Lipstick on Education

Overheard so don't lambaste me: "Why are they so upset over the 'lipstick on a pig' comment, didn't Sarah Palin already announce in her first speech that she was a dog if she wasn't wearing any? Maybe I heard that wrong."

I don't pretend to know anything about the No Child Left Behind act, or the state of education on the whole—I only have my perspective. Kodiak schools have always been wonderful for me, filled with a diversity of cultures, dedicated and caring teachers, administrators and staff. Even with the cinching of the budget belt, somehow we managed to keep programs that other schools have deemed frivolous. The arts, sciences, maths, and technology are rounded off by a healthy dose of athletics. We have even been given a top award for a school where a good portion of the students do not have English as their primary language.

It isn't all roses, of course, there are always classes and programs to lobby for, buildings in need of repair, special circumstances that need to be met, funding that is expected turned into the need for fund-raising, and children who need more effort to educate than ever before. All in all, I suppose we should count our blessings as far as schooling goes.

I've just read both candidate's statements on education. Obama | McCain. They both have some good things to say, but I wish you could pick and choose à la carte from both for the final policy. Once again, I'm leaning more toward the Obama camp, if not for the better dialogue, for the link that asks to Present your Ideas.

My ideas. Now, that is a thought provoking concept. My idea is that it isn't going to matter much for changes coming from within the education system as it is right now. Pay the teachers more, try and force math concepts on children who don't have the attention spans to follow logic ... wonderful ideas, and they need to be implemented, but to use that horrid cliché once again, lipstick. It isn't going to change the outcome of our children, the people that need to be held accountable with the ultimate responsibility are us, parents.

I've seen enough 'Nanny 911' and firsthand examples to realize, that as a generation, we really miss the mark on parenting skills and passing on virtues such as general morality and empathy. A lot of our children are disrespectful, wasteful, and greedy. I know most people would balk at the idea of mandatory parenting classes, but Keanu Reeve's character in 'Parenthood' had a good point "...you need a license to buy a dog, to drive a car - hell, you even need a license to catch a fish. But they'll let any butt-reaming asshole be a father."

Ideas regarding parenting, although I don't agree with myself that any of them actually should be implemented:
1) Require newly expectant parents to complete a responsible parenting class, not just newborn care.
2) Offer and encourage in-home services to teach positive parenting and effective discipline to anyone who asks, not just limited to those reported to child welfare, or want to be on reality TV.
3) Add Parenting 101 to the high school manditory curriculum and accent sex ed with a 'Baby Borrowers' boot camp.
4) Teach parents how to teach their children.
5) Become accountable as parents, do our part in helping our children develop a love for learning, consideration for others, and promote creativity and curiosity and the ability to teach themselves.

As for education within the school system:
1) Add requirements in elementary for nutrition, menu planning, budgeting and culinary skills.
2) Drop standardized testing / develop more individualized benchmarking.
3) Require personal finance / money management in middle school and high school.
4) Emphasize physical education as requirements, not electives.
5) Offer additional language classes in elementary (when second languages are more easily absorbed).
6) Teach tools to deal with a society obsessed with distraction and overindulgence, and teach children to find merit in responsibility, develop focus and counteract attention issues.

I could probably brainstorm more idealistic twaddle, but I'm having difficulty counteracting my own A.D.D., and apparently socialist tendencies. Who would have thought an apathetic anarchist punk like me could get that way?