Iowa Is Slipping

Local reaction is pouring in following a state issued 'report card' which shows that Iowa schools are declining in nationwide rankings in both math and reading. Parents are a little baffled as from where they're sitting, the schools don't look half-bad and School Districts across the state are defending their respective public schools as high quality and high performing.

No question, I think we need to do something about public education not only in Iowa but across the country. However, I think overall, Iowa's in a pretty good place. We've got a tradition of valuing education and producing good, quality public education- that's a foundation we can build on. And those superintendents are correct- it's not that education is broken, it's just that it needs to be restructured and changed for the 20th Century.

Making the school year longer would be a good start. Making it easier for qualified professionals to join the ranks of teachers would also be a good start- and raising their pay. (No way do I want to run up 2 more years of student loans and then take a substantial paycut just to teach! I want to teach at some point in my life, but there's just got to be a way to make it easier.)

However to me, a far more revolutionary change would involve harnessing the potential of online distance learning to break the geographical chains that high school students are forced to have with their local schools. For instance, if West Des Moines Dowling offers Japanese and your school does not, why shouldn't you be able to take advantage of distance learning to learn the language you want to learn? This would apply to other subjects as well- it can apply to anything and everything and has real implications for raising the quality of especially our rural education. With more and more rural high schools being forced to consolidate, I see no reason to deny rural students or any students for that matter the option to take AP or a wider variety of courses offered at different high schools throughout the state.

Implementing this idea would have its share of difficulties- some basic statewide measure of high school credit hours would have to established if it had not been already and the technology may not be in place to implement an online network of distance learning classes easily or quickly. But such an effort would be a worthy investment in this state's educational future- and could spur public schools to offer a wider variety of course options and pursue more innovative teaching methods. The future of education relies on the willingness of policymakers to breakdown the existing model and force it's evolution to suit the needs of tomorrow's students.

Let's get started!