The Problem with Education in America
Two interactions this week helped me to see the current problem in education. In the first, a friend complained about the high cost of college and how it isn’t worth it any more. In the second, a friend complained about the low salaries of teachers. Both aren’t necessarily wrong, but I believe both are focusing on the wrong things. Each demonstrate contrasting views of education, one doesn’t see the benefits in education at its current cost and the other misplaces the value in education, making it about the teachers and not the students. But in both cases, the core value of education is missing.
The problem with education
These two interactions are not unique. I see the same themes repeated over and over. This is a cultural issue and shows a systemic problem with the American society. When we don’t value something, we don’t want to put money or time into it. Hence the low teacher salaries. But complaining about low teacher salaries isn’t a solution, its a symptom not a cause. In fact, complaining doesn’t spur people to action, but rather initiates defensive mechanisms and spurs the question of whether or not they are worth it. Perhaps, as contrarians insist, teachers don’t deserve a raise because they do a poor job with education. I know my kids and I have both had our fair share of poor teachers. Why should I support higher salaries when too much of it goes to mediocre teachers? Of course the answer to this question leads to lower salaries across the board and leads many of the best, most competent individuals to go into other fields where they can make more money and earn more prestige. That leaves many less competent individuals going into education leading to lower quality education. It’s a vicious cycle.
That’s not to say that all teachers are less competent. There are many amazing teachers. I have personally witnessed them push myself, my kids, and others to new heights. Teachers such as my high school Physics teacher, Mr. Curry, who inspired me to get my undergraduate degree in Physics. Or my kids’ elementary teacher, Mrs. Koch, who helped them navigate 4th, 5th, and 6th grade and grow into amazing teens. These types of teachers are worth their weight in gold. I would love to see such teachers get paid obscene amounts of money and would be willing to pay for it myself.
But the answer is not to just raise salaries. That’s been tried and failed. Over and over again. For example, Washington DC is known to offer some of the highest spending per pupil and has some of the worst outcomes in the nation. Still! After many years of flooding money into the school district, it still sucks. Money doesn’t fix outcomes. So what does?
How to fix education
Ah, therein lies the trillion dollar question. Because a nation that doesn’t value education is a nation doomed to mediocrity. The best solution is ironically, not to focus on outcomes at least not directly. Not academic achievement or even on getting a job. These are tactical in nature, but miss the bigger picture. The problem is cultural, not tactical. Academic achievement, measured through test after test is a tactical approach. But does nothing for internal motivation. Getting a good job, while a nice thing to have, does little to motivate children who aren’t thinking about their life 10 years from now. Their focus is on the here and now. And so should their education.
Unfortunately, many parents don’t care about education either. They have bad memories from their childhood and don’t see how it applies to their life. So when their kids have to go, they don’t instill any desire to do well. This attitude infects others, leading to large groups of people that don’t value education. Unfortunately, this attitude is prevalent in some minority communities. But it’s spreading and leading to misdirected efforts to “fix” it.
Rather the focus of education should be on flourishing in life; on one’s current happiness; on developing meaningful knowledge for a meaningful live, regardless of one’s career, grade, socio-economic status, or ambitions. What we need is a change in the culture. A change that places the value of education on living life to one’s fullest. In such a culture, we study literature because it brings meaning to our life. We study advanced mathematics because it helps us think more logically and precisely. History – to better understand the human world we live in now. Science – to better understand our natural world and react to changing conditions. It doesn’t matter what career one chooses, or even no career at all. Education makes life better.
What we need is a change in the culture, one that focuses on its true value. We need to change the culture, whether through stories, logical arguments, or through first hand proof. We need to show that education’s proper value should be about living a full and complete life. That education is the most important thing for a species dependent on reason. What we need is a revolution in education. And that revolution starts with me.
