Education is in a state of crisis. We have testing, so teachers teach to the tests. Some have even altered test scores, and this deprives students of the extra academic assistance they might really need. There is so little time left for human interaction. Parents and community leaders need to demand more from our public, private, and charter schools. A change is going to come, but shouldn't we be guiding the focus of this change?
Education reform is nothing new, and it's also nothing to ignore or delay. Educators are contentious when it comes to curriculum development because there are so many different opinions regarding which aspects of the traditional curriculum to prioritize and which to throw away. Should national experts be consulted or should the local community have a say?
Reasoning, problem-solving and critical thinking should be included as vital parts of any school curriculum, but how, when, and to what extent? Curriculum design determines the future of our society, and this is what education is all about--building strong citizens who will build a stronger society.
It is not in our best interests as a society to allow children to graduate from high school without leadership skills. It is also not in our best interests to have students drop out of schools because of bullying or inability to collaborate with others due to low emotional competence. It is certainly not in our best interests to spend more of our state budgets on prisons (in some states) than we do on education.
Education reform is not something to be ignored unless we want our societal infrastructure to deteriorate one school dropout at a time. It takes emotional competence and leadership skills to create strong leaders. Our curriculum design needs to reflect this, and it needs to do it now.
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