Education & Service

The economic future of the U.S. is dependent upon a quality public education system and an invested citizenry. We need to look at what works best for educating our youth in urban and rural areas and everywhere in-between, and then implement those methods regardless of political popularity. We should resurrect the concept of "Ask not what your country can do for you-- ask what you can do for your country," which needs to be the mantra for the 21st century. Hence, we must popularize and incentivize community outreach and military service, whether in urban/rural health clinics and schools, the Peace Corps, or the military, in order to develop the next generation of leaders and citizens. Various options from education and career advancement to loan forgiveness and loan guarantees can be used as incentives.

Business has a vested interest in a good public education system. A partnership among the federal and state governments, colleges/universities, and private business needs to guide the process for developing 21st Century schools. Appropriate national standards should apply to all American schools, but we should let the states decide how they want to meet those standards. Rural, suburban, and inner-city schools are all different, and the approaches to teaching and learning must adjust to these differences to be effective. Our current “No Child Left Behind” program is not working for two primary reasons: it does not reflect these differences in geography, and it relies too much on arbitrary testing which leads to a teach-to-the-test mentality. That is not the kind of education system that will provide us with desirable outcomes.

We should also look at what the nations who lead us in math (the U.S. is 24th ) and science (the U.S. is 17th ) instruction are doing so that we don't re-invent the wheel. It may be instructive to note that nearly all of the countries that lead us have some form of universal national service. At the state level, school districts should be encouraged to explore mechanisms that may help learning such as uniforms, same-sex classes, and school performance requirements to obtain a driver's license. Businesses might consider funding a financial incentive program that rewards entire schools that excel at teaching and learning. The mechanisms to improve teaching and learning do exist, and they are not cost-prohibitive.

Joel also joins Oregon Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Peter DeFazio in supporting the U.S. Public Service Academy Act of 2007. For more information, please click here.