Level Playing Field

We Americans are always trying to figure out where our education system's gone wrong, assuming that it has. We compare ourselves to other countries and find that we come up lacking. We blame all sorts of things, and some of these accusations make sense and others don't. Without jumping into the fray myself, I'll just say that this is an interesting article that suggests that part of the problem, at least at the high school level (but, I will add here, sometimes winds can carry smoke far from its source), is our glorification of organized sports: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/the-case-against-high-school-sports/309447/
   The wisest comment I've seen on the subject came in the form of a Letter to the Editor in the Sept. 29, 2013, edition of the Los Angeles Times. It was by Chris Daly, of Yucaipa, who was responding to an article about the Los Angeles school district's program giving students their own iPads (a program that, by the way, has so far been a very expensive headache for a variety of reasons):
      "L.A. Unified School District (and all American) officials need to see what successful education programs do rather than going for the latest fads.
      "In her book The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way, Amanda Ripley follows three American exchange students through a year at high schools in
countries whose students lead the world and who turned their systems from bad to excellent in less than a generation: Finland, South Korea and Poland.
      "These programs have many of the same characteristics: Only the best get into their schools of education; the necessity of getting a good education is understood; and the national standards are set high and all are expected to meet them. There are no computers or even calculators in the classrooms (much less iPads); the children are expected to use their brains."
   Of course, the fact is that all three of these countries have, relatively speaking, fairly homogenous, stable (i.e., not so much immigration, emigration, moving around) populations, and that may make a difference. But the other fact is that we will always choose show over substance because it makes a better sound bite. We Americans want the quick fix. What sounds better: All our children will be getting iPads next year, or Starting next year, the teacher certification exams will be more rigorous?
   Which brings up the most important issue: money in politics. Here in California, the teachers' union is one of the best-funded ~ and therefore one of the most powerful ~ unions in the country. Many a politician who has tried to fight it has failed. Can you imagine any teachers' union backing higher standards for teachers? For a sample of the exam that teachers in California have to pass in order to become certified, go to http://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/PM_CBEST.asp .
   OK, so I did enter the fray (but I give myself an A for keeping my comments to a minimum)!