The Challenge of Education

A teacher tried to illustrate some of the peculiarities of the English language. Here are a few of the complex pronunciations: The bandage was wound around the wound. The farm was used to produce produce. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. We must polish the Polish furniture. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

Need more? They were too close to the door to close it. The buck does funny things when the does are present . . . Now, this may not work for a young child or an outsider but it does show some of the idiosyncrasies of language, yet so essential for learning.

Right now there is some serious concern, not only for the US, but worldwide about the art or science of education. The desire to discover how much is learned, how best to teach, more or fewer tests, measuring the skills of both those who learn and those who teach, how to improve both learning and teaching, should computers and the internet be used more or not as much. And on it goes with no consensus in sight. Is it an art or science?

Geographical location of the school, its status, crossing boundaries, busing or walking all enter the problem. I drive past the high school now where our son graduated and the huge student parking lot is full of vehicles. Guards at intersections and the very noticeable yellow buses on the move. I can only remember one student who occasionally drove to high school while we walked as I recollect seventy years ago. And no parking lot.

Not only preschool, elementary, junior and senior high schools are affected. Higher education is also buffeted by techniques and incompetence, purchasing or renting textbooks, the use and abuse of computers and the internet, the ease of plagiarism and hotshot fraternities, athletic misconduct, salary inequities, outdated and changing majors and minors, debts and yes, mistaken majors for the existing job market. Schooling is so much more than classes and homework, isn't it?

Kind of makes us wonder if today's education really makes the Readin', Ritin' and 'Rithmetic era passe. Such a pity if we end up knowing a lot of stuff (good and not so good) but can't read, write, add or subtract, or know right from wrong. Computers and the like are great inventions but hardly a worthy substitution if basic fundamentals are ignored.