Investing in Education

Many of us think of paying for education as an investment in ourselves. This is most often seen at college levels and above, including continuing professional education. In the past, many companies would sponsor or pay for classes if employees would take them. This was most commonly done again, at the college or graduate school level. Most large employers still have programs of this sort. Smaller companies either never had such programs, or have discontinued them for various reasons, most usually, the cost of tuition.

However, when we consider the education of our children, a different mindset is found. Public education of the sort we've become used to is a relatively recent historical development. We all should recall the story of Abe Lincoln, who got his education by reading books at home. This was the norm less than 200 years ago. Public schools were a 19th century development, as the need for basic education of the population became apparent as we shifted from a primarily agricultural to an industrial society.

Further growth, to include mandatory high school attendance (at least until age 16) was introduced by the early decades of the 20th century. Now, even though dropout rates in some areas are still unacceptably high, it's normal for an adult to have graduated from high school, and have at least the beginnings of a college degree before embarking on a full time working career.

This increase in general education comes at a price. That price is unacceptable to many within the United States, and the number who object has increased over the years. While there is some merit in the arguments of those who say that public schools are too costly without getting enough back in terms of student performance to show for it, I would contend that, as a society, we're not spending nearly enough on public education, and that what we are spending is being mis-allocated in many cases.

While there are many factors that affect student performance, the two that are most important, in my view, are teacher quality and class size. By teacher quality, I mean that teachers are fully qualified to teach all subjects for which they are providing instruction. A lack of quality is most evident in the STEM subject areas (science, math, engineering, technology), where far too many teachers are simply not equipped to deal with those subjects effectively. The best way to remedy this situation is to pay teachers substantial premiums if they become fully conversant in those subject areas. Those premiums need to be in line with what a trained professional working in a STEM field might earn.

The second need is for much smaller class sizes, so that teachers can give proper attention to each student, and the students as a group. Students need to be not just lectured at, but guided, coached and mentored in ways that are only possible in smaller classes. I believe that class sizes should be reduced to 11 students (ideally, but no more than 15 in any case), especially in high schools, where most of the work on advanced subjects begins to take place.

Doing this will be quite expensive. The most equitable funding mechanisms are taxes paid at the national level, a consumption tax being the least onerous of the possibilities. A secondary source of funds can be obtained by combining school district administrations to avoid the needless duplication of services currently found across the country. There is simply no need for the administrative burdens found in districts a a few thousand students, supporting large back office staffs. Countywide or citywide districts are appropriate in most areas, with some rural regions having the potential for multi-county districts.

If we're to do right by our kids (not just yours or mine, but all of them), we need to be willing to make the investment in their future, as is done in so many other countries, where student performance is ahead of ours. Wealthy families pay substantial tuition to private schools for these benefits. We, as a society, need to do the same. After all, it's their efforts that will help to support us - we all want our social security now, don't we - and, along with two other key investments, infrastructure and research & development, that will keep this country strong. More on those two at another time.