Too many subjects?
It's a tradition from coast to coast in the United States. That day, when students awake with excitement or despair, awaiting the results and remarks on the ubiquitous "report card." Most parents expect to see their child's report card. It's no surprise as the weekly, monthly, and quarterly progress reports make it home, but what may come as a surprise are all the subjects being assessed.
Long gone are the days of just math, science, English and history. Now there are languages to choose from, numerous derivations of math and science, different historical cultures and trends and eras to explore, music and art (if you're lucky), and some schools have even started leadership and business courses in the high schools.
Classes such as Theory of Knowledge, Theatre, History of Theatre, Psychology-The Early Models and Psychology-Choice Theory of Economics, leave some parents scratching their heads and asking, Is this class a math credit, a social studies credit, or perhaps a social science credit?
For many students, it isn't about getting straight A's (in what used to be a few subjects), but just about keeping their heads above water. Today, online math tutoring and science tutoring help students do just that.
But the laundry list doesn't stop with subjects. Schools have tasks and mandated project lists that require report cards as well. Yes, just as kids come home and bear the stressful or gleeful burden of sharing their progress with discerning and demanding parents, so do schools with their boards, local and state legislatures and the federal government. We are all aware of the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) report cards, but these ratings are just the tip of the iceberg. Schools today are assessed far beyond just math, science, English and history and the subsequent tests they administer. Today, everyone wants to know how the schools perform and measure up in sports, extracurricular activities, their before and after school programs, their ability to compete at a statewide level, their advanced program offerings, if they can be considered a magnet school or a school worthy of grants and special investments, and on and on.
All of these components and strings in the ever-expanding web of educational influence and responsibility begs a bigger question: When did the schools in our country go from supplying instruction in the 3 R's, (Reading, Riting, Rithmetic), to being responsible for sex education, sports, after school entertainment, leadership training, providing nutritious meals and teaching sixteen year olds how to drive? Not that the mastery of these subjects isn't a worthy end goal (understanding how babies are made - not making them), but at what point did the school systems become responsible for the execution of such mastery? When did the school systems get assigned so many subjects to cover that it radically changed the way education is delivered and received today? In business, any great, successful and profitable leader will tell you to stay focused on your core product or service. Where is that focus for our schools, our students? Even Howard Gardner, world renowned Harvard professor and researcher, is encouraging the mastery of a particular core subject and/or domain in order to have a successfully competing mind in the future.
Over the last hundred years, America has been compared to other countries in terms of "know-how," our competitive advantages, or lack thereof, and where we stand in the race for global domination. After Sputnik, America's educational pendulum swung toward math and science. In 2006, the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, demanded greater instructional time on creative thinking, without sacrificing the drive toward higher math skills. The classic response, "How do we fit it all in?" , asked by thousands of teachers, could be heard across the nation.
Was there ever an age in America's history where we can honestly say, that's when we got it right? Education is an ever evolving phenomenon, and the needs of a constantly changing and developing society will be constantly changing and developing as well. While schools may never be able to conquer every cultural, social and economic challenge, they can continue to be the backbone for forward progress and forward thinking. But how do we help our kids stay focused long enough to learn? Perhaps if the math and science tutors meeting our kids where they already are, online, will help them keep focused on their studies. With helpful, supporting solutions like online tutoring from a great tutoring company like Tutorzilla, we can make a huge difference along the way.
