Thursday, October 22, 2009
For fall break I took a brief trip back to a world of college applications, PSAT prep and worry about the future. Not intentionally — I visited my high school to see my old teachers, who I now count as friends. And it was hard to ignore the theme in classrooms of juniors and seniors this time of year.
It reminded me of my own college search, which was narrow and simple, partly as a result of an unlikely Christmas gift: “The Overachievers” by Alexandra Robbins. It’s a deep, factual book — which my mom mistook for fiction — that convinced me to come to the University of Kansas.
I even tried to convince fellow students to join me, explicating a part of the book in a column in my high school paper: “In 1999, after 20 years of research a study found that in the real world, the differences between earnings of a college graduate were more dependent upon the caliber of the student rather than the place those students went.”
Despite this, Gov. Mark Parkinson told the Board of Regents in August the University should raise admissions standards and have an overall goal of an improved national ranking.
Though I don’t believe in the ends (the rankings, which, according to Robbins, are adjusted each year to keep Harvard, Yale and Stanford on top), the means (admissions) should be changed.
“Nationally, 23 percent of high school graduates were college-ready, meaning they were likely to earn a “C” or better in college courses, according to a recent report by ACT,” reported the Tulsa World.
Although college admissions standards should be raised and education improved — which would occur just if remedial courses were removed — K-12 curricula must also be strengthened.
Robbins offers a couple ideas to start. First, delay the high school start time, switching it with those of elementary and middle schools, to compensate for the naturally later sleep cycles of teens (approximately 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.). Second, de-emphasize testing for deeper learning. Education should be about truly processing information, rather than a “superficial, temporary memorization of facts.”
The inclusion of a financial information class and the establishment of broad, pride-building projects by and for students are suggestions that could help create well-rounded individuals.
The goal should be for high school education to provide students with the thinking and organizational skills needed to not only make it through life, but to also make them the kind of involved, voting citizens that Thomas Jefferson said were necessary for the “American Experiment” to succeed. Worrying about getting as many Americans through additional education should come later.
Perhaps someday “It’ll all turn out,” just as Michael Bublé sings in his latest single “Haven’t Met You Yet.” But when it comes to finding real solutions, we “haven’t yet.” With the emphasis on testing at both the K-12 and university levels, we haven’t even begun to try.
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