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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 23, 2008

Try Universal Curriculum

I read with interest Dan Lips' column "What's Missing From Schools" (Other Views, Aug. 16):

Writing for the Heritage Foundation, Lips contends that the missing ingredient in public education is the freedom of choice that parents have in sending their children to schools that provide them with the best opportunity to succeed, be it public or private, neighborhood or distant.

I advance the proposition, based on over 35 years as both a teacher and administrator, that the missing component is a comprehensive universal curriculum. Each department of education within each state decides what should be taught, in what depth and when grade-wise it should be taught. A child moving from Mississippi to Vermont may have already covered that material in another grade or may not have been exposed to the profundity of the subject.

With a national curriculum, it would not matter if a child is moving from one state to another or that they were denied the essential elements of a particular subject area. That child would be assured of a quality education whether he or she lived in the inner city or lived in some out-of-the-way rural community.

EARL A. MYERS, JR.

Tampa

Other Parental Duties

On the same day that you featured an article about a mother who buys her children phones for back-to-school supplies so they can send her text messages all day, you print an amazing column by Dan Lips of the conservative Heritage Foundation attacking "government schools ... where they have little chance of receiving a quality education."

Despite the fact that here in Tampa Bay there are a myriad of choices for parents, for better and for worse, Lips uses the same old, tired rhetoric promoting free-market competition in schools that we Floridians have been subjected to for over a decade under Republican control. As a teacher and a parent, I find that troubling.

Nowhere does Lips suggest that parents should take responsibility for their children's education beyond choosing schools. Instead of promoting parental responsibility - for example, by turning off TVs and computers, reading with their children and making sure homework is done - Lips chooses to blame schools for all the problems in education. Nowhere does Lips suggest that families and schools work together, that parents and teachers support each other and that each has a role in the education of a child.

SARAH ROBINSON

Safety Harbor

Improve Every School

Dan Lips' article on what is missing from schools upsets me beyond belief because it exemplifies the ultimate one-sided attitude with which we handle our school issues. The answer always seems to be "send them somewhere else."

That "somewhere else" usually involves a more affluent neighborhood with a more involved PTA generally consisting of moms who are in a financial position to stay at home. I happen to be one of those moms, but I was also a public school teacher and have seen the other side of the coin. How about spending money on all schools, particularly on those that don't have the parental involvement because the moms have to work or are single parents whose family's survival depends solely on them.

So, stop encouraging people to seek the "better school." Improve each and every school, regardless of parental support. Place strong administrators in the troubled schools. Stop rewarding schools that don't need it; give money to the "F" schools so they may hire more teachers, tutors etc. until the desired improvement has been reached. It is time for America to wake up and face the music. Europe is already leaps and bounds ahead of us in addressing children's needs and we're still busy "keeping up with the Joneses." This is about kids and opportunity for our country.

KERSTIN SCHULTZ

Tampa

Discipline Needed

It sure would be nice if we had wonderful schools competing for bright and ambitious children. I've read so many times that the problem is parents who don't care. More of them care than you know, but the frustration dealing with the school system is mind-boggling.

As the caring grandparent of four school-age children, I can tell you that discipline is what is needed in our schools. If a child acts out in school, the only thing they can do is call the parent or guardian to come get the child. After the suspension or expulsion is over, it's back to the same old thing.

I hear about groups whose goal is to keep at-risk children in school. But where are those people when you need them? When will they realize that an at-risk child is not going to ask for help? Teachers and counselors know who these children are and should have someone or some program to refer them to and if they really want to change the way things are they would see to it that the child had help following through.

S. SIMPSON

Brandon

Choice Is Not Enough

This article has merit. However, it doesn't go "far enough" in solving some of America's education problems. Granted, school choice likely would help some students. But, revamping the curriculum might help more.

Recognizing that many students don't graduate and even more are ill-equipped for higher learning or employment, can't consideration be given to returning to vocational courses, intense language and reading immersion, and mandated driver education?

Having 45 years of experience in the "education world," with the last 30 in Europe, there is merit in their approach. The Europeans do not tolerate unruly students. Those who fail standardized tests are directed into vocational training and those who qualify for university status are incredibly challenged but supported.

Certainly, more is required to improve American education than "school choice."

WAYNE DOZARK

Tampa

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