As if President George W. Bush hadn’t mucked up
public education enough by requiring all schools to conform to his
teach-to-the-test scheme, along comes brother Jeb Bush with another wacky
scheme for social engineering in our schools. Jeb, who likes to call himself the “education
governor,” wants Florida to require every incoming high-schooler to
make a career choice and declare a major — on entering the ninth
grade! Every student would then have to have his or her four-year high
school education narrowed, concentrating on subjects within the declared
major — whether that’s music or auto repair. The ninth grade! You’re only 14 years old! How
do you know at this tender (and confusing) age what career is best for you?
We don’t let kids vote at 14. We don’t let them get all roiled
up in a hormonal rush and go marry someone at 14. We don’t let them
join the Army at 14. Then why force them at 14 to choose a career path,
when they’ve had such limited exposure to the possibilities? Jeb says it’s all about getting scattered
high-schoolers to focus their minds so they can prepare themselves for
college and the working world. Well, excuse me, but what about the broader
role of education — letting kids sample a wide range of learning,
offering a well-rounded view of the world, and developing each
student’s ability for critical thinking? High school represents the
coming of age, and it should be a time for opening minds and exploring
opportunities. There’ll be plenty of time later for narrowing
one’s path in life. The Bush brothers are twisting our education system
to implement the corporate dream: a society of highly skilled automatons
who do not think to question authority.
This article appears in Apr 13-19, 2006.
