The Current Situation:
America has fallen behind. In 2010’s world rankings, the US came in 14th in reading, 25th in math, and 17th in science. Graduation rates are lower than they ought to be. How can we expect to excel in the future if we are providing our children with inferior education? Our public school systems are failing our nation’s youth, and they deserve better.
Better Government Party Future:
We believe in the best education for all U.S. citizens. Today, our children are not receiving it. Public education is the only sector in which more funding has led to decreased productivity. We need to stop just throwing money at this problem and start thinking innovatively to reform the systemic failures in public education. We need to encourage outside the box thinking, and when we find a new idea that works, we need to rapidly deploy it to other districts.
It is embarrassing how little we currently value teachers’ contributions to society. We need to change the way we recruit, train, develop and keep the best teachers. Their work is of the utmost importance, so they need to be doing it well and we need to compensate them well for that work when they achieve at high standards. Better pay, with incentives tied to performance, will attract and keep talented, motivated educators in front of our nation’s classrooms.
Given how poorly we’ve paid and often treated teachers, it is easy to see why they needed to unionize. Teachers unions have provided some valuable services, but we must reform systems that keep ineffective educators in the classroom regardless of their performance. The purpose of schools is to educate students; education policy must prioritize the children and implement solutions that best prepare them for their futures. All other considerations are secondary.
What do you think?
Email your ideas for a stronger, better America to join@BetterGovernmentParty.org! Popular solutions will be highlighted on the website for further discussion.
