The "All Essentials" Approach to Education Let us take for granted the fact that math is important in the modern world; if you don't have at least basic competence in the subject there is no way to compete for decent jobs and you would be severely disadvantaged in your private life in innumerable ways. Similarly, it is vital to know science, although probably we can agree that since no-one can master all the sciences, general understanding is good enough if we know at least one science in a little depth, in a lot of depth if it is related to one's chosen profession. I think everyone can agree on this much. What I'd like to know is why this is where the principle, "education is important," usually ends. Nothing else is important ? Unsaid in this, but generally assumed, is that computer literacy is also important. No-one has any difficulty in understanding this much also. But nothing else matters ? It isn't important to know American history ? It isn't important to know European and world history ? It isn't important to know English language skills, including writing skills ? It isn't important to know at least one foreign language even if you don't become fluent ? It isn't important to know the basics of the social sciences ? It isn't important to know the basics of economics ? It isn't important to know the basics of marketing and advertising ? It isn't important to know the basics of sales and business ?
It isn't important to know enough about psychology to have a good sense of human limitations ? It isn't important to know basic principles of education, sufficient to know how to teach others ? It isn't important to know basics of the Law ? It isn't important to know at least basic arts skills , enough to draw floor plans and the like ? It isn't important to know the basics of music, music history, and variety in music styles ? It isn't important to know the basics of media of various kinds, from radio to TV and movies ? It isn't important to know the basics of world religions since we live in a pluralistic society ? It isn't important to know the Bible since so much of our shared culture follows from it ? It isn't important to know the ins and outs of real world politics ? It isn't important to know as much as possible about forecasting and conceptualizing the future ? It isn't important to know the basics of medicine ? It isn't important to know the basics of military science ? and maybe most significant of all : It isn't important to know the basics of logic and philosophy so that you can reason effectively ? The following article points out the value of parental involvement in a child's education, either because a mother or father helps a child with homework, or because parents spend what they can afford on tutoring or supplemental studies, viz, art school, music classes, and the like. But some of this is by implication only. The assumption is very clear, only math is essential and , by extension, science. I find this point of view ridiculous. OK, this perspective has the advantage of focus, it is impossible to forget the thesis and it seems self-evidently true as far as it goes. But to say the least, it hardly says everything that needs saying. It leaves out what I consider to be 20 other essentials. And we could add a few others also, which are implicit in broader categories , like environment as part of science and journalism either as part of English language or the blog side of "computers." But how can this "all essentials" approach be communicated to best effect ? Remember by associating one or two things with each finger and toe ? About this, I do not currently have an answer but am ( wide ) open to suggestions. All kinds of implications, everything from surveys about the state of education generally, to what this says about home schooling and the need for parents who go that route in evaluating themselves as teachers of their kids. Comments welcome Billy =============================================================== Washington Post Posted at 11:46 AM ET, 12/29/2010 Are math scores lagging because U.S. parents are clueless? By Jay Mathews I stumbled across one of those charming surveys with too small a sample to depend on, but a result interesting enough -- and close enough to possible -- to blog on anyway. It suggests that the kids in Singapore are stealing our lunch money in the race for math supremacy because their parents hire tutors far more often than we do, and because their parents have a less inflated sense of their math skills than U.S. parents do. The _survey of 1,114 parents_ (http://www.bhef.com/news/newsreleases/2010/raytheon-study.asp) of children ages 10-14 was conducted in 2010 by a team of researchers working for the Raytheon Co. and a Boston firm called Eduventures Inc. There were only 561 parents from the United States, 311 from England and 272 from Singapore participating, but the researchers apparently felt that gave them at least a faint suggestion of what might explain the fact that Singapore students’ average math scores are significantly above those of U.S. students. What do you think? In Singapore, the researchers said, 42 percent of parents report the use of tutors for math help, compared with 10 percent of parents in the United States. That doesn't mean those American 10- to 14-year-olds aren't getting extra help with their math homework. Seventy-seven percent of U.S. parents said family members helped the children, usually about one or two hours a week. Let's give a cheer for involved parents before we review the evidence suggesting that mom and dad may not be the best tutors, or the best judges of the worth of their assistance. More than half said they "believe they have high ability to help their children with fractions, division, and math word problems." Seventy-two percent said they "know the level of math education my child needs to succeed in college." The researchers, phrasing their conclusions gently, said: "Evidence suggests U.S. parents may be overly confident or lacking in the use of accurate metrics around math performance and college preparedness. For example, 78 percent of U.S. parents report their children's math performances are in the top 20 percent compared to peers in school." There is more bad news for us otherwise good-hearted American parents, proud of our kids and eager to help. The researchers discovered that 51 percent of Singapore parents had received instruction from educators about how to help their children with math. In the United States and England, only 25 percent of parents reported receiving similar instruction. About a third of Singapore students had participated in math competitions, the parents reported. Only 20 percent of the English parents and 9 percent of the American parents said the same. U.S. educators appear to think that our kids need more help in math, as well as other subjects. Parents agree. Now we have to figure out if the help we are giving them is really helping much. -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
