The president's speech

In the president's speech to Congress he talked about investing in education through the American Families plan. The plan would guarantee adding four years of public education for every person in America. Two years of pre-school and two years of free community college. While it seems like a good idea we have to remember that the best ways to improve the performance of our schools is already known but hasn't been universally implemented. Each child has unique abilities and as such needs to be taught keeping that in mind.

One way is to make sure that they are taught with the best materials available. This is established through monitoring results. As a homeschooling dad I learned that some materials do a better job than others. At the same time what works for one student may not work for another. I am working on the article how we figure that one out. It is really addressed to teachers and parents, and older students too.

By the way according to some quick research the Federal Government pays for less than 10% of our public schools. The rest comes from each state which also has the responsibility for the curriculum/curricula. So while the president would love to improve education it is really up to local governments!