Education

I am a big fan of “model-based” development when it comes to looking at a problem and proposing a cure.  If we can develop a model or point to an existing model that repeatedly yields beneficial outcomes for consistent inputs, it’s like possessing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

All too often, the education issue seems to be boiled down to an issue of money (enough for teachers, resources, facilities) with little thought towards whether our practices and methods are being effective. (Will those students, duly resourced, still pass a test at the end of the day?)

So, what model would I point to for effective education?  My model is integrally connected and dependent on the position I proposed in the previous section for fixing the family, a stable, two-parent marriage.   It is from this foundation that parents are able to have an “air-tight” investment in the educational performance of their children, even to the degree of teaching them at home as “Home-Schoolers”.  So home-schooling would represent my model basis.

Now, I realize that home-schooling is not a perfect solution, nor is every family in a position to educate at home.  I myself am the product of public education and both my parents were public school teachers.  But I believe (I know) there is an essential element in the home-school practice that virtually guarantees success in either the public or private setting.  It is the loving/caring involvement of a parent/adult who is invested in the outcome.  When acted upon, this truth results in that priceless commodity known as “student motivation”.  When that takes place, it will be the teachers’ job to try to keep up.