The challenge of making public education a system whereby all students gain the necessary skills to be successful participants in our 21st Century democracy will be one of the toughest problems for the Obama administration to solve—closing Gitmo will be easier. However, I am very hopeful.
“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many,” words spoken by President Obama on that historic day one week ago. I was fortunate to be there to hear the words in person. My son and I were a Tiger Woods’ drive away from the dais with the coveted (and dreaded, for those who were stuck for hours in the “tunnel of doom”) purple congressional tickets in our pockets.
According to Paul Manna, a professor at the College of William and Mary, the fact that schools made an early appearance in the speech (3rd paragraph) shows that the new president sees education as a public policy priority. Obama also pointed out in his Inaugural Address that our schools fail too many…I agree. With assurance in his voice, Obama asserted that “we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.” Actually, I think we can.
From DC to SCU
While attending the concelebrated Mass Saturday night at Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph’s prior to the Santa Clara University’s 43rd Annual Golden Circle affair (guests of Dave Sandretto, Board of Fellows) I picked up a copy of the Eucharistic Celebration Program. On the back of this program the SCU Mission Statement was written. I think all schools, elementary through university, can and should learn from its contents. Here’s a partial quote of a relatively long mission statement:
“Student learning takes place…in an educational environment that integrates rigorous inquiry and scholarship, creative imagination, reflective engagement with society, and a commitment to fashioning a more humane and just world.”
There was no doubt while experiencing Washington D.C. from the wintery brown grass on the hill near the Capitol, that reflective engagement with society was written in the eyes of all the youth in the gathering of nearly two million people. How extraordinary is that!
Janet Napolitano and Leon Panetta will play major roles in the Obama administration as Homeland Security Secretary and CIA Director, respectively. Both individuals graduated from Santa Clara University. I hope as key cabinet members that they will use their Jesuit education at SCU to influence Education Secretary Duncan and Congress to rewrite “No Child Left Behind” with a boldness that incorporates the precepts in the SCU mission statement.
Performance pay and increasing teacher quality overall must be the other two legs of a multi-legged stool.
Si Se Puede. We did it with the inaguration of the first Black man as President, and I was there to witness it. With hope in our hearts we can create an educational system that integrates rigorous inquiry, creative imagination, reflective engagement with society, and a commitment to creating a more humane and just world.
I have picked myself up, dusted myself off, and I am ready to remake public education so all children succeed. Your thoughts will be appreciated.
Please explain where the federal government has the mandate or authority to “solve” education problems? Bully pulpit, yes. Spending taxpayer dollars, no. It’s the responsibility of the states to decide how best to provide for the education of their residents. Perhaps we start by taking responsibility for our actions rather than looking to a central government to save us from our irresponsible state spending decisions.
#1. Exactly right, when the states accept
federal money then the federal government dictates how it is to be spent. We must keep the school policies local because we know what each district wants and needs are.
An example of federal intervention is several years ago they wanted all states to reduce the highway speed limit to 55 mph. Some states balked and the feds told them that the highway funds would be stopped if the states did not comply. So they do use the big hammer when they want…
John,
I disagree that rigorous inquiry, creative imagination, and reflective engagement are fluff, however, I fully subscribe to your assertion that reading, writing, and arithmetic is the foundation from which the others will blossom.
For me reading is the key ingredient t life’s success. Nearly 75% of incarcerated students in our valley read 2 or more years below grade level. I am ecstatic about the stimulus package includes double the funding for Head Start. When children start school ready to learn they score significantly higher on achievement tests.
Joseph Di Salvo
San Jose
Reading, Riting and Rithmetic are good. But Rote learning and Regurgitation are not so helpful.
Students need to learn how to analyze what they read and develop problem-solving skills based on Reasoning.
I agree with #4. Reading is very important for education. That’s why we need to make sure our libraries stay open.
I suggest you start by teaching children Reading, Riting, and Rithmetic.
THEN go ahead with your “rigorous inquiry, creative imagination, reflective engagement with society”, and all that other fluff you go on about.
Stop looking for handouts. Stop making excuses. Do your job.
Mr. Di Salvo & Mr. Days,
You are correct. Rigorous inquiry and creative imagination ARE incredibly important, but you’re putting the cart before the horse. EFFECTIVE reasoning and problem solving skills, USEFUL rigorous inquiry all follow naturally from a solid education in the basics, which are learned largely by rote learning, repetition, and regurgitation.
Unfortunately, rote learning and regurgitation are not being employed in the subjects where they are needed. This is why we have to rely on India and China for our engineers and scientists.
But rote learning and regurgitation are most certainly employed when it comes to telling our students how to think politically. No need for any rigorous inquiry when it comes to knowing how to vote. “Remember this, children. Obama. Obama. Obama.”