What if teacher and taxpayer resources were "extensive"ly directed towards civic understanding and practical application of studies in ways that deliver an impact on students' local communities?
When over 50% of graduates from over two thirds of Illinois' public schools are "not adequately prepared for college" according to ACT scores, maybe we need to rethink the methods and metrics we use to gauge an individual's capacity to be successful.
Why do we spend so much money, time, and creative resources to teach towards a test? It is infinitely more valuable for me to see, first-hand, the impact I have on the world around me when I work with others to achieve goals than it is for me to receive an evaluation that pits me against my neighbors in competition. The common-core, standardized system itself is bench-marking schools against schools and students against students, perpetuating this fallacy of an idea that achievement is judged on an individual merit rather than one of community. We are not in this alone, for we live and breathe the same world.
Schools equip us. The question is "for what?" What should follow is "why?" Sure we need an economy, and the idea is that this system is built to establish a secure pipeline from young pupil into an effectively trained working contributor to the global economic system. Well, first-off, the illinoisreportcard.com shows that less than half of all public school students in the state are ready for college (46%) and when we consider that the job market is increasingly demanding college degrees over high school diplomas, there is an issue: ACT scores are a HUGE determinant of college admission. When we look at the distribution of ACT scores, low-income, minority (black and Hispanic, mostly) students suffer disproportionately from the ACT-defined readiness gap.
What is the purpose of an economy without a strong civil society? An economy should serve the civic arena. First and foremost, we should be citizens, members of a community who have empowered capabilities (see Amartya Sen's research). The problem is that our education system is built from the perspective that we serve the economy, not the other way around. This is a paradigm shift and many people will be uncomfortable with wrapping their mind around it. We must focus on strengthening our social bonds and increasing our civic participation, our identity as members of a shared community and not individuals or marginalized classes who are left to our own devices in order to survive.
IF we direct our resources towards building this kind of societal foundation, we will increase the exchange of ideas and flow of creativity as competition increasingly gives way to collaboration because social capital (what I'm talking about here) delivers trust and breaks down social barriers (mental, emotional, physical, cultural, ideological.) From that point, we, as a stronger society, will be better equipped to solve our economic challenges. It is NOT worth sacrificing civil society for the cause of economic stability. That is akin to sacrificing our soul for the sake of a facade of livelihood.
Put simply, standardized tests are eroding the fabric of civil society and we need to restructure education so that students are engaging with their community and built environment through all their studies.
