should help directly in identifying priority improvements for
a particular school or system, and the rest of this primer also provides important factors to
consider.
B. How can educational improvements be achieved?
(a) The concerned parent and citizen can have some effect acting alone, for example by
letters to school officials, newspapers, and legislators, and of course by voting and encouraging
others to vote. But it is usually more effective to work with others: friends, other parents,
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PTAs, neighbors, etc. If necessary, organize a small civic committee to work for better
education.
(b) Citizens and parents should be able to list – clearly and with specific illustrations –
the benefits of the improvements they seek and the detriments of existing conditions. They also
should be prepared to discuss methods of meeting the costs and other problems which the desired
improvements may involve.
(c) Parents and citizens should identify and coordinate with allies in working for better
education. These include newspapers, businesses, chambers of commerce, some political
leaders, and some education professionals. But in addition, the social, economic and quality-oflife
benefits of better education might be brought to the attention of churches, civic groups, and
nonprofit agencies that work to assist the disadvantaged and handicapped. Society as a whole
benefits from better education.
(d) Thought and attention should be given to possible opposition groups. Sometimes
opponents can be led to recognize that the desired improvements will do more good than harm.
The views of opponents should be given reasonable consideration, but their opposition should
not override the interests of the general public. Taxpayers worried about the cost of
improvements can be reassured by sound methods of funding and cost control, and by pointing
out that the benefits of improvements will actually make them a bargain, and to oppose this
would be “penny-wise and pound-foolish”. Sometimes it helps to show that similar
improvements are in effect in other schools with good results.
(e) A careful strategic plan should be developed, one which would withstand public
scrutiny. It should identify and stress the desired improvement’s good features. It should, of
course, include proper timing and organization so that its messages are heard, understood, and
remembered. And it should be flexible enough to make adjustments as they may be needed.
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(f) Finally, parents and citizens should not overlook the value of justified passion in
obtaining improvements. Human nature and human institutions being what they are, actual
examples of waste, stupidity, destructive values, inadequate standards or other negatives may not
be hard to find, and can sometimes be useful and legitimate tools to stimulate action. History
shows that reforms and progress in many fields occurred partly because of well-documented and
well-publicized muckraking. Considering that the objectives of educational improvement could
hardly be more important – the future of the child, the community, and the nation – it is both
natural and necessary that advocates of improvement should tap into strong feelings, both to
fortify their own efforts and to enlist support from others.
There is however, some need for caution: passion is a strong medicine that can backfire.
If it is excessive, or if its target is defensible, it may stimulate opposition, or even create division
among those favoring improvement. For these reasons, advocates of school improvement may
be well advised to be alert to the risk that they might be identified with some ideological,
political, sectarian, commercial, cultural, or other special-interest group.
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APPENDIX A – SUGGESTED CONTENTS OF HISTORY AND CIVICS CURRICULUM
I. The 3 purposes of teaching history are (a) to provide a basis for personal identification
with the community and the nation, (b) to introduce students to stories about events and persons
of great interest, including good role models and some persons who became famous in one field
and then were mistakenly assumed to be experts in another field, and (c) to provide a vital data
bank for the exercise of responsible democratic citizenship by exploring the causes and
circumstances of major events, plus their after-effects.
In some societies, history may be taught so as to re-ignite ancient grievances. In others, it
may be taught selectively to foster national pride. But in today’s complex world, including
information of varying reliability on the Internet, responsible citizenship and national pride can
best be fostered by accurate history, including our nation’s success in making major corrections
so as to better approach the ideals of our founders.
II. History should not be perceived by students as a long list of dates to be memorized.
Instead, to the maximum practicable extent, it should include:
In-depth, factual United States history, to the present time, and regional and local history;
In-depth, factual World History, beginning with pre-history;
Chronological markers (dates) to the extent needed to make history coherent, so that
relationships between various developments, and their causes and effects, can be understood;
History of knowledge and belief, (philosophy, religion, science, and technology);
Major historical events, including their causes and effects, and important historical
persons, including their accomplishments, failures, and the conditions which they faced;
History and functions of social organizations (families, tribes, clans, feudal arrangements,
nations, empires, business firms, guilds, unions, clubs, villages, work, play, political, religious,
and other groups); and
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History and functions of cultural sectors (economic, military, educational, medical,
recreational, spiritual).
History should also include current history, with emphasis on the past background and
future significance of current issues.
There are some excellent documentaries and movies, some biographical and some eventfocussed,
available on cassettes or DVDs, which can stimulate interest in teaching history. Use
of them might be accompanied by a well-planned, critical classroom discussion of their
accuracy, context, and significance.
III. Civics Should Include:
Levels of government, separation of powers, how legislation is developed, how positions
are filled, and the legal basis for government (constitutions, laws, court and administrative
decisions, and agency and executive regulations).
Nominating, campaigning, and procedures for primary, general, and special elections;
initiatives, referenda, and recall;
The United States Constitution and its amendments, including their history, structure,
major concepts, and impact on American life.
Individual rights and responsibilities (paying taxes, serving on juries and in the military,
assisting in law enforcement, voting after studying candidates and issues);
Organization and functions of political parties and interest groups;
Status of persons: (minors, citizens, immigrants, lawful and unauthorized visitors,
persons declared incompetent, and convicted persons); and
Information resources for active citizenship: libraries, academics, news media, and open
records and open meetings laws.
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APPENDIX B – LIFE SKILLS FOR HEALTH MANAGEMENT AND FOR MONEY
MANAGEMENT – SUGGESTED CURRICULUM ELEMENTS
Note: These two subjects are intended to help the student cope with two of the most
serious problems of adult life. Moreover, effective education on these two subjects should prove
of great help to our nation. As doctors and nurses know, patients often develop serious illnesses
for lack of adequate health-related knowledge, which results in heavy financial burdens on all
concerned, including taxpayers and businesses whose foreign competitors have far lower
healthcare costs. And as regards money management, lack of competence leads to excessive
debt, excessive interest costs, purchases that are wasteful, defective, overpriced, or unnecessary,
vulnerability to con men, bad credit, personal and family unhappiness, and difficulty in paying
for things that are really important or even necessary. These effects tend seriously to degrade not
only the lives directly affected but also our economic system and the strength of our
communities and nation.
1. Health Management: Suggested Curriculum Elements (This subject might well
be covered in the 5th, 6th, and 7th, grades.):
(a) basic biology, especially of vertebrates, to the extent not already covered in a
science course.
(b) basic human anatomy, physiology, and pathology.
(c) hygiene, including protection from microorganisms, carbon monoxide, etc.
(d) nutrition, including functions of various nutrients and their relations to foods.
(e) safeguards against various infectious, degenerative, traumatic and other health
problems, including substance abuse and sexually transmitted conditions.
(f) when and how to consult a doctor or other health professional, on both
physical and mental health questions.
(g) emergency procedures.
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2. Money Management: Suggested Curriculum Elements
This subject is appropriate for middle and high schools. Due to the broad scope
of the subject, it is important that presentations be clear, careful, and to-the-point, and
that the students realize that only the basics are covered.
Note: The arrangement and emphasis of this curriculum subject should be
adjusted to the students’ age and circumstances, but students should be alerted to longrange
concepts, such as how modest regular savings can produce large results with
compound interest and wise management, subject, of course, to inflation and other
market conditions.
This subject should include:
(a) the difference between income and net worth;
(b) understanding basic financial statements
(c) making personal or household or club budgets
(d) types of taxes and their effects
(e) inflation and deflation
(f) good and bad borrowing: college debts, credit cards, mortgages, etc.
(g) avoiding fraud, identity theft and other losses
(h) insurance types, needs, and features
(i) types of securities and their features
(j) types of ownership and other beneficial interests; liens
(k) cost/benefit analysis in buying cars, houses, etc.
(l) comparing prices, and comparing price with value
(m) renting v. buying; handling checking accounts
(n) starting a business or making an investment
(o) sources of advice and information
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(p) offers and contracts
(q) guarantees, warranties, endorsing checks, etc.
In developing curriculum details for both of the above subjects, it would be wise to seek
assistance from professionals in appropriate occupations.
There are other important life skills besides these two which might warrant curriculum
attention: e.g., driver education and the management of personal time, information, records,
relationships, and reputation.
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APPENDIX C – SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING AND WEB SITES
There is a vast amount of reading material on education: books, magazines, newsletters,
Web sites and more. To locate material of interest to you, here are some suggestions:
First, decide what interests you, for example, technical research reports or more
easily readable material, information about your own school district or about something
that pertains to many districts.
Second, seek help from librarians, education professionals, other knowledgeable
persons, and various other sources, for example,
public libraries
school system headquarters libraries
state education agency libraries
Federal Department of Education publications, starting with the department’s
annual “Guide to U.S. Department of Education Programs.” This guide is available
free by calling 1-877-433-7827. It contains over 300 pages of information on many
aspects of education, such as Academic Improvement, Assessments, Career and
Technical Education, Civics, English Language Acquisition, Reading, Research, Safe and
Drug-Free Schools, School Improvement, Special Education, and Teacher and Principal
Quality.
Current education news may be in your local newspaper or in Education Week,
which may be accessible locally, or you can call 1-800-346-1834 for information about
subscriptions.
There are many education Web sites, which can be located through Google or
other search tools. We can note only a few, namely:
Education Week’s Web site, a large part of which is free, is www.edweek.org.
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The 2007 Department of Education's Guide, referred to above, lists 18
“Commonly Requested Web Sites” on its inside back cover, including ones on the No
Child Left Behind Act, federal funding for education, helping your child, and education
statistics.
Web sites suggested by an experienced academic with a special interest in civics
education, namely (a) www.cep-dc.org [Center on Education Policy], (b)
www.edtrust.org [The Education Trust], and (c) www.all4ed.org [Alliance for Excellent
Education].
Web sites suggested by a federal career professional in education, namely (a)
www.ecs.org [Education Commission of the States], (b) www.CCSSO.org [Council of
Chief State School Officers], and (c) www.NCES.ed.gov [National Center for Education
Statistics].
The Web sites of the 3-level national organizations named in Appendix D are
www.pta.org (Parent Teachers Association), www.nea.org (National Education
Association), www.aft.com (American Federation of Teachers).
We hesitate to single out some books for listing among many that merit mention,
but here are a few:
“Endangered Minds” by Jane Healy, a Ph.D. in educational psychology,
Touchstone, N.Y., 1990. Discusses the effects of TV, video games, etc. on student
learning.
“Cultural Literacy” by E. D Hirsch, Jr., a Professor of English at the University of
Virginia, Random House, N.Y., 1987. Discusses what truly educated Americans should
know.
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“Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goldman, a New York Times writer with a
Ph.D. from Harvard, Bantam Books, N.Y., 1995. Discusses emotions in relation to
human behavior and education.
“Mega Skills” by Dorothy Rich, President of the Home and School Institute,
Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1992. Discusses how to develop ten basic skills for success.
Finally, additional information on education may be available from local, state, or
federal government agencies by requests under state or federal open records and open
meetings laws.
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APPENDIX D – SELECTED EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONS
There are lots of education organizations in the U.S. Some, e.g., teachers unions,
are concerned only with education; some, like the American Enterprise Institute, are
concerned with education along with other public policy sectors.
If you are concerned about education, such organizations may be important to
you, especially because organized groups usually have more influence for or against
changes than one or two persons acting alone.
Some education organizations have separate but connected parts that operate at
3 levels: national, state or regional, and local. This is generally true, for instance, of
PTAs, with national headquarters in Chicago (1-800-307-4782) and the two large
teachers unions, the National Education Association ((202) 833-4000) and the American
Federation of Teachers (1-800-238-1133), both headquartered in Washington.
If your primary concern is about your local school or school system, your chief
interest will probably focus on local organizations, such as:
local teachers union
local Chamber of Commerce, partly because good schools, despite their need for
higher taxes, attract business and provide a better supply of potential workers and
customers
local real estate groups, because good schools increase land values
service clubs, such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Civitan, etc., because of their
general interest in community concerns
local political parties
local newspapers, which have an obvious concern about literacy and general
education
PTAs or PTSAs
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various local nonprofits, such as homeowners’ associations and ethnic- or faithoriented
groups
local police, welfare, recreation or other public services organizations, official or
nonprofit, because of the value of good schools in reducing crime, disease, poverty, and
other socioeconomic problems
Other important education organizations, primarily national in scope, are
identified in Appendix C.
This is not a complete summary of education organizations. It does not, for
instance, include private school groups, or suppliers of school equipment, textbooks and
supplies.
Your efforts to improve education can be enhanced by working with sympathetic
groups, and by being aware of other concerned groups, perhaps to arrive at satisfactory
compromises.
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APPENDIX E – ABOUT CQC AND THE EDUCATION
POLICY PRIMER PARTICIPANTS
CQC (Citizens for Quality Civilization, Inc.) is a volunteer civic organization under
Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. CQC’s mission is to safeguard and improve
the quality of life in the United States through advanced civic leadership. CQC focuses on
selected public policy problem areas. CQC has an 18-year track record of working to improve
our nation’s education, health care, and transportation, and to clarify globalization. In the 1990s
we developed a classroom program to stimulate academics and character education which was
praised by many educators and introduced into hundreds of classrooms. We operate informally
and always check our products with outside experts.
Robert L. Saloschin is a lawyer, community leader in a Washington suburb, licensed
commercial pilot, and the founder and president of CQC. He graduated from New York public
schools, was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Columbia College with honors in economics, and a
law review graduate of Columbia Law School. After WW II navy service in the Pacific, he
practiced law in Wall Street, in a federal slum clearance program, in the Civil Aeronautics
Board, in the Justice Department, and in Maryland. At Justice he chaired the Freedom of
Information Committee and worked on civil rights, immigration, and international and
constitutional matters with leaders of both parties (Attorney General Robert Kennedy and later
Chief Justice William Rehnquist). He was elected president of a large elementary school PTA
after arranging a settlement of community opposition to its principal. He is a certificated flight
instructor, has been a guest lecturer in the D.C. public schools, and has authored various
publications.
Robert Anastasi is a former school principal in Montgomery County, Maryland and for many
years headed the county’s Business Roundtable on Education.
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Delegate Charles Barkley is a former school teacher and a member of the state legislature in
Maryland.
Heinz Bondy has almost 50 years experience as a teacher and as administrator, at all levels from
pre-school to college, in both private and public institutions. A BA at Swarthmore and a Masters
at Bryn Mawr, he worked in a Montessori school, in both regular and boarding schools at the
middle and high school level, and as Associate Vice-Chancellor for Students Affairs of the
University of Massachusetts College System.
Mary Rose Curtis has a Masters in Administration and is a certified Quality Assurance
Coordinator. As a parent with two children in the county school system, she encouraged adding
art and music to the curriculum, and worked to improve the schools’ communication with the
parents of students in the upper grades. She has supplemented the efforts of schools by home
schooling her grandsons, chiefly to develop independent, critical thinking. Her main concern is
the weakness in many American schools of citizenship studies - - history, civics, and current
issues - - leading to indifference and ignorance on matters important to the future of American
democracy.
Herman Richard (“Dick”) Menzer has Bachelors and Masters degrees from George
Washington University, and taught high school English for 35 years in the Virginia and
Maryland suburbs of Washington. He has also taught Journalism, Speech and Debate, and
served as faculty advisor to student newspapers and yearbooks. In Maryland he worked with
School Board candidates and members on policy issues, wrote curriculum for language skills,
testified for English teachers to the School Board, and worked with the local teacher’s federation
and civic associations on school budgets.
Jane S. (“Sue”) Rogich, a retired elementary school teacher, is a graduate of Barnard College at
Columbia University and earned her Masters in Education at George Washington University.
She taught in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania and then in the Fairfax County, Virginia public
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schools for 24 years, where after extensive peer and supervisory review she was awarded merit
pay. She has addressed various education conferences and co-authored a published report on
successfully educating disabled children through an “inclusion” program that was well staffed
and funded. After retiring she tutored in a multi-cultural school in Northern Virginia.
Robert Shoenberg is a former member of the elected School Board in Montgomery County,
Maryland, a large and rapidly growing suburb of Washington, D.C. For many years he has been
a consultant to colleges throughout the county, and has monitored trends in the output of schools
from which colleges obtain their entering students.
Donna Britton Smith taught science for over 30 years in junior and senior high schools in
Florida, New Mexico and Maryland. After two years of liberal arts studies she earned a B.S. in
chemistry at Old Dominion University and a Masters of Education Science at Loyola College.
She has served as Science Department Chair, Student Teacher Mentor, Science Curricula Writer,
and presenter and coordinator at science workshops, conferences and fairs. In 1995 she received
the Prince George’s Outstanding Science Teacher Award.
Outside Experts who have served as Vettors of the draft of this Primer:
We wish to thank the following individuals who have reviewed the draft of this primer
and have given us their comments and suggestions on it. After each name we have give the
person’s organizational affiliation or background so that readers can see the broad range of
perspectives which we have tried to take into account. These organizational references should
not be taken to mean that the individual’s comments or suggestions necessarily reflect the
position of any organizations with which the individual is or was in some way affiliated.
Joseph Villani, Deputy Executive Director, National School Boards Association
John P. O’Sullivan, Secretary-Treasurer, Texas Federation of Teachers
D. W. Johnston, Principal, rural elementary school in North Dakota
Professor Michael Kirst, Stanford University
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Buzz Bartlett, former member, Maryland State Board of Education, and former corporate
executive
Jay Mathews, Washington Post education reporter
Milton Goldberg, consultant, formerly with Business Alliance for Education
Rebecca Wagner, Executive Officer of CMMC, a non-profit social service organization
in Montgomery County, Md., a large demographically diverse county
Monica Barbaris-Young, Director, Friends in Action, CMMC
In addition to the 9 vettors listed above, two more vettors provided helpful comments but
requested anonymity. One was a professor of public policy, the other a parent with children in
the public schools. We believe that the variety of backgrounds of these 20 persons (9 at the
drafting stage and 11 during the review by others) provided a reasonably broad spectrum of
perspectives on the subject.
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APPENDIX F – PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN OTHER
MODERN INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES
This is a short summary of schooling in about 30 advanced countries, mostly European
and some Asian. Many of these countries compete or will compete with the U.S. in various
ways. Of course, there are many differences among these countries, but there are also many
important similarities, some of which clearly contrast with American schools.
In almost all these countries, public schools are run by a central ministry of education.
All school personnel including teachers are state (i.e., national) employees. The curriculum and
textbooks are set by the ministry. The curriculum for “academic” courses usually includes 6
years of math, 6 years of science, 8 years of the national language and literature, 6 years of
foreign languages, ancient, European, and world history, plus 6 years of history of the native
country. This represents the core curriculum.
These subjects are taught in class every day over the course of several years. Most
countries have 14 years of schooling, with a decision whether to follow “academic” or
“vocational” curricula made through testing students, usually between the ages of 12 and 14.
Most students graduate at the ages of 19 or 20. In most of these countries it is against the law to
cheat, or to leave school before age 18. There are in fact only a small number of dropouts.
The schools are strict and have far fewer discipline problems than we do. This is due in
part to tradition and in part due to the power vested in teachers to administer punishments.
In most countries there are no private day schools, except Catholic schools in countries
such as France and Spain. In countries like England and Germany, there are a number of very
prestigious private boarding schools, which serve mostly the elite and very rich.
There are no interscholastic sports in either high schools or universities; however, there
are intramural and club teams.
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After passing the “academic” curriculum, there are oral and written exams that if passed
entitle the student to go to the university of his or her choice.
One of the biggest differences between their schools and ours is that, by tradition and
salary, teaching is a well respected profession and teachers are solidly in the middle class.
In most European countries, class size is limited to 25 or smaller.
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APPENDIX G – SUGGESTIONS ABOUT PARENTING EDUCATION
The vital role of parents in education is summarized under Part 4 - - Who Educates? The
role of parents has three phases: in early childhood, during the school years, and in “home
schooling.” All these depend on parental effectiveness: what actions and skills parents bring to
their role.
Parenting can be good, bad, or so-so. And parenting, even with loving care, is not always
easy. But effective parenting is vital for children and for the nation. It is also important for the
parents themselves, since it affects their own lives and happiness.
Seeming to tell parents how to raise their kids is a touchy thing, especially in a free
country. Yet there is a big market for parenting education, as shown by the books, magazines,
and organizations that deal with this subject, supplementing what parents may have learned from
their own parents, relatives, and friends.
Here are some suggestions for schools to enhance the effectiveness of parental
cooperation in education:
1. Distribute appropriate information early. Provide maternity hospitals with literature
and/or videos that will be useful to mothers and fathers. Provide child-care centers and selected
clinics or other venues with similar materials. And, at or even before the beginning of
kindergarten, make every effort to have parents attend carefully crafted briefings and workshops
on effective parenting: what to do, how to do it, and why to do it.
2. During the school years, enhance parental involvement in the child’s academic and
behavioral development with teacher conferences, report cards, and the activities of PTA’s,
School Boards, and other groups. Problems such as bullying, student badmouthing of academic
success, or using schools to recruit for political or sectarian groups should be rectified. Parental
attendance should be encouraged at sports events, school plays and concerts, and spelling bees,
debates, and the like. Difficult situations such as child neglect, child abuse, and dysfunctional
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families should, as necessary, be referred to law enforcement or other non-school resources, not
only to protect the children directly imperiled but also for the sake of other children and the
school’s educational mission.