Revamping the Broken US Education System

Talking with a teacher friend of mine this weekend provided great insight into a clearly broken system.

As background, recall that the current US public educational system stems from the efforts of devoted self proclaimed democratists Horace Mann and John Dewey. As Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, Mann championed the idea of “common schools” that were free, publicly funded, nonsectarian, and accessible to all children. He emphasized standardized curriculum, professional teacher training, and compulsory attendance, arguing that education was essential for civic virtue, social stability, and economic opportunity. Mann’s reforms became a model adopted by other states and laid the structural foundation of the U.S. public education system.

John Dewey promoted progressive education, viewing schools as social institutions that should prepare students for active citizenship.

Enter John D. Rockefeller, noted “philanthropist,” who intended public schools to prepare students for the factory, complete with bells announcing start and end times and a hyper focus on obedience and punctuality.

In a nutshell, the public school system was designed to promote the standardization of the student population. Add in laws making school mandatory, progressively up until higher grade levels, and you arrive at the current US educational K-12 educational system. Of course the quality and safety may vary from locale to locale as we are a large country with more diversity every day.

With that framework in mind, it is not hard to see the very farcical result, revealed in several tidbits, that we see today. Now, understand that my examples are coming out of a very highly rated school district in an upper level geographic economic area.

First, we see teachers being highly restricted by a wrote “script” for each subject, marked by learning goals. They are told what to cover each day and how much time to spend on each subject and topic within the subject. This is irregardless of the class demographic or progress. My own high school student was told by her math teacher when she flagged a need for clarification that it was time to move on to the next lesson. (And my students are high competency level in math.) The movement seems to be toward a system where robots can replace current live teachers as there is currently zero room for discretion.

One very odd thing my friend revealed is that the teachers in our district are required to create a goals plan like you do as an employee in a private company. They are made to review their performance and to state their goals for the future. I asked why this would be when the plan is already presented in terms of what they are to teach day by day moment by moment. Either they are doing it or they are not, right? Seems like a total waste of time.

I was also floored to learn that even kindergartners are made to take standardized tests on the computer. Isn’t this the age group everyone is always saying should wait until they are older to use devices? Why are we then requiring them to take standardized tests on a computer? My friend noted that most teachers of this age group are focusing on making sure their students aren’t pooping or peeing in their pants!

Finally, one thought I have about the educational climate, and that I have held for some time, is that it makes no sense to split up subjects into distinct sections…math for one hour, now science, not reading… This is not reflective of life. It would be more realistic to use holistic lesson plans that integrate all of the subject areas. This is why I loved the literature based Five in a Row program for my young elementary students when I homeschooled. When I took the Bar exam, the essay questions would combine several areas of law that you had to pick out and address. This is more real life.

The bottom line is that we are still operating with a system that was created at the beginning of the industrial revolution when we are in the technological age of AI. We need new pioneers to help revamp so that our students can face the realities of the world today.