Instead of debating whether teachers should strike, I’m hoping we can all stay focused on the real question: “How can we improve the education system, so that students learn to their maximum potential and emerge as competent adult learners, workers, and citizens?”
Two important facts are true whether you are Republican or Democrat:
1) Enrollment in college departments of education is down. In addition, studies show about half of new teachers leave within the first five years.
2) A class size of 30 students provides me with about five minutes per day per group of three students — not enough time to develop the mathematical skills that will make these students (and our society) world competitive. Every education reform slows down to a crawl when it hits my class-size numbers.
Collaboration is a frequent buzzword in our society. It is time to put it into practice. Leaders in government, education, and business need to sit down together, listen to each other, look at ideas and data (including from other countries), and start doing some real problem-solving and solution-making. In the end this will be harder than putting a man on the moon, but isn’t it worth the effort?
