The Education System – As Is

We all recognize that no system is perfect. When we look at the Education system for example, depending on who is looking at it and from what angle, it seems like there are a lot of pieces that need to be worked upon individually and in the way they have all been put together. Yes, it may have started off as a factory/assembly line model a century ago when children were bucketed together by age group and were made to study the same things at the same time. This worked well during the Industrial revolution except later, it was realized that there really was no Quality Assurance put in place in the form standardized tests. It put total dependence on individual teachers and their personal qualification and skill level.

Then, to solve this problem came the ‘No Child left Behind’ act to measure the success of all schools against one standard testing bar. To ensure success of the NCLB act, federal funding was based on the performance of each school. Where money is a great motivator, it also is a creator of many issues. As these issues began to surface, it was time to replace this act by ‘Race to The Top’ program which promises to address the loop holes of the NCLB act and adds some very competitive ways to acquire the same funding. While the intelligentsia in the education industry puts their heads together to put together a ‘corporate’ plan to define, execute and exceed expectations, parents and families are left to discover the fast transitions that this industry is trying to make. As it is they come from a generation where things were taught differently, and children refuse to accept their academic superiority, because that confuses them. And now things change so drastically and at such a fast pace that everyone has a tough time coping with this change driven by political Acts.

Children continue to grow while the systems are struggling to catch up. What families need is someone to help their child learn and not just get educated. Children need individual attention, an individual pace, independent thinking, social experience, creative time, physical activity, interaction with kids of similar intellectual levels, safe environment and a guided structure. While our current system is evolving to provide all of this, all at once and is approaching the ‘perfect’ scenario, more and more parents look for ways to adopt a DIY (Do It Yourself) attitude so their child’s learning is not compromised. Some do plenty of leg work to find the best fit school for their child, others turn to home schooling and many others look for supplemental education. While finding the best fit school does most of the job, some kids may still need some fine tuning. Home Schooling on the other hand, puts direct control in the hands of parents but may leave a social void in the minds of the child. Supplemental Education, when done right, has the potential of catering to individual needs. I believe, America needs more people dedicated to this field who continue to strive to fill up the gaps that are left in each child’s academic growth and education while our system evolves to follow the pace of the world. This may sound as a bandage solution but it really is long term, because no Education system will ever by perfect. A well designed supplemental education system comes with less restrictions and boundaries and a capability to quickly adapt to the needs of each child.