Although the recession is threatening the longevity of some public schools across the country, teachers and other leaders are attempting to create a common curriculum that could be applied to any public school in the United States. A plan released on Monday by the Albert Shanker Institute, a non-profit organization mostly concerned with children’s education and union rights, would lead the effort. By implementing guidelines for schools, the Institute would effectively be providing a jumping-off point for teachers.
Despite the fact that the plan doesn’t have specific details, nationalizing the education system in terms of a curriculum would lead to an improved school system at large. In contrast with European public school supervisors, local representatives who appear concerned with maintaining provincial control of schools often have the most substantial say in what goes on in American public schools.
Undoubtedly, there should always be room for flexibility in the public school system. Teachers with distinct teaching styles should be allowed to flourish and impart ideas upon students without being subject to unnecessary guidelines. This is specifically why the Institute’s plan is promising, however. The website’s statement said that the guidelines “would account for about 50 to 60 percent of a school’s available academic time,” leaving the rest up to communities and, presumably, administrators.
While the committee that announced its support was made up of bipartisan officers, some Republican senators announced their opposition to the plan. According to The New York Times, Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., said he does “not want to politicize the curriculum.” It might be true that the Institute’s ideas require some amount of regulation on a widespread level, but this isn’t an attempt to alleviate control from communities who have become accustomed to holding jurisdiction over curriculums.
At the end of the day, the American education system needs assistance and a solution should be welcomed with open arms.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
