The Dumbing Down of America: A Capitalistic Solution

I was once invited to help a school in Thailand to upgrade its curriculum. The school had few books and little money, which is common in the less affluent areas of northern Thailand. With a little bit of creative resourcing, we were able to create curriculum that met core skills necessary for the area including reading, writing, mathematics, local trade and science. The trick was not buying new books, not investing in new technology, but very simply finding and motivating teachers that could teach.

In most professions is it common to compete for positions, undertake annual performance evaluations and punish for mediocrity. As important as education is to our society, why would we demand any less?

The most effective education institutions in the US and also in the world, are private, those whose survival is based on performance and meeting market demand. Sounds like capitalism.

So adopting the success of those schools, a simple solution is to allow market principles to drive school development by instituting the following:

1. Allow a school-of-choice voucher program. The US invests an average of seven-thousand dollars a year per student for education. An effective program would cover costs for attending the local public school or allow other choices to be subsidized.

2. State sanctioned standardized tests at grades 4, 8 and 12. Students in any system (public, private, home-school) must pass to receive recognition and continue. Grade 12 is equivalent to a GED. Each state has the authority to determine the measurements and standards of what is deemed acceptable at each of the grades as long as it meets the national minimum set by the Department of Education. It should be stated the negative implications of schools continually just meeting the national minimums.

3. Top performing schools/programs may be eligible for expansion funding. Incentives for top performing teachers and principles.

4. Probation for failure – failing students will go under a probationary period for assessment until a secondary test is under-taken. A repeating failure will put the student under advisory to determine the necessary steps to rectify the learning problem. Schools reporting high failure rates will also go under a probationary period to rectify the problem. After which time, if an acceptable solution is not found, the school will lose funding, accreditation or force the school to replace the administration.

A true capitalistic approach is outcome based, fiscally responsible, and fair. Not a lot of costs in this program, whereas the No Child Left Behind for some reason claims over 24 Billion in federal funding annually. And still the teacher’s Unions and critics are demanding more money, less regulation, lowering minimum standards, and plenty excuses for failure.

I guess that’s what you get when Government gets involved.