Maybe they should try reading upside-down.
Ah, public education! One of the biggest boondoggles, if not the biggest, in the history of civilization.
See if you can detect any logic here. In California, only 29% of fourth-graders can pass the standardized reading test. Only 35% passed the math test.
The average public school teacher’s salary in California is $101,084.
The teachers are demanding another raise. Well, why not? Democrats in the State House, teachers in the classroom: one hand washes the other (https://amgreatness.com/2025/02/10/it-doesnt-add-up-california-teachers-union-seeks-raises-as-student-scores-tank/).
Please write in and elucidate your position if you understand the situation described above and can’t see anything wrong with it.
California taxpayers are being sold down the river. Big-time.
One of the biggest steps I took, in the path from being a cheeky twenty-something into being a functioning adult was learning that many of the strategies I had developed in life weren’t working, and that I needed to make changes in order to progress. This was pointed out to me by a fellow a generation older than I, and while it took a while to sink in, it made a huge difference and was a crucial step in adding direction and purpose to my life.
It would be possible to write quite an essay about why the public education system is not doing so well, but I can summarize from my own experiences, in the ‘60s, attending a pleasant grade school in a prosperous town with better than average schools. Even with all of those positives, classroom time was still a nearly endless series of disruptions and non sequiturs, because the various children in the class were learning at different rates and many of them didn’t want to be there.
Between poor behavior, and the frustration of various students, a great deal of time was wasted. The one-size-fits-all mentality of the school system didn’t work. By second grade I had become bored and had simply given up on school. I made it my goal to quit, because I was getting very little out of my education. Instead of trying to squeeze myself into a mold which would never fit, I decided to educate myself, from the school library and from outside sources.
By third grade, I could explain how an airplane flew and knew what most of the gauges on the instrument panel did. A retired Air Force Colonel who taught history where I attended high school taught an aviation course which was based upon Private Pilot’s Ground School. I did well in that course, in spite of missing 6 weeks due to a life threatening illness, and when I became a licensed pilot, 8 years later, I was able to pass the written exam without retaking ground school. Later on, I attended a 16 month course, sanctioned by the FAA and excelled as a student, because it interested me. While I no longer work in aviation, I still use the background knowledge from this in other endeavors, including a career in IT.
When my parents realized that my interest in music was sincere, they paid for lessons and I became a serious student. My grades in music classes at school skyrocketed, earning me an A after years of relative indifference. The reason was simple, those music classes, and the wonderful music theory that snuck into the curriculum now had meaning to me. All it took was a $20 guitar and a few lessons. Beyond that, it had practical application, to the point that I made my living from music for a number of years, and taught others how to play.
All this aviation and music required that I be able to perform some math, and I became a reasonably good math student, from that point on. My interest in aviation led me down a path of history, as I came to realize that many of the developments in aviation came from the military and that political history had left a massive imprint. The Cold War situation that gave us the Space Race could be traced directly back to WW II, which sprang from WW I, which had roots which were traceable deep into history. Every layer I discovered led me to another layer, directly below.
Science came along for the ride, as I learned, because both music and aviation depend upon a solid grasp of physics, which branches into other fields. Understanding acoustics, which comes in quite handy for a musician, employs some interesting math and acoustics parallels electrical theory, forming a hand in glove relationship. My interest in music led me to computers, as a tool for publishing and teaching, and that knowledge sprang me into a career in IT, where my prior interests actually turned out to be useful.
My point, very simply, is that I learned these things because they were of interest, and my learning, naturally, spilled over into other areas, making these areas interesting, as well. I don’t claim to have a perfectly rounded education; I know little about classical poetry or biological sciences, but I know the things I need to know to make a living, and most importantly, I know how to learn.
I’ve been an avid reader since 1st grade and that has made a huge difference. Reading and math skills are the absolute foundation of everything I have done. Without those two things, I’d be a cashier in a Convenience Store or a greeter at WalMart.
Kids need to be taught those basic skills, along with being able to express themselves in written (these days typed) form, but this could be accomplished in far less time than the public schools require. I estimate that in the 12 years of public schooling, I actually experienced 2-3 years of useful learning, and had I been able to pursue areas of interest, I probably would have been much better educated by the time I was 17 years of age.
Aviation and music were my passions, but beyond that, it’s impossible to say what other interests would have come my way. Only in the last few years, I have become interested in geology, far too late to pursue a career in the field, but it is still an interest.
To the best of my understanding, the development of public schools in the US was initially based upon the desire to have a literate population, facile in the “three Rs”. If there has to be a system of education, let it begin there, but once a child is able to perform in these areas, why should they be required to sit in classrooms, bore to tears. Let them test out of that particular subject, and advance at their own individual pace. Sounds a lot like home schooling, doesn’t it?
I will add an amusing aside. Years ago, a young man I supervised was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in an IT field. After four years, he told me that he hadn’t really learned anything new from the course, beyond what he had learned on the job, mostly from working at my right hand. In a supremely ironic twist, he was required to knock out some electives in order to graduate, and selected a basic course in piano, which he fulfilled with a discount store electronic keyboard. The course was complete, but hopelessly rushed, so he had many questions, and here I was, decades later, teaching some basic music, to a valued friend and coworker. Life takes some strange twists and turns.
When I finished my 4 years of college and got my diploma, I did not know what to do. It took me a few decades to recover.
I literally experienced hiring a recent college graduate who called me two days before his start date, and confessed that he had no idea of what to do, once he was on the job. I told him not to worry and that I’d help him get started. He now heads an IT department, but he needed just a little guidance to get started. He had theory, but no practice. I’ve been able to help at least three young people into IT by giving them their first job; all they needed was a chance, a bit of assistance, and a bit of understanding.
I’m a strong believer in actual education, but the system, as it exists today, isn’t doing all that well in providing useful education with marketable skill set once you have graduated.
Part of the problem comes from the fact that people are making lifelong choices while still in their teens, before they have enough life experience to really know what they want to do for a living, and before they discover their talent set.
My own take on this is that education, all education should start with the basic skills which are needed in order to advance into specific fields. For example, in most technical fields, there are technicians and engineers. A technician doesn’t have the same depth of advanced math that is required of an engineer, but most technicians are quite facile with the math required to do their jobs. The two levels are quite compatible, and an experienced technician would have a leg up when mastering the complex math required of an engineer. An engineering candidate would be well served by having the hands on experience gained by serving in the role a technician.
Perhaps the needs of everyone involved, student, employee and employer, would be better served if there was a path which allowed someone to gain experience and support themselves as a technician, while continuing their education to become an engineer.
This can apply in other fields as well, not just technical fields, but it erases the false dichotomy which exists and emplaces a barrier to advancement unless someone is willing to put their life (and means of life) on hold while seeking to cross the divide between labor and management.
I’ve been privileged to work with some great people who had literally mastered their field. One fellow, who worked managing finances, was insistent that his MBA was entirely secondary to his real world experience. He felt that his Master’s only served to validate what he had learned on the job.
We need education, but we need for education to be made compatible with the real world. If I had my druthers, children’s education would start in the home, perhaps aided by some external sources, then followed by training which includes practical hands on experience and provides a growth path that allows people to advance at their own pace and in finding their own level. We need to get back to apprenticeship, to allow people to learn on the job, while continuing their education.