First, establish exit requirements for elementary school. The 3 R’s and all that. An elementary certificate should not be granted except to those who complete an elementary education, having mastered basic arithmetic and can read and write fluently in English (this is specifically dealing with America here, of course; one would obviously use their own country’s primary language elsewhere), and demonstrating a basic knowledge of history, literature, and geography. Anything learned beyond the required basics (i.e. art, music, English, foreign language, math, science, and so forth) should be noted on a separate certificate(s) in terms of what kind of high school courses the student can be considered to have already completed.
Second, dispense with the idea of ‘middle school’. Middle school as some form of distinct stage between elementary school and high school is, as far as I can tell, a fundamentally worthless notion. It sucks up 3 years of students’ lives with course material that is either repeated from elementary school or due to be repeated in high school. The net result of doing “well” in middle school as far as the student is concerned, is nothing but the opportunity to get a single year ahead in math, science, and a foreign language in high school. I believe the primary function of middle schools in the public system derives from school district bureaucrats deciding it would be a good idea to rename junior high schools to something that sounds more distinct, in order to attract a little more state and federal pork, and shift 6th graders into a level that “requires” a larger per-student budget than elementary school. In other words, it’s a cheap scheme for the bureaucrats to loot the community.
For child education we really need only two stages. First, toward the minimum level of knowledge every adult must have, barring genuine severe cognitive impairment. That’s elementary school. Second, toward the level of knowledge we want to expect of any independent adult who exercises the common rights, duties, and privileges our society affords to adults: voting, parenting, self-defense, jury duty, and so forth. That sounds like high school to me. What to do with the “middle school” age group (11-14 y)? Simple. Throw out the current age-grade system. Abandon all expectations of keeping all students of a particular class group together. Use a system of shorter terms of a few months each. Some students will take until age 15 to finish elementary school, others might do it at 9. This is not a problem that needs to be corrected. The problem is kids not learning to read. The solution is making them spend as long as necessary in elementary school, and not a week longer.
Third, what high schools need to start doing is prepare students for independence as adults. Adjust the standard curriculum to assume part-time employment as a norm, and to include a certain amount of course hours toward learning some profitable skill. This will serve graduates well, whether or not they go on to college. If they do not, then they are better prepared for life. If they do, then they are better prepared to pay for college.
Public school, especially in its current state, is absolute rubbish. That is not to say there are no good teachers or no good classes, but they are not worth the ordeal of putting up with the rest of the system. I myself have sworn to never send any child of mine to public school or allow myself to get into a serious relationship with any woman who would ever try to talk me into it. It is not a matter of religious beliefs as such; I am simply totally disillusioned by the quality of education the system offers. The only reason I know what I know is because my parents taught me to read at a very early age. Had I paid more attention in class through grade school and done all my homework assignments, I would have had much better grades and much less time to read anything interesting.
So what kind of actual guidelines would I be prepared to give at this point?
1. Teach your children independence. Consider what goes into a high I-CUBE score: financial discipline, some form of marketable skill, an array of domestic skills, and a willingness to pursue secondary sources of income. This
2. Homeschooling is the superior option IF you, the parents, are willing to make the commitment, and have the confidence in your ability to teach. If not, see what private and charter schools are in the area, and get your kids into one of those. But if you can’t—space is often limited in charter schools, and private schools can be costly—reconsider homeschooling before you resort to public school.
3. If your kid is showing signs of interest in developing a particular skill or studying a particular subject in-depth, do not hesitate for a moment to feed that interest and see how far it goes. If they turn out to be prodigies in some area it will be necessary to customize their education to a larger degree.
4. Delegate, never abdicate. If you do outsource your children’s education by sending them to a school, remain involved, and remember there is never anything wrong with helping them get ahead on the material. The worst that could happen is that they could end up skipping grades. If you’re worried about the social problems that might result from that, reconsider homeschooling.
5. If you’re in charge of the education, it is not necessary to strictly structure the actual assignments and activities. Just keep records and categorize everything appropriately.
