10 Things I would do if I were President: #2 Fixing the Public School System

As with the War on Drugs, it is very evident that our government funded public schools are failing miserably. Every year 10's of thousands of teens drop out of high school and never go back to get their Diploma; 10's of thousands more, thanks to over zealous teachers, are falsely diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and pumped full of Ritalin or some other drug; and more and more of our teachers are becoming nothing more than glamorized baby sitters, feeding our youth with pointless propaganda and structured lesson plans which fail to teach our kids anything and whose only purpose is to "push them through the system". The system is under funded, under staffed and contributing, in large part, to America's cultural and moral decline. Overtly Liberal teachers and their unions care more about keeping their jobs than teaching our kids the proper ways to Read, Write, and do Math as well as what to be American truly means...Unfortunately, I believe our nations public schools are too far gone to be recovered. Between the teachers unions and the bureaucracy which runs them, they are little more than huge day care centers draining our tax dollars and failing our country at all levels. To change this(without getting into the cluttered bureaucracy which is the biggest problem), I would make 3 primary changes: First I would encourage all states to adopt systems by which parents can choose which schools to send their kids too. Secondly, I would invite corporate America into running our school systems. Thirdly, I would require that every child be required to take a "Life Skills" or "Life Lessons" class in which they would be required to get an A before receiving their Diploma and graduating from High School...My first point is easy for most to understand-many states offer some system by which parents can choose which school they want to send their children too, so long as they get their child to and from the school of their choice...My 2nd way to fix Public Schools is perhaps the most controversial of my plans to change the system. (This would apply only to high school age children.) If you approach it logically, education, for the most part, is preparation for people to enter into the work force and be productive citizens (and to get some basic historical perspectives and cultural and social experiences). If you accept that statement, then who better to teach (and train) potential workers than the companies themselves? With enough corporate sponsorship of schools, parents could pick and choose (based on affordability or scholarship qualifications) which high schools to send their kids too, thereby not only laying out their early futures for them, but also giving them the best chance to succeed in their chosen career paths. Imagine how much more efficient our banking and real estate systems would be if they had the ability to train their future work force from an early age? Or for those that wanted to be doctors, nurses and surgeons to begin their training and knowledge gathering from the age of 14 instead of 18? The possible benefits of such a system are mind blowing and if I were president I would encourage every state to make it as easy as possible for as many companies as possible to get involved...On the surface my 3rd idea may seem overly conservative (or liberal depending on your view) but I believe it to be the most important of the 3 ways in which I would change our educational systems. When I graduated from High School in 1991, I knew nothing about how to buy a car, buy a home, enter into a contract with an employer, choose a mate or even how to manage my check book. No where was I taught about how to manage a budget or my time if I owned a home and had a family. Today, this problem is much worse and it is no wonder why so many of our 20 something's are failing in life. In my view, this would be the single most important class that any child would attend and I would require that it be taken twice: once before entering into High School and then again at any time during High School prior to graduating. Only the High School level of this course would be required to be passed with a grade of A-anything less and the class must be retaken before the student can get their Diploma. This last change is, I believe, the most important. Our youth are entering into a rapidly changing world which presents them with situations and decisions they are unprepared for and it is their lack of ability to make the best decision at the best time that has lead to the rapid moral and cultural decline in our country. True, this should be a parents job, but given that our children spend as much time-if not more-at school between the ages of 6 and 18 as they do at home, then the School system should shoulder some of the responsibility for properly raising our children.