10 WAYS TO MAKE AMERICA’S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM GREAT AGAIN

“The Future of the World is in the Classroom Today”

The U.S. public school educational system (K-12) is often frowned upon. Ranking in the middle of the global pack - as a country that emphasizes winning, this does not cut it in the eyes of American standards. 

Although, this is not a fair comparison as many countries leave behind poor children and those in rural areas with no educational options. Thus, their scores do not reflect the realities of their greater adolescent community. With the third largest population in the world and 50 million students in the U.S. - it is obviously easier to score higher and educate fewer children with less financial hardship.

But we can get better!

There are many different ways to slice our schooling solutions. But there must be less focus on memorization, test scores, competitive settings, funding by attendance - and more development in creating a thirst to obtain knowledge. It is not about a one size fits all approach but more insight driven concepts as well as creative investment in our school systems.

Please find listed below ten random concepts that could be implemented to assist elevating our educational environments. The goals are to prepare as well as motivate our kids for the constantly evolving, really global + digital world. 

1. Elevate the Teachers: The continual education of our teachers while providing incentives must be a priority as they hold the greatest value in our school systems. For example, teachers would travel free to encourage experimental learning in my recommended system. This would enable them to bring back new learnings to the classroom and inspire their students. Free teacher tuition to promote ongoing educational advancement would be a component as the world is changing daily. Lastly, teachers would be tax exempt as a reward for their priceless efforts and a method to attract talent in the classroom. 
2. Go Digital: In our “Screen Culture” and workplace it seems only natural to maximize technology while addressing our overcrowded schools. This would include the implementation of some telecommuting with online teaching + testing, video lecturing and supportive content for high schools. It is all about an educational balance of in and out of the classroom teaching. This provides skills that are applicable to tomorrow’s real world. This comes with some challenges as electronics access is limiting for those students living in economically deficient environments - but it is more about the nature of the thought.
3. Funding the Arts: Most school districts have removed arts in their educational cuts. But students must be motivated to enable learning. The arts serve as a catalyst for many students. So, in not funding the arts we lose a portion of the student body’s engagement. The reality is we need more arts, not less. Art is creativity, and creativity is intelligence having fun.
4. Parents Wanted: Provide incentives for parent’s school participation in the educational process. This fills gaps and makes learning a family affair. Rewarding tax breaks for employers and employees supporting these efforts. In Amsterdam, parents at some Dutch owned companies have half days on Wednesday to encourage family focus.
5. Customized Education: More personalized curriculum options for students with emphasis on core subjects while placing educational value in hands-on experience in occupational fields of interest.  
6. Start Local: Experiences is a great teacher! So why start with national or global history without students gaining an understanding of their local city history? This will enable students to visit and provide first hand exposure on the subject versus just reading about it. 
7. Health is Wealth: Physical Education should be at the top of the day. P.E. would only be offered during the AM classes peroids with the goal of teaching our youth to workout first thing in the morning. Ideally, it would be first peroid for the whole school but I recognize the constraints this would place on the facilities and staff. There also should be a wider curriculum than just the traditional sports opinions including skateboarding, martial arts, fitness classes...... This will condition the youth early in life on the importance of health and how to start their day, instilling favorable habits. Addressing our country’s obesity issues early when combined with nutritional education would be a smarter approach.
8. Break Tradition: In our ever-changing universe both students and teachers must master the ability to unlearn old habits, methods and content as there is a constant evolution taking place. This is needed to stay current versus stagnant. Additionally, failure with effort must be rewarded as a method to encourage experimentation. Failure is a skill needed in our innovative world. Results and memorization have value but agility learning is the future.
9. Global Passport: In working abroad I gained an understanding of the power of speaking more than one language from my international colleagues. In our global society, the more languages one speaks increases their opportunities. English is the most universal language but speaking multiple languages has more value than ever today.
10. Inspire Early: College and occupational tours must be conducted earlier in the educational process to expose students to the possibilities. This will inspire their academic efforts sooner in the schooling window - before grades have been compromised. This enables student course selection focused on discovered fields of interest. Why wait until their junior and senior year of high school when they are almost at completion of their required educational journey? 

CLOSE: These thoughts do not address all the issues in our educational system. Additionally, I recognize I am not living, breathing the life of our teacher’s daily challenges. My limited insights on today’s schooling environment obviously prevents me from being completely informed. The aforementioned are just some outside the norm thoughts on how we can think different to elevate our educational communities. This is also without consideration for funding obstacles. But this must not stop our innovative thinking in the spirit of challenging our U.S. educational norms.

”Education is the Most Powerful Weapon to Change the World!”

What are some of your thoughts and methods to improve our schools?

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