My column last week on the quality of education prompted a reader to track my number down and call me to demand some answers. After introducing himself as Abdullah, a father of a 13-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl, he challenged me on some of the points I had raised.
The gist of our conversation went along the following lines. “You say that our schools are not producing capable children, and are not providing them with the right type of education. Perhaps what you wrote is true. But should you not bear the responsibility of defining what needs to be changed and how?” Abdullah began.
“Abdullah, if you had read the column carefully, you would have noticed that all I did was offer a few perspectives on the subject of education from those who were experiencing it. It’s true that I did not offer much in the way of what could help improve us in the field of education, but I concluded with a call to the Ministry of Education to review the current curriculum and teaching methods.”
“See, it is easy to criticize when something is not working, but much harder to offer working solutions,” Abdullah countered.
Sensing my ire on the rise, I responded, “Look Abdullah, I am not an expert in the field of education. But I am a parent and I have these questions for you. Do you believe a high school graduate today has the necessary tools to carry them forth toward a professional future? Or make them self-dependent in day-to-day matters?
Now there are exceptions to the rule, but I do believe Abdullah that most graduates are lacking in some very basic training and experiences.”
“Like what?” he wanted to know.
“Have your children ever participated in debating societies sponsored by their school? A forum where they could express and exchange views. And maybe understand that they may not always be right in their assumptions, and that there may be other points of view. Have they ever been encouraged to take up a topic from their studies and research it from the school library or on the Internet? Will your children have had some basic mechanical training before they graduate? Would they be able to carry out simple repairs around the house or on an automobile?”
And with thoughts beginning to flow, I hammered on. “How about some First-Aid training which may come in handy one day, or an introduction to elementary finance where they can learn to budget themselves. Or intra-mural sports allowing them to experience the spirit of competition. Or lessons in speech and public speaking.
Or better school facilities and stringent assessments and requirements for teachers. What about discussions centered along some of the subjects the children take? Rather than being subjected to a droning rote of a teacher reading the subject material from the textbook, why not make it more enlightening by drawing these children in a classroom open discussion. And what about the absolute lack of Art and Music education? Drama classes and school plays? Why not offer them a stage to sample their own creativity? Perhaps there is a Bach or Beethoven buried within some of our children’s resources. But would we ever know?
And if you give me some more time Abdullah, I’m sure I’ll come up with more examples. But you are right. Instead of telling you all of this I should be more proactive and draft a letter of recommendations to the minister of education. I would have thought however that the experts at the ministry would have considered of all of this by now.”
