Reassess, rethink goals for education

The issue of more time in school rolls around every few years. The main question is, what will happen during that longer time? If it's more “seat time,” it is worthless. Research shows that children need more exercise, more activity and more time for creative play, but we keep thinking that putting them in seats in rows will somehow be a more effective way.

The argument in favor runs thus: What we're doing now isn't effective, so let's do more of the same. One of the keys is reassessing goals. What really does “education” mean to us in America, in Iowa, in Cedar Rapids? Think carefully about why we do what we do and what we want to achieve in the end. Take a look at something more than test scores.

In childhood, we need less time in formal education, not more. We need to develop physically, emotionally and spiritually. And we need to keep the sense of wonder and curiosity about the world that so shines in childhood and is so easily quenched in formal school.

Julia Bickel

Cedar Rapids