So, what is the solution? First, we must reassert some basic requirements. Democracy is at the heart of any public educational process, which means service to a diversity of citizens and treating them all with equal respect. Secondly, we must create a curriculum that prepares students for the world in which they live and gives them the capacity to understand and evaluate what the dynamics of a changing world puts before them. Thirdly, we create a structure to allow the educational process to work smoothly. And finally, we finance the system with a public taxation system.
The first requirement of support for democracy is so basic that it cannot be compromised and, in the process the democratic elements of inclusiveness, fairness, respect and equality are crucial.
The curriculum is also important and should reflect the information and skills that are required to deal with the modern world. That includes mathematics and science and an introduction to modern technology. It also includes an understanding of scientific method and the basics of research, logic and problem solving so students can have the tools to evaluate information.
Curriculum must also include history to help students make sense of the growth and development of the human race throughout time. There must also be study of society and its growth and development and the process of governance. This should also include segments on the local and state communities, their history and their significance. It is also necessary to give students the means of choosing the values upon which they base their lives. This includes understanding the differing value systems that exist in the world.
The curriculum must include the perspectives of literature and the arts reflecting what is happening in the world as well as what has happened in the past. This should also open creative fields of expression to the students.
And finally, the curriculum must include understanding the human body, both in its functions and through physical participation in sports and exercise as well as an understanding of diet and nutrition. Finally, some understanding of how the body deals with trauma and an introduction to the medical areas is important.
Other than the basics of democracy, the curriculum must not be partisan in a political sense. It must also be objective about values whether they are ideological or religious.
The structure of public education in the U.S. has been established for some time and works quite well. The teachers are the heart of the process, and they have a supportive staff to help with the day-by-day routines. There is also an administrative function, usually through a principal and superintendent, as well as a financial officer. All of this is to support the work of the teachers and oversee the entire process. The teachers are trained and educated as professionals and are licensed by the state to teach their specialties appropriately. There are evaluation processes for the teachers and for the school itself.
The School Board is made up of community members whose job is twofold. First, they are the conduit to help keep the community informed about the schools and to provide the necessary financial support to make the entire process feasible.
If there were to be a shift to put the most vocal local parents in charge of education, it would turn the entire system on its head, destroying the professional basis of public education and putting the process in the hands of those who do not have the tools, training and perspective to provide for public education in a democracy. They would create their own vision of the world based on fear and paranoia and created complete with alternate science, alternate facts and an alternate reality to fit their vision of how the world should be.
There is no way to expose students to new ideas and change within the society without creating some dissonance and perhaps discomfort with their existing ideas and world views. That is the process of human growth and development, and unless the educational system is to devolve into indoctrination to an unchanging set of beliefs and values, that challenge must be a part of any valid education in a democracy based upon a diverse citizenry.
If issues do arise the entire structure provides ways to help find solutions within that structure.
Those who understand how public education is crucial to a functioning American democracy will need to continue to stand up and be heard. They must insist on a public education that continues to embrace inclusivity, diversity and equality. They must continue to support professionally trained and licensed teachers in order to continue to produce well-rounded students who will take their place as part of an informed citizenry while being prepared for a diverse and changing world.
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