Goal 3:Mandatory education through high school with certification of achievement and a relevant curriculum required.ObstaclesEducation raises the thorny issue of what is to be taught. It is implicitly realized that what one learns at a young age colors one's beliefs for the rest of life. Thus, the choice of curriculum is always a contentious one. In some societies this function is delegated to religious authorities. In developed countries the tendency has been to make it a secular function, sometimes with additional, optional, religious instruction outside the main educational framework. The US has had a mixed model where, while education is mandatory, the school may be state supported, religious or private and secular.Those who prefer private education have the burden of supporting public education as well and are the most outspoken on the subject. If the funding issues were removed it would seem that resistance would lessen. The issues of what should be taught still need to be addressed, however. If a society is to be pluralistic it would seem that a large component of education should be uniform so that all people share a common core of knowledge. Beyond this people should be free to pursue whatever specialized, optional, education they wish. There is the difficult issue of what to do with those parents who don't want their children to be exposed to a broad educational experience. The Amish are a good example. Parents are limiting their children's options in life at an age when children are not able to make these decisions for themselves. Parents do not "own" their children and the desire of some to act as if they do is one of the unresolved conflicts of a democratic society. ImplementationRequiring everyone who is able to receive a full secondary education will incur additional public education expenses. It appears cheaper to dump the hardest to teach from the school system as quickly as possible. The extra programs required to teach those with weak educational accomplishment may seem expensive. The lack of success in implementing these programs so far is due to the fact that the educational costs are paid for locally, but the societal costs of having undereducated people leaving school are borne indirectly. A school teacher and a policeman cost society about the same, but a criminal keeps costing society while an educated worker contributes to the overall wealth. So, ultimately, the school teacher is a better investment. Lower education leads to anti-social behavior and poorer ability for self support. Schooling should be funded from general revenues. The desires of certain communities to provide richer programs can then be a local option. Funding from general revenue does not have to imply non-local control, although minimum standards should be made more uniform.Recent attempts have been too broad brush. In an attempt to prevent localities from shifting difficult students into less rigorous programs real allowances for handicaps and intellectual differences have been ignored. A series of alternative programs meeting basic goals should be offered. Careful monitoring can limit the problems that arise from excessive "special education" programs. Educational philosophers like John Dewey promoted the idea that for democracy to succeed society needed a well-educated population. Only then could they make the informed choices needed to deal with social issues. Those with an authoritarian bent (even in a democratic society) don't really subscribe to this idea and prefer to control access to differing viewpoints. A reasonable compromise is to allow them to supplement their children's education with whatever special material they feel appropriate, but attempting to restrict information is anti-democratic and must be opposed. Authoritarianism in a democracy must be shown for what it is and vigorously opposed. |