Bedford High School needs to change direction. A few years ago, a School Board Member proudly said that BHS was not a "traditional" high school. For many parents, that came as disappointing news. Traditional schools tend to educate students for college or a successful career.
Traditional schools tend to focus on the basics. In an article from Arizona, traditional schools are the schools of choice for parents. Parents understand the need for the basic foundation and continue to support schools that provide a quality education.
At a time when the global workforce demands more science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professionals, education stakeholders worry that today’s students aren’t prepared. To ensure that the United States remains a leader in the global economy, experts say the nation must prepare students in the STEM subjects.
According to the latest standardized assessment, roughly half of the 11th grade Bedford students are not proficient in Math and Science.
The 2009 McKinsey Report, “The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools,” shows that IF students from the U.S. were performing as well as the average student in the best-performing nation, the U.S. Gross Domestic Product in 2008 would have been $1.3 trillion to $2.3 trillion higher.
“Couple that with the fact that our STEM industry cannot find qualified workers, which means moving businesses overseas, and there is a large problem,” explained Paige Johnson, global K-12 education manager for Intel.
STEM jobs are the jobs of the future yet Bedford is failing to adequately prepare the majority of students to enter this field. The focus seems to be on political activism, peace education, global warming aka junk science, and political indoctrination via the International Baccalaureate Program.
According to the Arizona news, "the renewed push for "basics" is in part a backlash against reforms such as requiring projects instead of paper-and-pen tests, among others, experts say."
When faddish programs become the focus over a basic academic foundation, it is the students who suffer.
I recently recommended to a School Board Member that BHS follow students after graduation and note the number of students who place into remedial classes upon entering college. I believe those stats will help the school and parents understand where the school is failing to adequately prepare students. So far, I haven’t heard back on that suggestion.
Maybe a more traditional education that focuses on academic knowledge isn’t such a bad idea after all.
