How to Fix American Education
1/25/01
 
Maybe it’s the summers off.
            For some reason unknown to me, an inordinate number of my acquaintances are, or are trying to be, schoolteachers.  My Godmother is a teacher. Two of my best friends have aspirations of teaching one day.  I myself operated under that delusion for a couple of collegiate semesters, which, I suppose led me to meet so many aspiring-teacher types.  
            I wanted to be music teacher and a high school band director.  This was because I had fun in high school band and I naively assumed that being the director would be an easy, fun job.  Sooner rather than later, thank goodness, I realized that I did not possess the patience for this demanding line of work.
            And it is demanding.  I have the utmost respect for teachers who work hard and are good at their jobs.  They work long hours at low pay, and many pour their hearts into their work and get little respect in return.  To be honest, I’m not sure what drives these individuals; I suppose it must be a “calling” of sorts that we non-teachers can’t understand.  And so to those who write on chalkboards and take attendance and hand out detentions, I salute you.
            And furthermore, I believe that the very best teachers ought to be more handsomely compensated, the way the best doctors and lawyers are paid.  A great doctor saves people lives.  A great lawyer gets people out of tough jams.  Likewise, a great teacher gives us knowledge and inspiration; this is certainly no less important. 
            “Well, Jung, that’s all fine and good.  But where is that money going to come from?  I’m sure YOU wouldn’t want to pay any more TAXES for that, would you?”  That’s right, I wouldn’t.  I already pay far too much local, state and federal taxes for a failed educational system in which students are babysat rather than taught, and which discourages bright hardworking graduates from becoming teachers. 
            “Jung, you just said you knew a lot of people who wanted to be teachers.”  Well, to a point I do, and as I mentioned, these are individuals who feel they have a “calling.”  But there are plenty of other sharp young grads that would be good at a variety of professions, and those folks stay away from teaching for any number of reasons ranging from low pay to low respect.  And that paradigm needs to be changed.  So how can we pay the best teachers lawyer-level salaries?  Well I think the legal profession gives us a good model.  And it starts with ending free public education.
            “What?  Jung – need you be reminded that free public education has been an institution in this country for 200 years, and that is what set us apart from nations with class-systems like Great Britain?”  Yes.  I need to be reminded of when the last time was that this actually worked effectively.  Let us again go over an indisputable fact: our public schools are terrible.  Disciplinary problems reign supreme and teaching quality is slipping as fast as standardized test scores.  Classes have been dumbed down and are saturated with political correctness rather than basic fundamentals.  And while politicians squabble over where to throw more tax money, our citizenry’s collective I.Q. drops another couple of points. 
            ALL schools should be private.  A free-market education system would drive schools to compete for the best students and teachers.  Education would improve across the board.  Niche markets would develop – got a child who wants to be a scientist?  There’d be a school for her in your town.  An artist?  No problem.  Not sure?  Then the school that handles it all will do.    Choice would be the order of the day.  Prayer in school?  Up to you. 
            And what of the teachers?  Well supposing our new educational paradigm was modeled after the legal field.   Potential teachers would be required to take a teaching aptitude test before entering college.  Those with the best scores would then be admitted to the best teacher-training institutions.  And after graduating, they would test again before they would be allowed to practice – a teacher’s bar exam of sorts.  Again, those with the best scores would have an inside track at the best jobs.   Those who felt a “calling” to teach the disadvantaged would, like disadvantaged students, qualify for a package of incentives provided by the government, such as loan forgiveness.  A free-market educational system would be a system of encouragement, rather than our current system of discouragement. 
            Our teachers and children deserve a system that rewards achievement.  What better than the free-market system that has rewarded nearly every other American enterprise?  Hey, they’d still get their summers off.  Think about it.  And as always, if you have a better idea – then BRING IT ON!!!