By The Center for Michigan - September 14, 2007
By Bob Harris
We have talked for years about the need for a seamless education system in Michigan. We have also said for many years, and even more so in recent years, that a high school education is not enough. So let's put our policy and practice where our mouths are. Let's ELIMINATE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION.
I know this seems a bit radical, but we would change the culture of our state if the expectation for every child were to finish at least K-14. Currently every child who finishes high school is given a diploma at a big ceremony with caps and gowns, frequently followed by a big party, and essentially told this is the end of their formal education. Anything beyond is gravy. But it isn't. Without more education, they get no gravy ( I'm not sure that analogy holds, but you get the picture).
Perhaps this idea could address both of these concerns, place Michigan in the forefront in education, and attract new businesses to the state. Imagine if Michigan became the first state in the nation to move beyond the current K-12 structure to one where kids moved seamlessly between systems, whenever they were ready, regardless of their actual grade level, but only finished when they had achieved that 14th or 16th year degree/certificate. Kids would grow up knowing that high school was just another step such as elementary and middle school, but not the end.
Granted we have made some steps toward this already with the Michigan Promise and other scholarship initiatives, and with dual enrollment. So why not go all the way and put our children and our state out in front of the education curve as they and we prepare for the future.
So there it is with all the complications that go along with it. But isn't it worth exploring? And how do we do it so that it doesn't become either a Republican or Democrat issue, but becomes an issue where we all can win?
2 Comments
Journey-man degree, not college. Mother's helper, not college. I wonder if we need to go back in time in order to recover some good things. My Amish friends only complete the 8th grade and they are good business people. Mainly because they have learned the valuable business practice of keeping their word. Back in the 1400's and 1600's people used to get engaged when they were like 16. So what's wrong with that (for girls?) since the HS kids are messing around anyway at that age? What's wrong with apprenticeships for the boys and mother's helper positions for girls of HS age. Give em credit for it, help them to graduate. I say that's practical education. Enough of these programs where the kids carry around an egg all day. I don't think so. Enough condoms on bananas, I mean, look around you, who's got nice big cushy houses and who're living in trailers? The Amish have really nice houses and many Englishers live in trailers or apts. (like myself, apt). Anyway, I think our educational system really needs to be revamped. I'm not saying being Amish is perfect, but I think there are lessons to be learned among us. Let's listen, let's learn. Let's learn to lean on God, not mankind. I've seen some pretty dead end programs like Job-Corps where the girls are like a piece of meat in that environment unless they have a boyfriend to protect them. Let's "use our heads" as my grandmother would say.
I thought one of the main driving forces for The Center for Michigan was not following the same failed paths of the past. By extending the current educational system to K-14 or 16 we would be repeating the same failures. The educational system of Michigan, as well as the United States, has two major flaws;
1. It is run by bureaucratic government agencies.
2. The aforementioned agencies are influenced by a unionized organization with the purpose of self-preservation, not education.
I could go into a longer discussion on the subject and present my take on the facts as they stand. Instead, I would ask those who read this to come to their own conclusions by doing dome research on the following questions:
1. Where does all of the money ear-marked for education actually get spent? How much of it actually reaches students?
2. To what level are children being educated by the current system? Are they being taught to reason or regurgitate?
3. What is the purpose of the National Education Association?
4. Are literacy levels better today than they were 100 years ago?
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