http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/opinion/l22schools.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin
To the Editor:
Perhaps the curriculum is failing--not the schools.
I am a parent and a taxpayer, not a professional educator. But any
parent with a school-age child can see that schools today simply do
not thoroughly teach the basics of phonics, spelling, grammar and
arithmetic operations in grades K to 4. Is it any wonder, then, that
by high school the students cannot perform?
The military requires basic training. Athletes drill the basics with
their coaches for hours on end. Yet our educational elite, and
politically correct state education departments, presume that children
can learn by osmosis, without drill or practice.
And our politicians, afraid to require hard work from students and
strong support from parents, punish the schools rather than demand
curriculum reform that stresses the basics.
If we returned to the curriculum of the 1960s and earlier, we would
have fewer failing schools and students.
Paul Levy
Greensboro, N.C., Oct. 16, 2007
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