Americans work hard, and are proud of it. So fond are Americans of work that work hours are on the rise in this country, in marked contrast to most other industrialized nations. It is not my intention here to discuss the merits and demerits of this attitude towards work. I mention the matter only to bring out the contrast with another, equally important facet of American life -- education, and in particular, elementary and secondary education.
It will come as no surprise to anyone to hear that American elementary and secondary education is in shambles. The reasons for this sorry state are many, ranging from marked inequities in funding to the crime epidemic in the inner cities. Daily one hears calls for all these ills to be addressed by some new administrative measure. But the chief cause of educational weakness is low expectations and inferior input on the part of parents, teachers and the students themselves.
For what is one to say about parents who think it's fine that Johnny has a B average? What is one to make of parents who don't want to push their children "too hard," so they can grow up "healthy, whole beings," as if that was all that mattered in life? And then there are the educators who try to de-emphasize academic competition and calculation skills, and spend precious class time creating bonding atmospheres instead of teaching reading, math and science. And what is one to make of students who look down on others for working too hard or "knowing it all," yet worship the so-called students on their football teams, as if sport were the primary reason schools were created?
The kind of world where this attitude to education is fine is a vanishing one. Whoever is in power in the USA, protectionist or free trader, interventionist or dogmatic free-marketeer, the kinds of jobs that sustained the low and moderately skilled will continue to disappear.
A society such as America is at present, which tells its children that they are all good at something when they are not, and that it is "uncool" to study too much, is a society headed for trouble. Perhaps it was all fine and dandy to consider the non-academic aspects of schooling just as important as the academic when America produced 40% of the world's goods and services, but all that fine humanism translates into in today's world is relative decline. A new kind of attitude towards basic education is needed if America is to avoid turning into a giant-sized Britain, eyes turned ever backwards toward vanished glories.
What American education needs most of all is that same zealous attitude which pervades its' workplaces, and not just at the college level but at the lower levels as well. What America needs is scholar warriors, with just the same succeed-if-it-kills-me attitude which so many professionals and entrepreneurs in this country have. To be clear, I say that what this country needs is a generous dose of examination hell.
It would be wonderful if one could motivate American students and their parents to achieve without examination hysteria, but human nature being what it is, people tend to change only when their selfish interests are threatened. There is certainly no better way to threaten the selfish interests of parents than to make their children's futures turn on their examination results. If society cannot be made to respect learning for its' own sake, it can be made to do so for the possible rewards the right education will bring.
To be specific, I am suggesting the replacement of the current SAT/GPA college admissions system with one based on national achievement exams of significantly greater difficulty than the Advanced Placement tests. I am also suggesting a de-emphasis of extracurricular factors in college admissions, especially athletic performance. I am throwing my wholehearted support behind a purely examination based civil service recruitment system, with promotions again based on examinations of extreme breadth and difficulty. The introduction of a six day school day should be looked into. The most important change, though, would be the introduction of a national core curriculum, with standards which every school in the land must meet, and a Department of Education to oversee the set standards.
Much of what I have said is surely disagreeable to the majority of readers. It will be said that the kind of system I advocate would rob children of their childhood and breed dysfunctional individuals. But nothing I am suggesting has not been tried elsewhere in the world to good effect. It is time to stop excusing mediocrity in America's children.
