Prpblem #2: Public schools, Pt. 1- Education that often produces adults that are ill-equipped for the real-world

Problem # 2: Public schools, Pt. 1- Education that often produces adults that are ill-equipped for the real-world

Now that I’ve knocked out an easy problem, I’ll try a harder one: fixing the US’ public schools. Tomorrow, I’ll focus on problems specific to Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, but today I’ll address the system as a whole. As Rabbi Ira Stone from Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel in Philadelphia once commented, the thing that would best help America’s schools would be to roll back the calendar 60 years. This is because too many public schols graduate 2 kinds of student: those who are ready for either college or unemployment, with little in between. This, in turn, leads to the current assumption is that everyone needs a post-high school education to succeed.

Historically, this was not the case- a high school education was sufficient to allow entry to at least a decent-paying job, if not a highly skilled one. The assumption that every child needs a college preparatory education is a false one; there are plenty of good, high-paying, impossible-to-offshore jobs that don’t- or at least shouldn’t- require education beyond high school. Therefore, the goal is that we make sure that a high school education is sufficient for non-college students to succeed.

For the sake of simplicity, I will use as my examples skilled trade jobs: carpenter, plumber, and electrician. These are three skills which are in demand, pay well, shouldn’t require an education beyond high school, and- significantly in a strong union city like Philadelphia- are union work. The first, and most important step, is to expand vocational-technical high schools, adding tech skills like programming and computer networking to the list of training offered. Second, saId schools should establish partnerships with the local skilled trade unions so that the last two years of high school are spent in apprenticeship programs. Then, upon graduation, students walk out with a demonstrated skill, employers will have fresh talent to hire, and the unions are able to expand their ranks and increase their diversity.

Finally, US schools need to eliminate- or at least sharply curtail- summer break. The origins of summer break in the US were very practical: the children were needed to help on the family farms. With very few exceptions, not many kids work on family farms today, and “summer losses” of learning are all but a given1. The actual mechanism chosen is up in the air- time off can be during what are historically the hottest weeks of the summer, for instance- but a full season of school missed is a full season of learning missed. If our kids really are in a race against those from around the world- and they are- we can’t afford to have them start running with a handicap.

1. www.summerlearning.org/?page=know_the_facts