An educator addresses Ohio Business Roundtable's solutions for education

Raising requirements won’t solve education problems
Columbus Dispatch
Saturday, November 25, 2006

I read with interest last Saturday’s letter from Richard Stoff, president of the Ohio Business Roundtable, headlined, "Ohio right to raise the bar for its high-school students." Stoff noted his concern with the low college attendance by Ohio residents and the low ranking our state has with regard to residents who have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. This is an issue of concern, and I would note that this issue of low college-degree achievement is not one that rests solely on the shoulders of Ohio. A June 2004 publication by the U.S. Census Bureau titled, "Educational Attainment in the United States: 2003," revealed that 27 percent of U.S. citizens between the ages of 25 and 29 had attained a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Stoff went on to comment that our state is in competition with other states and countries for "investment and jobs" and pointed out that the critical areas lie in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines. Stoff said that the "problem begins in our high schools, where too few students are taking the challenging course work necessary to be successful."

For Stoff and others, the solution is obvious: Legislate more science- and math-course requirements for all highschool students. "The data are clear: Ohio students who take a rigorous core curriculum in high school earn college degrees at a higher rate than those who don’t."

As a high-school science teacher, I certainly applaud the interest in the STEM areas as exhibited by Stoff and others. Certainly students taking moredemanding courses in any category of education are more likely to continue on successfully to college. However, students who follow such a path have chosen to do so because of interest and success in such courses. While improving efforts to inculcate such interest and aid in the success of students in these areas should be a direction of societal and educational focus, requiring students to take such courses is much like requiring all kids to take courses in theater in hopes of steering them toward Broadway.

Like many other aspects of life, these education issues are not simple. Students’ interests and abilities are varied and individual. Students find their energy and strengths are not always in STEM areas, regardless of the number of such courses they may be required to take. Generally, students taking more science and math courses are those who have interest and find success in these courses. Students who do not feel success or interest in course areas will not desire pursuing this direction, which may include an alternative to the standard college educational path. Forcing more STEM courses on such students ignores other strengths and interests they may have.

Furthermore, much of what plays a role in education does not even occur in the school. Societal values are clear in the eyes of young students. All they see and hear informs them of what our society values and the professions for which it is willing to provide high salaries: professional sports, national entertainers (acting and musical), and people in the general "business" category including top executives. Not only do the students fail to see any STEM aspects in these paths, but our society and media do little to promote the status of STEM professions as desirable or admirable careers.

Social and economic factors also play large in the realm of academic success and have been long recognized. Basic issues such as inadequate sleep, poor nutrition, emotional stress, poor home study environment, inadequate parental involvement and adverse peer forces all have a deleterious impact on a student’s chances for success on a daily basis. College tuition rates create further barriers for many, either preventing access or limiting their stay due to intolerable debt.

If Stoff and Ohio are serious about improving high-school graduation rates, college attendance with successful receipt of degrees and retention of its students in our state’s job corps, then there are other concerns that must be brought into the spotlight before we increase course requirements. Emphasis needs to be placed on alleviating social and economic barriers to student success as well as improving the quality of existing courses (which, in part, would involve the upgrade of facilities and equipment, particularly in the realm of science). Businesses can best aid the issue of "attracting investment and jobs" through both open dialogue with educational professionals, financial aid for education and providing good job availability and pay for STEM careers.

Producing legislation such as the Ohio Core for the "obvious" solution for this issue will produce a superficial solution that risks being shortsighted and incomplete, dictating requirements with little chance of providing the necessary funds for schools to adequately implement the goals. Such a legislative solution, a well-intentioned attempt to address an important issue, will likely be little more than a feel-good response to what is a much deeper problem with different needs.
DR. JAMES HEIRONIMUS
Columbus