Alarming Educational Statistics

Education seems to be in the news these days more than out. Reports are often conflicting and most of us are not sure what to believe. For instance, we keep hearing about educational reform and school improvement. The latest statistics will not cause you to rest any time soon.

According to the Broad Center, an agency designed to recruit and prepare leaders for the public sector school system, 70% of 8th graders can not read on grade level, 1.2 million students drop out of high school every year and 44% of dropouts under the age of 24 are now jobless. If these numbers were not bad enough, American students rank 25th in math and 21st in science compared to students in 30 industrialized countries. America's top math students only rank 25th out of 30 countries when compared to top students elsewhere in the world. Why?

What are the reasons for these alarming statistics? We are a wealthy nation full of promise yet, there seems to be issues in our educational system. There are no easy answers here, but there are answers if one wants to find them. There lies the key, in my opinion. We once had the best education in the world, and now, we do not. It seems to me that we could find the answers, if we really wanted to find them. Does anyone really want to find them?

The NEA is the most powerful educational force in this country. Go to their website and read what their vision is. It looks and sounds good, but now, investigate what they support financially and what bills and policies they push in DC. There, you will find the crux of the issue leading to my question: does this country really want to solve their educational issues? I have been following these international literacy scores for a long time, and our scores have not changed all that much. Again, the question: do we really want to solve our educational woes? The answer to this question may lead you into some educational decisions of your own.

I am for every student and do not want to play the public vs. private game, but with all the resources, funding and support available, there is really no excuse for our public sector schools to fail in the ways that they do. Except, if the answer lies beyond the pragmatism and practicality of education. If that answer lies in the spiritual realm where morality has finally succumbed to the years of war against it and become extinct in our public schools, then, what are we to do? The answer to this question is almost the same as above, it may force you to make some educational decisions of your own. The future of any nation lies in the education of its youth. Can you afford to wait and see? The decision is yours. Blessings!