The Case for Education Reform

A one system for all is not feasible.

All of us have interest that is different from everyone else. We want others to be interested in our interest while others want us to be interested in their interest. No two people will have identical interest. To compensate, we socialize with similar interest and distance ourselves from others.

What happens in the classroom? All students must take an interest in instructors' interest and the instructor has little interest in students' interest. This is contrary to human nature.  What about students who have strong interest that is different? They take no interest in the instructor and are labeled failures and considered outcast. Does, NOT taking an interest in instructors' interest mean they can't learn? Our society seems to think so. Because there is no primary focus, most teenagers do not have a vision of the person they want to be. In time, their social environment influences their lifestyle, which could be productive or destructive.

Political powers are implementing laws that require schools, staff and students to focus on standardized testing. Test scores do not motivate or inspire visions of being an achiever. This policy does just the opposite by increasing boredom in the classroom. Boredom increases the number of students that are in conflict with classroom environments. In time, they GIVE UP.

The student population is exploding while qualified teachers are leaving the system. It takes an experienced teacher, with curriculum freedom, to inspire a motivating vision in students. This is what made America an economic powerhouse.

Today, political leaders need to show educational progress while maintaining a amply supply of teachers. In today's environment, this can only be done with standardized test. Teaching to test does not require a high level of training. Anyone who can follow directions can do this. With this qualification, political leaders will have enough teacher applicants to meet the demand while giving the IMAGE that students' are getting a quality education.

As a result of smoke and mirrors by political controlled education systems, the percent of teenagers trying to be a better student is shrinking. The percent of students that give up, are growing. Students not supporting classroom boredom are labeled failures, considered outcast, and self-fulfilling prophecy is proving everyone right.

What if students had tall ship opportunity? --- "Ocean sailing is an educational platform where the curriculum is controlled by nature. The crew and ship must work in harmony with nature. When under way, there is the never-ending task of learning how the interaction of the vessel reacts with fluid dynamics and the atmosphere. The crew becomes comfortable with cause and effect, as well as persistence, endurance, patience, and courage; attitudes that are almost impossible to teach in a classroom." Excerpt from Tall Ships and Motivation. --- The right project can motivate anyone to excel.

Today's education system is controlled by politicians, textbook industries, testing companies, unions and money. Now the drug industry has entered the market with behavior control pills. These industries are promoting a single goal, based on their view of success... "Academic excellence for everyone by the age of eighteen." This noble goal is contrary to man's natural learning ability and is destructive for many teenagers.

The education industry and their view of a success personality, is destroying the potential of many teenagers who should be focusing on their natural talent. But... Who can argue against high academic standards? Society has bought the education establishment's belief that every teenager can, and must, learn academics in passive classroom environments before given opportunity. Because society has accepted the industry's version of a success personality, the education monopoly is gaining strength and the high school dropout problem is growing. It is in the industry's interest to keep all students, including non-performers, in the system and under their control. With no opposing forces, society has embraced the opinion that academic achievement is the ONLY path to success. For some they are right, for others they are wrong.

Why do some high school dropouts become self-made millionaires? Do they hold the secret to a success personality? Consider that their skills were NOT molded by classroom environments. Society says these people should never have found success.

What do these self-made millionaires have that many highly educated people don’t have?

What are the characteristics of high school dropouts that go on welfare and those who find success?

True education is based on inspiration and motivation, not memorization. Education based on standardized test (memorization) does not inspire or motivate, it serves the goals of the formal education bureaucracy.

While the typical workplace is replacing mass production with pride, the education system is replacing pride with mass production.

• Workplace - During the 1900s, workplace efficiency was based on mass production using repetitive tasks that required limited skills. Today, limited skills are fast becoming inefficient and businesses are returning to craftsmanship environments. Pride is motivating, an environment that increasing efficiency.

• Classroom - During the early 1900s, the education system stayed with the pride system because it was motivating and efficient. Today, pride is gone and mass production is in, an environment that produces indifference while killing creativity.

• Today, non-performing students are told they are FAILURES five times a day, five days a week. The result is low self-esteem with mountainous personality barriers. Employers cannot train this type of person, even if they have a high school education. A dropout with high self-esteem is easy to train, especially in the blue-collar world where academics has low priority.

• Today, government controls in the classroom and standardized testing threatens passing students as well as failing students. As a result, the young generation is entering a phase where they are learning how to unit and fight the system. In the past, government policies negatively affected failing students and they left the system, now it affects all.

• Federal and state governments are increasing regulations in the classroom, which are based on the acceptance of the status quo. Only the status quo can be measured, not creative thinking or other forms of education. As pressure increases for students to accept the status quo, an increasing number will rebel and fight the system. Their subconscious tells them their creative freedom is being taken away and the outward expression is to fight back. They do not understand what they are fighting, other than the system builds unbearable stress. They give into stress or fight it.

• Because of government policies, the number of at-risk youth will grow and the number of creative thinkers (visionaries) will shrink. As the government increases controls over the classroom, many A & B students will lose interest in classroom education, give up the effort and enter the at-risk category. Students who are good at memorizing and accept the status quo will be rewarded.

• For intellectuals, the formal education system gives them a vision, helps them discover their natural talent, gives them opportunity to develop it, then helps them fine employment. The system does not provide this service to non-intellectuals or blue-collar learning personalities.

My Experience

I found success by developing my natural talent with projects, searched for opportunity that motivated me, learned how to learn without dependency on instructors, and learned how to process knowledge. Academic skills were acquired, as I needed them.

First, it took years to overcome low self-esteem barriers that society placed on me as a teenager. At the age of 27, I helped crew a 36-foot sailboat from Hawaii to Los Angeles. That experience, with the association of crewmembers, gave me positive self-esteem and the courage to take on projects that allowed me to live the lifestyle of my teenage dreams. With new confidence, I found employment opportunity that supported an adventure's lifestyle. (See my website "Captain Bob's Ports of Paradise.") I credit my success to the use of projects, interactive learning methods, and the ability to learn without instructors. This led to the habit of continuous learning, which is a requirement for attracting opportunity with employers or survival in high-risk adventure.

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