Education

Excellent education is vital for citizens to be active members of society, as well as for them to realize their full potential. However, public education has been neglected for decades, undermining its purpose and further perpetrating race and class divides. Despite being one of the wealthiest countries, America spends less on education than most other industrialized countries. Republicans and Democrats frequently talk of education reform, but while in office either do not conduct any major reforms or create misdirected reforms.

Schools are underfunded and usually funded mostly through property taxes. This creates a system where schools in poorer districts (where property values are lower), while needing funding the most, are at a funding disadvantage to schools in wealthier districts.

The No Child Left Behind Act, rather than helping schools, has done the opposite. No Child Left Behind mandates funding cuts for fine arts curriculum, an already neglected yet vital subject that is usually cut first when schools face budgetary constraints. The act also overemphasizes standardized testing as a measure of success, placing the careers of teachers as well as the retentions and graduations of students on the line based upon test scores.

Republican and Democratic candidates, while frequently proposing education reform, ignore the issue of dwindling fine arts programs in school, instead focusing on increased funding and test scores. In fact, fine arts programs have been shown to increase test scores overall. None of the presidential candidates from the two major parties in this election cycle have taken on the problem of the diminishing role of fine arts in our schools.

Kent Mesplay’s Education Platform

Major Goals:

• Equalize school funding
• Incorporate arts programs and funding within schools
• Incorporate environmental education into the core curriculum at all levels
• Incorporate peace and multi-cultural education into school curriculum
• Decentralize school administration
• End high-stakes testing
• Maximum class sizes no greater than 20
• Better and safer transport to schools
• More support and funding for special needs children
• Achievable Individual Education Plans for children with special needs
• Improve early childhood services
• Free higher education

Equalize school funding: To solve the problem of unequal funding through property taxes, schools must receive federal financing. This will help ensure equal educational opportunities for all students. Federal funding should also be increased for schools in poorer areas which have greater need of aid to improve school quality and student performance.

Incorporate arts programs and funding within schools: Arts programs are vital to our education. Fine arts study builds creativity, memory, expression, and self-confidence. It also introduces engaging activities to the classroom, and allow students to open their minds in ways other subjects cannot. These skills endure well after the student is done with their fine arts course work. Teachers can incorporate various arts activities (music, drama, dance, creative writing) within their daily lesson plans to provide a basic arts program of study. Implementing the arts in after school programs also keeps students occupied and off the streets. When the arts are included in the curriculum students are more willing to come to school and are actually excited about learning.

Incorporate environmental education into the core curriculum at all levels: The environmental crisis we face today is one of the most decisive crises facing humanity in our history. In order to exercise ecological wisdom throughout our future, students must be taught the importance of protecting the environment and what they can do to conserve nature. Teachers can revise their lesson plans to include learning activities that deal with our environment and how we contribute to it. This can go as far as simply expanding the science core curriculum in the classroom and revising it so that it teaches ecological wisdom.

Incorporate peace and multi-cultural education into school curriculum: To deal with school violence, policies and programs must be implemented to create a school culture that is inclusive and supports the elimination of prejudice, racism, bullying, violence, and ethnocentrism. Again, the arts provide an outlet that would minimize school violence and expand understanding of multiple cultures. If children have an alternative to violence they will embrace the opportunities. If the arts were implemented into the education system nationally the government would be correcting many problems with one solution.

Decentralize school administration: Schools currently have to work through stifling centralized bureaucracy that impose regulations upon them that do not necessarily provide for the needs of local communities. Schools should be allowed more freedom in their local administration, and elicit participation from parents and teachers in the administrative process. Central administration should then be made available when needed to aid local schools with achieving their goals.

End High-Stakes Testing: The careers of teachers, futures of entire schools, and increasingly the ability to get high school diplomas rely on so-called “standardizes” testing. Teachers have to spend time preparing for tests rather than teaching the material. This is especially problematic for students who are involved in learning but are not good test takers. Education cannot be represented by multiple-choice testing. Teachers should be placed back in charge of teaching and classroom assessment so that this assessment is more representative of each individual class.

Maximum class sizes no greater than 20: Smaller class sizes allow for a more personalized and less stressful learning environment both for teachers and students. To lessen class sizes, measures need to be taken to reduce school overcrowding and more teachers need to be hired. This can be done by 1) giving the schools funding in order to expand and by 2) increasing the number of credible teachers in the school system. There must first be better screenings to provide for more exceptional teachers in our school systems, and then more funding to expand our schools. Decreasing the class sizes and increasing the teacher to student ratio will focus more on the students and help them to get the attention they need to be more successful.

Better and safer transport to schools: We need to provide a safer way for children to make it to and from school on a daily basis. Through this, school attendance rates will increase, and schools can receive more funding. This can be achieved by hiring more efficient and credible bus drivers and providing a free service for students to use.

More support and funding for special needs children: Students with special needs are an important part of the diverse learners in America’s educational system. Instead of trying to push them to keep up with the regular learning students they should be provided with their own lesson plans modifications. These Achievable Individual Education Plans will be the same as the other lesson plans, only with proper modifications for the student with special needs as decided by the student’s parents, teachers, and other paraprofessionals. Keeping the content the same as the rest of the class will make minimal complications for the teacher who is trying to accommodate all of the student’s different learning needs. Lastly, with extra funding schools can also hire more efficient teacher aides to help teachers in classrooms with diverse learners.

Improve early childhood services: If early childhood services are provided for children they are more likely to get the extra push they need to succeed. It gives them a heads up and prepares them for the higher level of schooling if they start off earlier. The classroom for the younger school-aged children will not be all about playing and taking a nap, but it will be about learning the basic fundamentals in an interesting way involving the arts and about getting a better start in a more proficient classroom.

Free higher education: Financing should be provided for public universities and technical schools to make higher education available to anyone who seeks it, rather than the privileged few. Everyone deserves the opportunity to pursue higher education and a professional career, yet this remains only a dream for many lower income families. Free higher education will give us a more educated society, uplift minorities and poorer families, and provide a better economy through professional training.

Mesplay for President

More Debate, Less Rhetoric.  Mesplay for President