How to Fix the Broken Public School System

Students in America place 25th among the top 40 countries in the world. This was reported during a 20/20 broadcast on January 13, 2006. Since we are also considered the richest nation on earth, this is appalling and proves that throwing more money after a broken system is not going to fix the situation.

Educational issues were not always so complex. Children were taught to read, write and do arithmetic. It was very straight forward, very simple and very effective since literacy rates were at the highest around the turn of the Century when this was the norm.

In Kindergarten and 1st grade, teachers will focus on teaching every child to read using phonics, recitation and learning all 100 site words. Each child will learn to print legibly in Kindergarten, then continue to use printing into their first grade year when they begin to learn cursive. The focus will be on quality of work, not just quantity. Each child will learn number recognition which will also include using place value, basic addition facts through the upper addition facts and basic subtraction facts through upper subtraction facts. They will learn this through flash cards, rote memory, oral exercises, games at home and school, and recitation.

At this point, basic writing, reading and math will be established enough for students to read basic instructions on their own. Students will spend 4 hours a day in concentrated study on these subjects and will only practice these concepts further as homework. The rest of the school day will be spent doing computers, P.E. music, art and drama classes. Each child will also be required to keep a personal interest notebook on some topic that they find enjoyable for the school year.