The End of High School As We Know It

While there are countless points to attack, there's one in particular which continually makes me shake my head in dismay. It's this high school exit exam. Just as many authorities in the medical profession -- as well as others -- treat symptoms, rather than causes, this exit exam won't result in the solution to the problem facing us. Just this morning KTVU ews reported that "...Tens of thousands of California high school students haven't passed..." it.

The controversy -- it seems -- is that many educators feel students should have an alternative means to obtain a diploma, rather than a certificate of completion. OK. This doesn't sound too bad. Now, though, a new solution has been suggested: Two diplomas -- one with a State seal printed on it, & one without.

Uh, doesn't this sound much like the original plan of a diploma & a certificate...?

Wait. Let's set this solution aside. There's a far greater issue involved which no one seems to be addressing. Far be it from me to place blame in the hands of either the kids (lazy or not) or the teachers (also lazy or not), but there is blame to placed here -- where? Could it possibly be the American educational system -- that process by which these kids are being taught?

I remember -- entirely too many years ago -- learning something of the educational systems in Europe & Australia when I was in high school & college. I marveled over the differences between theirs & ours. In particular I marveled over the results. I found that kids from Europe -- & later, Australia -- seemed far more intelligent, experienced, & mature than any American kid I knew.

I knew this not simply from books & movies, but by getting to know foreign exchange students attending the schools I had. There were exceptions, certainly, but on the whole, each of the foreign exchange students I'd met growing up were simply far more advanced than any American student I knew.

Then, there's the fact that Australian and other country's kids attended school all year. No, I certainly didn't want to lose my Summer vacation, but I had instinctively known that that would be far more practical than our (approximately) nine months on & three months off to do little more than find ourselves in situations which would inevitably get us into trouble either with our parents or, even, with the law.

By no means do I want to imply that I've researched this issue. But, as with our Social Security system (which is another disaster with which we're all too familiar), I seriously think it time we overhaul our educational system in favour of one similar to those of Europe, Australia, or many others. Otherwise, this level of competition with graduates of colleges of other countries our politicians continue to harp about will be a continually losing battle.

At the risk of starting a new rant, I ask, can we finally stop pretending that we Americans are so perfect?