Scott Tibbs
blog post
December 22nd, 2005
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Sue Ellen Reed (Superintendent of Public Instruction in the state of Indiana) spoke at yesterday's weekly Republican Lunch about the status of Indiana's government schools. Reed spoke of the progress the state's government schools have made and where the schools rank in comparison to other states and internationally. In the spirit of improving the school system, here are three major problems with the government school system must address:
♣ Bullying. As I have said a number of times on this blog, we have failed to learn the lessons of the 1999 Columbine massacre. We need to get rid of the idea that everyone has an absolute "right" to an education. If you torment other students, you forfeit your right to an education. We need to and make sure that bullies do not deny other students an education through physical abuse, threats and intimidation.
♣ People in this society lack critical thinking, logic and argumentation skills. For evidence of this, look at the editorial pages of newspapers, as well as commentary on television and radio. This is one reason why politics can be so dirty, because people (on both sides of the ideological fence) do not have the critical thinking skills to see past the ad hominem attacks and other logical fallacies so common in politics. A much more thorough understanding of history would not hurt either.
♣ Obesity is a major problem in America, and obesity in children is a growing problem that presents a great deal of health risks. The government schools need to place more emphasis on physical education to make sure children get the exercise they need. For kids who get virtually no physical exercise because their main source of entertainment is the computer or the video game console, this is even more important.
These are three issues I think candidates for MCCSC School Board in 2006 need to address.