As summer draws to a close, children are gearing up to return to school—this year to be essentially 100 percent in-classroom instruction.
Now if we can just find teachers.
While teacher shortages are being seen nationwide, Florida reportedly has nearly 8,000 vacancies. Pay certainly plays a part in why many teachers are looking to find new professions. The national average for teachers’ yearly salary was $65,090 in 2021. Two years earlier, it was $48,359 in Florida.
But pay isn’t the only issue. Teachers, it would seem, like to teach, and they are willing to reach deep into their own pockets to provide classroom materials for which school boards won’t budget. School boards are problematic nationwide, and I’m convinced that they are responsible for a decline on almost every conceivable educational front–from the availability of teachers to their roles in and outside of the classroom.
While well-meaning in their participation on behalf of their districts, few school board members have educational backgrounds, and many have personal agendas that might well best benefit their own children. After all, school boards make decisions on everything from curricula to sports and arts funding. Much of what drives a school district is money, with board members left with deciding what programs go and which ones stay based on budgetary considerations.
As if all of that wasn’t bad enough, school boards, goaded by various factions within their communities, frequently bow to suggestions of which books are considered tame enough for students to read. There has always been somebody who wants to control sources of information and ideas. It’s doubtful that censorship will ever be replaced by an open willingness to have the intellect of students challenged.
As a nation, the United States is woefully deficient in our reading abilities: 16th among 33 OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) defines five levels of literacy proficiency, with Level 1 as the lowest. Nationally, more than 1 in 5 adults have a literacy proficiency at or below Level 1.
Literacy in the United States was determined by the National Center for Education Statistics to be at a mid to high level in 2019, at 79%, with 21% of American adults categorized as having “low level English literacy,” including 4.1% classified as “functionally illiterate” and an additional 4% that could not participate.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, 54% of adults in the United States have prose literacy below the 6th-grade level.
For an international super-power, it seems something of an embarrassment that more than half of all Americans would have trouble reading “Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell or “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London.
Without advanced reading skills, it would seem impossible that those could participate effectively in any exercise of critical thinking. Faced with the challenge of selecting plausible answers to a question, the reading challenged is likely to accept an answer without going much deeper than the first choice.
Children like to be challenged in any number of activities. And given proper instruction and needed information, they will excel. Sadly, teachers are so busy with other distractions that the challenge to present new ideas and several ways to understand them is difficult. I’m confidant that teachers, unbridled by busy work and unconcerned with national testing scores, would rise to the challenge and soar with their students to new educational heights.
My father always told my sister and me to not bother with those things one can look up. Albert Einstein reminded people to “never memorize something that you can look up.” Ostensibly, it was all they shared in common.
The fact that in the 4th grade I had to memorize the capitals of all the states is an example of how America’s educational system focuses more on indoctrination than thinking. If, after all, I need to know the capital of Illinois, it is probably because I’m interested in learning something about Springfield. Knowing that Springfield is the capital of Illinois is, by itself, pointless.
Missing from today’s educational curriculum is a one-semester course called “Civics.” It, along with a semester’s worth of debate, were required courses during my freshman year of high school. Debate was taught in the classic Empirical style, with two sides represented on a single topic. Preparation for the debate included research and a formal presentation of one side of the argument. It was fun and challenging and nothing like the presidential debates of today.
Civics was a social science class dealing with the rights and duties of citizens. With little or no sense of patriotism, we read and spoke about what it takes to be a citizen. We learned about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the three branches of government, and case work in civil rights. This was during the Cold War, and we learned about the government of the USSR in a comparative manner.
Civics seemed to have faded after my generation learned enough about our country and its institutions to shut things down periodically. We ended the Vietnam War and made significant contributions to Civil Rights and Voters’ Rights. We behaved like the Constitution said we should, which scared the hell out of the powers that be.
Civics needs a revival.
Photo illustration by Courtney A. Liska
Pasta and Beans (Pasta e Fagioli)
Italians love beans—like chickpeas, favas, and lentils, as well such varieties as borlotti and cannellini. I make this famous dish with cannellini or even small red beans.
1 can of cannellini beans
2 oz. pancetta, minced
1-1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and minced
1⁄2 celery stalk, minced
3 sprigs parsley, trimmed and minced
2 tbsp. tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
2 small sprigs fresh rosemary
3 fresh sage leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 oz. penne
Drain beans and put in a large heavy pot. Add pancetta, 1 cup of the olive oil, onions, celery, parsley, tomato paste, and 6 1⁄2 cups cold water. Mince 1 clove of the garlic and 1 sprig of rosemary and add to pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1⁄2 hour.
Meanwhile, heat remaining 1⁄2 cup oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add sage, remaining 2 cloves garlic, and 1 sprig rosemary and cook until garlic is golden, about 3 minutes. Remove sage, garlic, and rosemary from oil and discard, reserving flavored oil.
Transfer half the soup to a food processor and purée until smooth. Stir back into pot, then stir in flavored oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add pasta to soup and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 15 minutes. Garnish with parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.