Setting Priorities in Education

A Political Essay by Jeffrey E. Poehlmann

Originally published by 3rdparty.org on March 31, 1999

[Note: the fact that this essay is over a decade old and the issue is still so current speaks volumes about the lack of positive change afforded by a Congress more interested in its internal interests than those of the society it is meant to serve. The abject failure of "No Child Left Behind" and the increasing focus on testing rather than learning has only further marginalized at-risk students and created more division within the educational system.]

There is no question that the success of a society's future hinges upon the education of its children. A strong, defined and state supported educational system can be used for good or ill, for it determines the direction of future leaders. What we look toward today is not a fascist system of state defined moral lessons and approved scientific or religious thinking. Rather, we search for a way to incorporate state controls over structure and quality without impinging upon freedom of thought and diversity of opinion. In order to ensure that our educational system sets international standards and best prepares today's children to face their (and our) tomorrows, we must instill federal guidelines that hold states in accountability for the implementation of regional public school standards.

While it is often debated whose jurisdiction public schools should be under, it is clear that there is a national interest in ensuring a consistent level of excellence from all schools. There are strong links between lack of education and crime, poverty, substance abuse and civil unrest. Though creating and efficient educational system is no guarantee that these problems will go away, it is certainly a step toward reducing them. And besides the immediate benefits of educating children and keeping them off the streets, theoretically on track to a more productive life, there are as yet unforeseen benefits that these educated individuals will bring to society as a result of having had the chance to gain their educations. Future scientists, political reformers, philosophers and artists will have positive effects upon the world at large because we, as a society, have the ability to commit to their education today, to hold knowledge at the level of importance it deserves.

In a November 29, 1998 New York Times article, Tamar Lewin points out a seemingly new dilemma regarding affirmative-action in public schools.  While there has been considerable debate over minority quotas in universities and professional schools, the lower grades have been all but ignored.  Yet last year a handful of lawsuits regarding preschoolers and elementary students came to national attention.  Among them were suits challenging an admission system where half the available slots were reserved for minorities, where racial preference overshadowed test scores, where students may actually be prohibited from transferring if the racial balance will be upset.  While it appears that the upset parents are predominantly white, the question should not be centered on race but on what is best for all the children and whether this is a fair place for government to be placing restrictions.  Judges in several states have already lifted decades old desegregation orders, ruling that the effects of past segregation had been remedied.  It becomes a question in today's climate over whether racial diversity is more important than goals of fairness and academic excellence.  But should this be the question at all?  Perhaps what needs to be focused on is a way to ensure that all public schools, regardless of their racial make up or geographic location, have the same level of academic expectation and access to the same types of programs that today make one school appear more appealing than another to parents attempting to get the best headstart for their children.    According to Lewin, "Many parents and teachers said the legal battles were less a measure of racial attitudes than of the struggle for a good education at a time when so many public schools are mediocre, or worse."

Also last November, a report  stating that American high school graduation rates have slipped below those of most industrialized countries was released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.  This organization, which helps coordinate policy for 29 of the richest countries, does suggest that this is indicative of progress in other nations and not so much of American decline.  In fact, while the American score for average number of years a student was expected to attend school went up from 16.3 in 1990 (the world's highest) to 16.8 in 1996, 11 other countries actually overtook the United States and surpassed that score.  In a shocking revelation, comparisons of adult literacy rates in the study show Americans to be among the industrialized world's least literate populations.  Additionally, the report revealed that the United States lagged behind in teacher salaries when compared to the percentage of other countries' national income (only the Czech Republic, Hungary and Norway pay their high school teachers less when measured as a percentage of their gross domestic product's).  According to the New York Times, the results of a 1998 mathematics and science test of 12th graders in many countries showed the United States to be among the least knowledgeable.  Earlier tests showed the lowest 25 percent of 8th graders in Japan and South Korea to outperform the average American student.

It is time to correct past errors and look to the future.  Certainly, priorities must be evaluated and determinations made regarding how best to rectify the situation our educational system is in.  At best, our country has stagnated over the past thirty years while the rest of the world has evolved in terms of educational growth.  Our government must look beyond politically correct patches and placeboes and implement standards of quality for all institutions and educational providers, along with the means to ensure that such quality can be sustained.  This should be a leading matter of national pride and one of the most important underlying principles of any new federal domestic policy.