Wed, 07/04/2012 - 10:03am — Steven Norton
Our recent action alert about pending bills that would roll back some of Michigan's high school graduation requirements generated more internal comment than any recent topic. We believe this is a conversation we need to have as a state, because it shapes what we mean by an "excellent" education and the resources needed to provide one. Let us know your thoughts!
h3. Got art? Got algebra 2? Got music? Got economics? Got Spanish? Maybe no longer.
Dear Friends,
Many of you know that Michigan Parents for Schools was founded to work for stable and adequate funding of public education in Michigan. Of course, the reason we care about funding is that it directly affects the quality of the education we can offer to the children of this state. Money alone cannot guarantee an excellent education, but it is impossible to do right by our children and communities if our schools do not have adequate resources.
As parents, we know that a quality education is not just memorizing facts, or learning just enough math or vocabulary to get by. The world is changing, and we need our kids to be ready - for citizenship as well as work. A well-rounded education helps children become well-rounded adults. But the ability of our schools to deliver that kind of education is increasingly under threat.
Here's the latest: some of our lawmakers want to "improve" our school curriculum by dumbing it down. Several bills are now before the state House Education committee that would relax Michigan's high school graduation requirements. And subjects that aren't required are more likely to be on the chopping block in lean times.
According to the sponsors of the first one to be introduced (HB 5451), our students don't need arts education or foreign language training at all, and need fewer math, science and social science classes. Who needs the visual arts or music? What's the point of taking economics or world history? Who needs second-year algebra or other advanced math? What possible use is exposure to a foreign language? Why bother with chemistry or physics?
The other bills are less sweeping, but they also cut back the mathematics requirement and potentially eliminate the foreign language requirement. Supposedly, these steps are intended to reduce the "college preparatory emphasis" of the current graduation requirements.
True, not every student is going to end up getting a college bachelor's degree. But since when are mathematics, art, languages, music, or science important only to the college-bound? These are subjects that help shape how you think - about your job, the world and even yourself. There are no decent jobs today that don't require you to think, adapt, and solve problems. And there is no democracy which can survive without thoughtful, intelligent citizens.
I hope you're as stunned by this as I am, and I ask you to let your State Representative know how you feel.
This is a time to invest in a richer and rigorous curriculum, not to water it down. We need every child to be ready for the future and the changes it will bring.
Steven J Norton
Executive Director
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