Dear Mr. President...

I'm not much for bothering people in power; it's just not what I do.  As a wife and mother of 4 I realize that people's time is not only precious, but it's also limited.  When you are responsible to or for a number of people, you can easily be pulled in many directions at once. 

That being said, I have decided to use this medium to write President Obama a letter.  Since high school seemingly every political candidate, from local council people to presidential hopefuls have gone on and on about the need for an educational overhaul of some sort.  In all this time, though, the only thing that came to fruition is No Child Left Behind, which seems to have left behind quite a few children.  I've listened to educators and non-educators alike weigh in on how to change, improve and re-invent the educational "wheel".

So I have decided to weigh in on the education debate as well, albeit in a much less public way.  Will President Obama see this letter? It's doubtful, unless he happens upon my blog (which I seriously doubt) or someone else reads this and forwards it to him (something else I doubt).  Perhaps someone else may read this who is in agreement with what I have to say and maybe, just maybe, our collective voices will be heard and change will happen.

Here goes...

"Dear Mr. President,

I want to begin by congratulating you on attaining what many have merely dreamed of.  Seeing you in office allows me and other parents of color to tell our children that they really can aspire to become the President; it's something that is actually in their reach.  I also want to commend you on your ability to keep cool amid the constant attacks from those opposed to your point of view.  Not sure how you do it, but it's reassuring knowing that you are able to maintain your equanimity in all situations.

I'm writing because I would like to add my two cents to the education conversation.  I will be honest and admit to you that my only qualifications are that I'm a concerned parent and I am the product of two educators.  Being the daughter of educators has always caused me to look at our current education system differently than most people.  Something I find disturbing is that the overwhelming majority of the blame for our failing education system is placed on teachers.  There's no shared culpability between teachers, administrators, parents, and dare I say, students.  No one talks about the astonishing number of students that come to school merely out of obligation instead of a genuine thirst for knowledge.  Of course that could be because students these days are being taught by the latest standardized test (and by the way, has education really improved since the onslaught of all these tests?).  Nor does anyone talk about the many hats teachers have to wear: social worker, conflict mediator, parent or a combination of them all.  There's also this new thing about teachers being required to teach their students subjects they are not yet developmentally ready for (my 4th grade son was learning about solving algebraic equations. Algebraic equations at 10 years old...really?!)? 

You are a busy man Mr. President so I will not bore you with all of my complaints regarding our current education model.  I would, however, like to share a few ideas that I believe would greatly help our children.

First, I believe it would be a good idea for the whole states rights issue to be overturned as it relates to education.  In my humble opinion, one large obstacle in the way of better educating the children of our nation is that each state has different standards for education.  Wouldn't it be better if children received the same education in New York as they would in Massachusetts, Arizona and so on?

Second, I think that it would be in the best interest of all involved if all children were made to wear uniforms to school.  Children being allowed to wear whatever they want causes great distraction for students and teachers alike.  Also, uniforms would help children to focus more on their schooling and less on material things.  Plus, parents who don't have a lot of money won't feel bad about not being able to buy their children the latest fashions.

Another idea that I think could be helpful is to make all middle schools and high schools same sex or at least make the classes same sex.  I don't have to tell you that hormones start going crazy around middle school.  Girls start noticing guys and vice versa.  I remember that age well.  And I also remember thinking heavily about guys when I should have been concentrating more on my studies.  In addition, girls tend to shy away from class participation when in a mixed environment.  I don't have to tell you that class participation is an integral part of the learning process.

Lastly, I believe that we need to go back to basics.  I know you were expecting something complicated, but that is the exact problem.  School has been made unnecessarily complicated.  As stated earlier, my 4th grader was learning algebraic equations.  Sure it was rudimentary algebra, but the very idea of teaching algebra (or geometry for that matter) at that age is asinine.  And what's with all the crazy new ways to do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division?  Why are people trying to reinvent the wheel?  We shouldn't be making things more complicated than they have to be.  I know our children are supposed to be in this big competition with children around the world, but in our zeal to out-do others, we are ruining our children.

Mr. President, I realize that I don't have letters behind my name to qualify me as someone who is an expert on education.   But maybe that's the problem.  Too many "experts" with too many convoluted ways of reaching a simple goal, which is to equip our children with the tools necessary to not only successfully compete with their international counterparts, but to also be filled with a passion to learn outside the confines of school.and not enough common sense".