The dog days of August are here. The searing heat and the stifling humidity tend to play tricks on the little gray cells up there in one’s head. As I slid into my car the other day with my epidermis approaching medium rare levels, disjointed notions kept creeping up on me in my near-delirious state of mind.
What if I had the power to change things? No, not just to beat my drums and write about certain issues that concern me and no doubt a large segment of those driving by on this hot summer day, but what if I could do something about it? What if, for example, I was minister of education? What would I really do? Wouldn’t it be easier to continue knocking something down with my pen rather than to offer any practical alternative?
And the more I mulled this over, the more self-possessed I became. Yes, I would do something! To begin with, I would show less concern for numbers and more for quality. Statistics are for the feeble-minded, or for those with nothing better to do. I would not care about the numbers of the hundreds of thousands who graduate each year. Instead I would focus on what depth and effective skills these kids have picked up.
Nor would I take pride in the number of school buildings going up each year. Who knows how many of them are decrepit firetraps with metal bars across most windows, and steel doors guarding entrances? Who are they keeping in or out? I would rather spend some of that time inspecting schools randomly to determine how prepared they really are in case of emergencies.
And the teachers! I would institute a degree program for teaching to help them improve their skills. As it stands now, any university graduate can opt for the teaching profession, whether their heart is in it or not. I would weed out those who would serve this country better as farmers or goat-herders, and focus on those whose true calling is to impart effective learning.
I would talk to the business community and seek out their needs. I could then throw away all the old textbooks, and re-tailor education. Rather than force business to accept shoddily prepared graduates, I would focus on what the requirements of industry are to provide economic stimuli.
And finally, after realizing that physical education of sexes is necessary to build a healthy nation. I would enforce a mandatory physical education curriculum at all levels.
Boys and girls would then learn, and at an early age, that health is real wealth.
But like I said. It is August, I am not a minister, the weather is atrocious, and the ranting and raving of this columnist comes cheap. But would somebody stop and listen?
