The Education Bucket List

Milford Trek, South Island, New Zealand. Photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman
fliesinyoureyes.com

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie discusses poorly performing schools and the influence of the teachers' union:

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/06/02/quote-of-the-day-590/

Not long ago I received an Internet sourced speech purportedly given by a high school principal in Florida. The content of the message amounted to a wish list of the changes necessary to extricate the failing public school system from itself:



"To the students and faculty of our high school, I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.

I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country.



First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships. The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity -- your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is American. This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans.

If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity-,race- and non-American nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of America, one of its three central values -- E Pluribus Unum, "from many, one." And this school will be guided by America's values. This includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society divided by political correctness. Your clubs will be based on interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism -- an unhealthy preoccupation with the self -- while the purpose of education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you do not already speak, carpentry and more. If the only extracurricular activities you can imagine being interesting in are those based on ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of yourself really interests you.



Second, I am uninterested in whether English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has united America's citizens for over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants has always come to be one country. And if you leave this school without excellent English language skills, I would be remiss in my duty to ensure that you will be prepared to successfully compete in the American job market. We will learn other languages here -- it is deplorable that most Americans only speak English -- but if you want classes taught in your native language rather than in English, this is not your school.



Third, because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning's elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in our society dress more formally for Hollywood events than for church or school. These people have their priorities backward. Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.



Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school's property -- whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you can't speak without using the f-word, you can't speak. By obscene language I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets such as "Nigger," even when used by one black student to address another black, or "bitch," even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and the obscene.



Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way -- the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago -- by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.



Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No more time will be devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue. There will be no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian. We will have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not consider him or herself inordinately lucky -- to be alive and to be an American.

Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you."

It is difficult to imagine any public school official giving this speech, much less implementing the six step program. The scenario is so far fetched that it is difficult to believe the principal is a real person rather than someone's personified argument concocted to exemplify the ideal classroom atmosphere. The outcry from teachers' unions, civil rights organizations, politicians, and the media would reach such a cacophony of protest that the “principal” would be forced to recant, resign, or temper his ardor.

For the sake of today's public school students I hope the “principal” does exist, but it is more plausible to envision this character in a private school setting where parents insist their children receive a first rate education. Until the public school system is forced to compete against private, religious, and military schools, they will fall father behind and the professions of the “principal” will become more distant. The solution is as simple as a voucher which allows parents and students to determine the school of their choice. The innovation will transform the educational system instantly, provide opportunity to children of all socioeconomic backgrounds, and establish an atmosphere where superb teachers are rewarded accordingly while poor ones will have to consider other career fields. Vouchers will transform the “principal's” bucket list from fantasy to the norm and catapult the beleaguered public school system from mediocrity to excellence.