Recently I pulled up the ‘Top 20’ list of rated
education systems in the world[1]. The United States was 20th! The bottom of the list! It used to be near the top.
While in the Marines I spent a tour in Japan.
The Japanese people I met showed a unique reverence for teachers. Teachers were
held in great esteem. If a teacher told
a parent they needed to help a child in a facet of their education – that
trumped even the requirement of their job.
If a Japanese man told his boss that a teacher said he should spend less
time at work – the boss had no choice but to honor that request. Parents were actually given homework to go
over with their child.
Teachers in Japan also had lifelong
relationships with many students. They were responsible, by and large, for
keeping the teaching profession ripe with new talent and insuring academic
relevance in a changing world. A high regard for the teaching profession is a
prevalent social concept in most all of Asia.
Research on the top 10 countries (which includes
Finland at #1, Russia#5 and Israel#8) shows that teacher pay is not the
primary driver to improving education, it is social enablement. Giving teachers
a voice in how the education system is run and how it is funded is a primary
success factor. And there is much less focus on standardized tests; more on
‘doing whatever it takes’ to keep students engaged and advancing.
While teacher pay is not as big a contributing
factor as I imagined, I found the cost to train a teacher and the amount of
public funds spent on education (schools, books, electronics, etc.) contribute
much more than salary.
In many other countries teaching degrees
(usually requiring a Masters level post-graduate degree) can be obtained far
cheaper than in the U.S.. While the U.S.
has a liberal student loan program, the costs applied to these loans are some
of the highest in the world.
In the
U.S. there is a Teacher Student Debt forgiveness program currently (2019) on
the books; but it’s a joke:
“If you
teach full-time for five complete and consecutive academic years in certain
elementary and secondary schools and educational service agencies that serve low-income
families, and meet other qualifications, you may be
eligible for forgiveness of up to a combined total of $17,500 on certain
federal student loans.”[2]
First of all, few, if any, qualified college graduates can go five years – at entry level teacher salaries – and afford even reduced payments. Second, the legalese in this program means the government guarantees nothing. For instance, $1 is ‘up to’ $17,500. Lastly, the average student loan debt for graduates with teaching (Masters) degrees or credentials approaches $50,000.[3]
So – Lots of information on the problem and what other countries do; how do we turn the U.S. back into a leader in education again? We certainly have the intellect and technology; but the will is weak.
So – Lots of information on the problem and what other countries do; how do we turn the U.S. back into a leader in education again? We certainly have the intellect and technology; but the will is weak.
My study found the most successful education systems have less
than 20 students per teacher/classroom. Some (like Finland) have less than 15.
The U.S. has near 30, but used to have much smaller classes. I remember. I was
in them.
We need more teachers and more public school spending; not just
higher property taxes. Where local taxes are the deciding factor – only the
richest communities will have adequate funding.
My Solution:
States can continue with local taxes to pay into the fund, but local
taxes will no longer go directly to local schools. All public schools in the
U.S. will get all they ask for (within reason) from the national fund. The
federal government will contribute matching funds up to a percentage limit set
by congress.
A true national public education “System” is not just an education
template of standardized tests, vouchers and marginal funding – it’s a
nationally funded program that is run BY THE TEACHERS themselves. They determine where the money is spent and
on what. Each state could have a board
of education that actually has the power to appropriate and allocate from the
federal fund.
There will always be
those that try to game the system. If someone graduates with a federally funded
teaching degree but they never teach – or they are not good enough teachers to
continue (e.g. voted out by their peers) – then they could be subject to a
lifelong income tax (like an educational garnishment) that helps pay for the education of successful teachers.
These ideas may not be the most original or even the most
possible. But I think a key will be to create more teachers and give them more
power fiscally and socially.
There ARE solutions out there.
We just need the will to implement them.
JWB
[1]
WorldTop20.org (2019), Final Rankings of 201 nation’s education systems, best
20 educated countries for 2018, https://worldtop20.org/worldbesteducationsystem; https://www.edsys.in/best-education-system-in-the-world/
[2] ED.Gov
(2019), The Official BLOG of the U.S. Department of Education, https://blog.ed.gov/2019/04/student-loan-forgiveness-and-other-ways-the-government-can-help-you-repay-your-loans-3/
[3]
Education Next (2019), The Tangled World of Teacher Debt, https://www.educationnext.org/tangled-world-of-teacher-debt-rules-uncertain-benefits-federal-student-loan-subsidies/
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments, ideas and thoughts are welcome. All comments are moderated and may not show up immediately. Comments with profane language, personal insults or that exhibit sexisum, racism or bigotry may not be accepted. The blog author has total discretion. Any comments accepted will not be edited for grammar or content.