Improvements in Education
Education is crucial to our economy, a strong society, and higher quality of life. It should be free for all instead of a free-for-all: this plan ...
What would be improved?
Teachers struggle to provide students with the resources they need to truly be prepared for the transition from a safe educational setting to the riggers of real world. Knowledge is largely free in today's age, yet placing that knowledge into the hands of students that are ready to learn is often more difficult that it may initially seem. While textbooks and services like YouTube can provide some level of help, it suffers fragmentation; parts are scattered everywhere, some pieces are missing, and there is an abundance of overlap that can make students weary or less willing to learn. That's why we propose a united program for students and teachers alike: a master resource that contains the most sought after information in a way that's easier and sometimes even fun to learn (and teach)!
The program's called Insight: a huge collection of resources meticulously crafted and curated by some of the best educators alive today! This program would not only change the face of education forever, it would be the most qualified teacher to ever educate your kids. Anything and everything relevant to scholastic knowledge under one roof, specially formulated to guide learners from beginner to expert.
There is also job training.
Children and young adults are not the only ones that would benefit from improvements in education: even adults can learn new skills, transition to entirely new industries, and [] for better jobs. The job training program is called Passage - a way to get where you're trying to go. Job training programs are sponsored in part by industry - businesses need qualified candidates to place in jobs (otherwise they fail). This mutual interest between the public and private sectors offsets some of the cost – but the dividends from this investment are enormeous! More Americans in more complex fields, highly trained workers commanding a prosperous wage, additional resources from the abundance (instead of scarcity), and lowered costs thanks to the law of supply and demand. It's a win-win-win for America, our citizens, and the world.
What's the catch?
The only catch is cost, but it doesn't cost as much as you may think. The United States government already spends nearly 80 billion dollars on primary and secondary education programs. Tax-funded spending is presently between 9 and 23 thousand per student depending on where you live (and it's the state and local governments that pay for most of these expenses). The proposed plan - Insight - will lower costs to an estimated 1,200 dollars per student annually for primary education (what we know as "K-8"). Cost increases to around $1,600 per student for secondary education (what we call "high school"), and between $2,400 to $4,800 for post-secondary school (university, graduate programs, trade schools).
This saves taxpayers more than 80%! It does so by reducing the number of hours students spend in the classroom and increasing funding for online learning. By creating a unified curricula, granting equal access to everyone, and shifting the focus from simply going to school to learning, costs go down, efficiency rises.
What about teachers?
Teachers will still be required. The job of teaching is not going to disappear - this simply reduces some of the burden involved in the classroom. Assignments will be standardized, grading automated, and the process of transfering knowledge made many times easier by using premade digital lessons. Instead of having to say the same thing multiple times a day, year after year, and wasting enumberable resouces like on things like paper, printouts (ink), textbooks, and so on — everything's streamlined, available online (anywhere), and the information is always up-to-date. No more knowledge gaps, incomplete lesson plans, or inaccurate information.
Lower cost, less stress, better quality - what's not to love?
Will children still physically go to school?
This subject is tricky: children going to school gives parents enough time to work a job or enjoy breaks from the daunting job of parenthood. It also requires a lot of resources: school buildings, staff, busses – you name it. At the same time it's a place students can socialize, be looked after, and have access to resources it wouldn't make sense to have at home (like science labs). For these reasons, yes, children would still have to physically attend school. However, we believe this should be a choice left up to the child and parent(s). By making this optional, we believe that students and parents alike will benefit from having a choice. Older, responsible children have proven to have no trouble adapting to remote education. While there will always be some that benefit more from a traditional setting, the percentage of those that do learn remotely reduces the burden on your state and local government to pay for large buildings, new textbooks, and reduces the number of staff required to serve a schools function. The future of education might look dramatically different from what we have today – smaller classrooms, more individualized assistance, and a better experience for all.
More details about this plan are being developed. You can see updates and changes at Improvements In Education: More Details.