Washington Post
Education
Jay Mathews Column
Manny Suarez guest


How would I improve public education with 100 Billion dollars ?

There are two major issues that I hear about constantly from my friends who teach in the public school system:

1. Only 25% of the population has a college degree, so why are we cramming algebra down the throats of the other 75% of the population that will never use it in the “real” world ?

2. The middle school is a zoo, there is no discipline, if we could just get rid of the few rotten apples, we could teach to the rest who really want to learn.

The first issue is already being addressed by the school system. Many new magnet schools and high schools which teach real world job skills are popping up all around the nation.

The second problem is really only known by the teachers who teach every day and administrators who say their hands are tied and move these troublemakers from school to school, passing the problem to other schools and teachers. Everyone is waiting until these kids turn 16, when they can kick them out of the school system.

Several years ago, here in our county the school administrators decided to build four schools around the county (mainly portable classrooms) that they called “alternative” schools, and they shipped the worse students to these schools. My friends who teach in the public schools said they noticed a difference right away. But this program only lasted two years (funding ran out), and then these kids went back into the main population again.

I suggest we use that 100 billion dollars to build 1,000 “alternative middle schools” (10 schools each in our 100 biggest school districts). This is where the federal government can help the most. Then let the local school districts provide the funding for the teachers and policemen needed to make this program work.

Manny from Tampa