Quality Education: A Response

Jessica asked "What do you think is quality education? What materials should be used for quality education?"

I think that what constitutes a quality education is as much about the teaching style as the materials used, and each subject has a most-useful style for teaching to maximize student interest and learning. The methods and materials should be scaled to the age and maturity of students.

In a nutshell, in primary education, emphasis should be placed on skill development -- memorizing simple math operations (if you can't add two plus two in your head, something's wrong), learning how to write properly -- and basic introductions to subject areas -- first introduction to the narrative of history, basic studies of the various fields of science, the beginnings of literary analysis.

Secondary education should build on the foundation of primary education and emphasize critical thinking skills (as seen in literature discussion, historical analysis, mathematical reasoning, and scientific exploration) while introducing students to the skills and concepts needed for advanced study (thus, English emphasizes writing well and discussing and analyzing literature, History focuses on analysis and evaluation of primary sources, Math on understanding and applying mathematical principles, Science on understanding the fundamentals of how the world works and how to create and test hypotheses about specific questions).

The materials used are certainly important, especially in secondary school (English should present a range of classic and contemporary works, History use primary source documents alongside textbooks, Science use experiments to help illustrate concepts, etc), but equally important is HOW the information is conveyed. A good teacher is necessary to facilitate class discussion and help explain concepts to students in ways that are relevant to the students. As an example, one of the best history teachers I had in prep school would explain the historical events we were studying by putting them into a hypothetical scenario involving the school. "What the British did with forcing quartering was like if the US government decided that the 101st Airborne Division was going to camp out on our campus, and we had to provide them food and shelter."

Perhaps the last important aspect of quality education is WHAT, exactly, to teach. Up through secondary school, a liberal arts education is, I think, most appropriate, to allow students to explore academic subjects and find what they most enjoy and are most proficient at. Ideally, students would combine study of literature, history, math, and science with art, philosophy, and foreign language study. However, this track of study may not be appropriate for all students. There are, of course, many jobs that are vital to the functioning of our economy that do not require a liberal arts education and a four year degree. Plumbers do not need calculus to fix a kitchen sink, and builders need not be conversant in Kant to construct a house.

Before I get too long-winded, I shall end with a question or two: What role should schools (primary and secondary in particular) play in helping students determine a career path, and how should they go about doing this?