education

It caught my attention this weekend when I was surfing the net and checking my usual news sites which include several newspapers in the U.S. and two or three in Europe and sometimes Israel that the articles in the overseas papers aren't written for seventh graders like the U.S. papers.  They actually use what my dad called ten-dollar words and even, gasp, throw in a foreign word now and then.  It vividly illustrates the effect of the dumbing down of our education system and how far we've fallen below the rest of the developed world.

 I have thought for years now that we need to get back to the basics in education for the first three years.  Diversity is great and I'm all for it but kids really need a solid basis in reading, writing and arithmetic.  It's kind of like building a house:  If the foundation isn't solid it doesn't matter what kind of bells and whistles you add because it won't be a stable house.  Reading especially is a basic necessity.  When you can read, you have the world at your fingertips.  And writing develops critical thinking and the ability to organize your thoughts to effectively communicate.

And the other thing I think would help is expecting the most from our kids.  Kids tend to live up or down to expectations.  If you expect them to bring home A's, they will.  If you just expect them to go to school, that's what they'll do most of the time.  Each child is different but expect the best that each child is capable of and teach them to expect the best of themselves.