dreaming...

Anonymous said in response to What American schools should look like...

Well said... BUT TAXES will go up 10 to 12 fold to provide an education in public schools equal to private..the child to teacher ratio alone will raise taxes to the heavens...everyone would be tax poor or worse. The average person cannot afford the type school you dream about....you are a dreamer.......

Heaven forbid we ever stop dreaming. Yes, if all education were to cost what Bellmont Hill or Sidwell Friends School charge per student, we might face a general tax increase. But Clear Spring School offers another example. Our tuition rate at CSS is less than what most public schools allocate per child. We have small classes, particularly in the lower grades where small classes matter most, and we offer hands-on learning to all. Our students are sorry to see the summer vacation come because they love school so much. Many things in school are eased when a strategy of hands-on learning is put in place.

The shame I was attempting to point out is that while politicians devise schemes to appeal to their electorate, we should be watching what they do with their own own children as an example of what we should be demanding they offer to the best of their ability to our own. Assuming these elected officials may be the "best and wisest parents" that Dewey was referring to, what they have chosen for their own children describes what we should demand they demand for our own. Each and every one of them.

Now, back to the money... Education spending currently comprises 2% of the federal budget and the federal government pays about 10% of the costs. There is no way that general taxes can go up 10-12 times in order to make the improvements I suggest. If we were to choose to invest in our children, whether at the level of Sidwell Friends or Bellmont Hill or not instead of cheaping out all the time, we could find greater resources to invest. For instance, quality education would drastically cut the need for incarceration. The rise of a generation more skilled in interpersonal problem solving would bring new, more efficient less selfish operation to our political landscape. Can you imagine that? Do you know how much money is wasted in Washington, DC just talking about education when that talk comes to naught but further destruction of American schooling?

"You are a dreamer" is a great way to challenge, shut down and discourage creative thinking. But personally I am not deterred. Given the failure of American schooling, and the desperate need for qualified problem solvers in our future, will you join me in dreaming and then acting toward fulfillment of our children's need for hands-on learning?

Make, fix and create...