Issues our schools need to face
Being on the Kasson-Mantorville School Board has taught me many lessons about the system at large and at the collegial level. I found taking on such a leadership role without much previous experience interesting, especially that I was only 22 at the time. When I decided to run, it wasn’t with any agenda or political hacking. I was there because I wanted to see first-hand how the system operates.
My term lasted from January 2019 through December 2022, and although there is so much to say in regard to COVID-19, I had one primary reason to run in the first place… What issues should be our focus?
Anyone who listens to the news (or has a Facebook) probably comes across dozens of issues pertaining to schools along with every possible idea on how to fix those issues.
As H. L. Hencken said it best, “There is always a well-known solution to every human problem — neat, plausible, and wrong.” I mention this because there are deeper dysfunctions within the educational system that should concern us more as a community, and in my four years on school board, I’ve broken them down into three levels of focus, choosing the one I’m most concerned about at each level.
1. Equitable Funding: By this, I do not mean “equality of outcome.” I’m referring to the distribution of funds to public schools. This can be done either through similar revenue per student between schools and/or through an incentive-based revenue per student. In other words, the better your school’s academics, the more your school will receive.
It’s plain that the highest paid districts with the most students are, year after year, still struggling academically in contrast with more modest schools with better test scores getting thousands of dollars less per student. We are throwing money at the issue hoping it gets resolved, and it isn’t working.
2. College, Career, and Life Curriculum: Testing and homework — leading to the ultimate goal of college — are major factors hurting schools and students. The system of homework, quizzes, and tests are all-consuming for students today. Class-time is for teaching and engaging, and being at home is for family and investing in passions and hobbies. Tests are necessary, but are over-administered, incessantly gauging students’ and teachers’ progress whilst sacrificing instruction and instillment to succeed.
We don’t live in a utopian world where a diploma, college degree, or internship is guaranteed. Students leave academia unprepared for real-life struggles but are over-educated in subjects they may never use. Nearly all schools lack any instruction on necessary life-skills and even promote work-life imbalance with their heavy-handedness on homework and testing. We need to re-evaluate what we’re trying to accomplish.
3. Parent Engagement: The average student’s time around teachers and peers is at least 35 hours in a school-week and only 2.5 hours with parents. Children need support, attention, and encouragement from you, so if you’re not giving them one or all of those things, they will find them elsewhere. It is vital to engage with your child every day (yes, every day). Make a priority of it. This directly affects your child’s potential in school, and more importantly, in life.
Coda: What I believe many of us are arguing for is making school more efficient in giving a large group of students a well-rounded and catered education. It will take years or even decades before we see major changes that give us the results we’re striving for. All of us have grown up with peers who performed poorly in school, were bullies, and/or even dropped out.
But they got back on their feet, made something of themselves, and dragged themselves back to a path of responsibility and dignity. In the meantime, if we can’t change our situation, we can change ourselves. You can still be the change you want to see in the world.
Zachary Peterson is a Kasson-Mantorville High School graduate. In 2019 he ran for, and won, a seat on the Kasson-Mantorville School Board. He served one term on the board and did not seek re-election
in 2022.