Public education is under increasing pressure to perform in the eye of the public. A steady barrage of mostly negative reports have demoralized many educators, and left many patrons wondering about the quality of their own local public schools. Part of the difficulty lies in the conflicting view of what priorities should drive the public schools' missions.

Should schools emphasize a back-to-the-basics mission of reading, writing and mathematics?

Should they emphasize the application of reading, writing and mathematics to modern job opportunities? Should they be addressing the very root of the educational and social problems, such as hungry and neglected students who suffer educationally because of social and family problems?

What is the primary view of the Wawasee School Corp. community?

To answer this question a series of community forums was held during the 1996-97 school year to discuss educational priorities in the Wawasee community.

Approximately 14 different community groups, including 420 individuals from North Webster, Milford and Syracuse participated. On May 6, approximately 100 patrons and students attended a public forum at Wawasee High School to share their views.

The following three viewpoints on education were presented:

Viewpoint No. 1

Literacy

Teaching The Basics - Advocates of Viewpoint No. 1 believe that today's public schools are trying to do too much and, as a result, are doing nothing well. As the primary institutions of democracy, public schools are obligated to provide a common base of knowledge to all citizens. To do this, schools must focus on the basics.

Those who favor this viewpoint note that years of attempts at school reform that have relied on the latest learning techniques have resulted largely in failure.

In general, say advocates of this viewpoint, too much attention has been given to building children's self-esteem, and not enough to teaching them.

Viewpoint No. 2

Economic

Teaching For Economic Success - Proponents of Viewpoint No. 2 believe the problem with public schools is that they have not adapted to changes in the workplace, and thus are not preparing students to be workers in a technology-driven economy. A public school's mandate, according to this choice, is to produce graduates who can support themselves and contribute to the economic well-being of our communities. To achieve this, schools should be organized so that they are better able to respond to the demands of the marketplace.

If private business consistently produced inferior products, or products that no one needs, it would quickly go out of business. Yet our public schools, say advocates of this viewpoint, consistently produce poorly prepared students who lack the skills that today's job market requires. As long as teachers and administrators can avoid marketplace competition, they have no real incentive to improve. As a result, they will continue to operate as unresponsive institutions.

Viewpoint No. 3

Social

Teaching The Whole Child - Advocates of Viewpoint No. 3 argue that young people need more than academics to be truly educated. They believe public schools too often try to teach young people as though they had no life outside the school building, when in fact, many of the problems overwhelming schools arise from the problems that plague families and communities.

To remedy this, say proponents of Viewpoint No. 3, schools should be the focus of community life, not just a place to go to for a few hours each day. Schools should be collaborative educational centers that both promote understanding among diverse cultural groups and address the social and economical disadvantages that contribute to poor academic performance of at-risk youth.

Finally, argue proponents of this viewpoint, by using school buildings only for daily classes, we aren't taking advantage of our resources.

What should we do about it?

The Wawasee Community School Corp. Board of School Trustees believes that the following statements represent the community's view of schooling. All decisions made in the Wawasee school district must take the community's priorities into consideration.

• The primary purpose of pre-kindergarten through grade 10 is to provide a solid foundation in reading, writing and mathematics skills to Wawasee students.

• The primary purpose of grade 11 and 12 is to help students prepare for life outside of school. Opportunities to learn about careers and work opportunities, should be a part of the planned curriculum. The instruction should be applicable to real-life as much as possible so students begin to see the usefulness of the academic skills they are learning.

• Partnerships with churches, social agencies and private business should be formally sought to provide help for students who need extra support. [[In-content Ad]]