Tuesday, Feruary 15th, 2011
Dateline: Huntington, NY
Op-ed: Hutch Dubosque, author
Education reform is not going to become a reality,
until we stop talking it to death, and take definitive action.
Lip service, Plan A, Plan B, Blue Ribbon Panels, and
discussion groups do not get the job done.
Instead of top-down restructuring, the same end is
achievable using a bottom-up strategy. This strategy must
take form from the Industrial world’s concepts of Total
Quality Management and Kaisen style practices. The plain
English of this is; “Throw out the garbage, organize and
optimize what’s left into a rational process, and repeat that
process across the board.” The “means” to this “end” is a
three pronged structure that addresses Parents, Students,
and Teachers. There is no need to reinvent the wheel.
Absolutely every thing needed for a restructuring is in existence
at the Federal, or State, level. It starts with a complete
re-drawing/re-structuring of our School Districts; we have
overstepped the economy of scale. A bottom-up strategy
affords the ability to fully utilize the System, as is, without
the task of reallocating the tax burden from the Federal
Government to the States. Coincidentally, The Federal
Department of Education will be restructured to it new,
redefined role. With the States administering their own Education
Programs and tax/asset allocations, the Federal Department of
Education need only set a National standard, and be tasked with
monitoring for compliance ( with enforcement mandate). The
only “mandate” that the Federal Government will place on States
is the maintenance of their Minimum National Curriculum, which
will include Parental re-education, Student focus, and, of course,
the Teacher Standards/Evaluations and Union contractual structures.
Long-term results will yield a higher caliber of student; a smaller
efficient Federal Agency; contribute to needed shrinkage of Federal
Government; and, reduce financial burdens and mandates on the States.
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