The Fight for Education

So, we happened to have a copy of the campus newspaper lying around our house. Normally I don't care to read it since normally it's full of crap, but the picture of people protesting against the proposed TBR changes piqued my curiosity so I read about it. I already knew about these proposed changes and highly disagreed with them but reading about it again just lit my fire all over again.

Let me tell you what I think about America's education system: it's just plain awful. I've been in British schools before (not as a student), and while I wasn't around enough to tell you with 100% certainty that they're better, I got the vibe they were better. I remember being confused by their third grade math (as a freshman in high school, though I think it was mostly a different approach, not so much that it was really hard. They were using graph paper though... in third grade...). They also have classes where they learn about environmentalism, religious studies, etc. British kids are also familiar with at least two or three languages, and let's face it, no one can deny that some countries, like Japan, are just plain smarter than us.

I don't know what the solution to a better education is. I can think of some improvements, but I know there's not a quick fix. I think there are a lot of things we need to work on, and I can also recognize a bad idea when I see one. I've never had an education class, but I have been a student for nearly 17 years now (more if you count preschool) and know what works and what does not. So when I heard the proposed TBR changes, I know that they would not work. They're so insistent on budget cuts that they are willing to compromise the quality of education by requiring a certain number of online classes, laying off professors, etc. As I read the article this morning, I learned that apprently the model is based off of University of Phoenix. What the crap?! I am going to a university with a large, physical campus and (some) small classes because that's the experience I want. If I want a University of Phoenix experience, I'll register there.

I also learned that TBR is over not just universities, but over community colleges and technological centers as well. I can only hope the rules vary among them, otherwise this too is a disaster. What a university needs is very different from what a community college needs which is very different from technological center needs. All these are unique and different college paths and should be treated as such.

I've often disagreed with choices made by my university, but I fee this will seemingly multiply as more budget cuts are made. Instead of scaling back on the number of students and construction projects, the school wants to lay off faculty and staff and get rid of the school's jazz station, which is a valuable commodity to the community. I am baffled that they did not mention cutting the other radio station the school has first, which is student-run and while, still valuable, is not nearly as much in the same way as the jazz station.

I have considered a couple of non-teaching professions in the education field for about five minutes, but then I realized that getting the degree and working in the field both would just frustrate me. Really, it's almost like trying to become a lawyer to me. One can have all these ambitions to make things right, but in the end you just end up defeated by the system. All I can say is I am so glad I am graduating so I am not directly affected by these changes, and I can only hope that one day things will actually change for the better in the education field.

Now... I bet you're mad too.