OPINION:
It’s pretty obvious who is to blame for students’ poor test scores, and it’s a long list (“Test scores show historic COVID setbacks for kids across U.S.,” Web, Oct. 24). It starts with federal, state and local governments and works its way all the way down to teachers, their union and a lack of technological robustness. But spending time pointing fingers doesn’t do a thing to solve an education crisis.
For starters, it’s time to at least temporarily extend the school day by one class period. It’s also time to dispense with social engineering time wasters like critical race theory, sexual identity, the 1619 Project and anything else not truly academic. Parents can and will deal with those other items as they always have, because outside of biology classes, it’s their job, not the schools’.
Let’s reorient lesson plans to the core subjects of reading, writing, social studies, civics, math and the sciences. This may sound draconian to both students and teachers, but years ago it was the way schools functioned. Distractions were minimal and performance was measured. I believe that dedicated teachers would much rather teach their subject specialties than things sent from above for political and social-engineering reasons. If students do well under this, they will be well versed and able to make their own judgments about all those other things. We can reverse the COVID-19 education crisis; it’s a challenge, and it’s time to rise to it.
PAT HAMP
Oak Hill, Virginia
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