Education Reform

Enough about health reform. What about education reform? I've spent the last two months registering, enrolling, collecting birth certificates, phone numbers, and processing 100s of pounds of paperwork. All of which has nothing to do with education but everything to do with accountability of tax dollars, far too many of which are being spent to keep records of where the tax dollars are spent. Let's spend less money on stuff that "supports" education and more money on education.

When a kid turns 7 years old, she/he is given an "education credit card." The card has x number of hours of education time on it. All kids get the same number of hours. Schools are open 365 days a year with a staff of responsible adults 24/7. The adults are all volunteers from various professions and have been screened for a "mean teacher gene." If they have the "mean teacher gene" they are not allowed within 100 yards of the school. When kids enter a classroom, they swipe the card and the clock starts ticking. The card must be swiped each time kids take a bathroom, recess or meal break so as not to waste the education hours. Schools all have dorm facilities so that kids can go to school in other cities if they want to.

Schools aren't the only places that will accept the cards. Libraries, computer labs, museums, theatres, businesses, etc will all accept education hours for kids to serve internships. These places will be reimbursed by the government with "tax dollars." When a kid has learned all he/she wants to learn, she/he just checks out. They don't have to waste their time in places where they are not learning, they just leave.

When kids want to "graduate" they take comprehensive oral and written exams . They are given a certificate that relfects what they have learned. They can use these certificates when applying for jobs or for further education. If they earn a certifiate before they've used all of their education credits, they can use them toward earning another certificate.

If they want to drop out, they first have to earn a certificate of citizenship that allows them to vote.