U.S. education policy chooses numbers over letters

Alfie Kohn's latest contribution to The Washington Post traces the rising importance of what he calls "STEM" subjects - science, technology, engineering, and math - over the humanities when it comes to prioritizing education. Kohn criticizes Obama's State of the Union for calling attention to math and science in lieu of literature and the social sciences. Any subject involving numbers today is immediately deemed more "practical," and most, if not all, school funding routinely goes to the advancement of math and science programs.

Kohn concedes that there is something reassuring about quantitative subjects - about having an exact number be the solution to every problem. Obama's speech equated the quality of a nation's education with its competitiveness in the international arena, and it seems that schools take quality to depend solely on technological and quantitative advancement. Reading and writing proficiency fall behind, a lazy afterthought of what students should be learning. Maybe it's time to redefine excellence for our students. Let's try linking success to concepts like interest in learning, the literary imagination, and life skills in communication. After all, there is a staggering number of engineering and science graduates today who are overqualified for the type of work they will routinely do. Mathematical proofs and physics theories don't quite provide the exact skills that a good communicator in the working world should have. In the fight to improve our schools, let's not forget about reading, words, and the value of a hearty political debate. Take a look at how Kohn views the value of words over numbers here.

For more discussion on modern students' priorities, come to the Tutorpedia Foundation's 2nd Annual Benefit at the Minna Gallery on Wednesday, February 23 at 6 pm. We will hear from Vicki Abeles, director of Race to Nowhere, along with featured speakers Dennis Littky of Big Picture Learning and Farb Nivi of Grockit. Don't miss our exciting auction items, take part in the raffle, and try the delicious food! All proceeds from the event will benefit one-on-one tutoring for under-privileged students in the Bay Area.