Education, which was at one time considered a local matter of the state, has been given a complete makeover in the last 30 years or so. It can be said that education today has become a national political football, where proposals come and hit it from every angle and in the end, there is nothing that seems to have been fixed. In other words, the last few years have seen the death of the great American schooling system with increased politics and less of real decision making by industry experts.
The prevailing schooling system in America needs to be addressed from several angles which include vouchers, curriculum reform, charter schools, standardized testing, and teacher accountability. These days, more importance is given to testing and the choices of educational institutes are so many, that in this crowd real education is getting undermined. In all these years, fewer efforts have been exerted in promoting a sound educational curriculum in the voucher schools and so, those who attended them, gained nothing much. The decisions in the educational system should be made by the educators and not intellectuals from the political congress.
The prevailing education system
Schools in America these days have started to function like businesses as organizations are promoting and marketing them. Public education instead, needs to be preserved and not marketed like any product. After all, it is the public education which forms the root of democracy and citizenship and grooms the young minds to live the American life.
The effect of grant programs
The top ‘philanthrocapitalists’ like Broad, Walton and Gates foundations regard their grants as investments which have the capability to pull up measurable results. Though they give training on teachers’ accountability, they are hardly scrutinized themselves thanks to their powerful interlocking grants which keeps the critics at bay. The federal government would soon swipe out the basic principles of public schooling system if it continues with its competitive grant programs. In the coming months, thousands of public school teachers will be shown the door with the falling tax revenue and increasing unemployment.
The last word
Even with this prevailing scenario, it’s not too late to change the present system of public education in America. President Barack Obama and David Axelrod should look into the situation and bring out the necessary changes and make sure that the education system is handed out to the educationalists, to whom, the matter belongs. It’s definitely not a matter of politics.