Make a difference for your Children

On January 18, 2017, in his State of the State address, Governor Bill Walker introduced Alaska’s Education Challenge and invited all Alaskans to participate. He said, “We must do a better job of preparing our youth for the challenges of the future. To meet this challenge, we need to rethink our entire system of public education. Alaskans must be at the heart of this effort.”

A public survey asking for input opened on February 1 and closed on February 28. Igiugig Intermediate students participated in the survey, providing six of the 1,382 responses received by the State. For a subject so important to families and communities across the state, the initial survey response was much too small. If the Governor expects to improve Alaska’s approach to education with the support of its parents and community members, he will need a lot more help and input from us.

What kind of school experience do you want for your child? Do you ever feel frustrated with school policy or practices? Do you wish things could be done differently but feel you are not qualified to make suggestions? Do you think, ‘This is the way it’s always been done. If it was good enough for me, it’s good enough for my kids’? Have you ever wondered why we do school the way we do?

The current public school system was purposefully designed to work like a factory, churning out standardized citizens, as efficiently as possible, who are proficient in basic skills, ready to take orders and to never question the authority of the system. Most of us graduated from this system, and have been taught to believe that since professional teachers are experts in the field of education, they and the school must know best. As a parent and teacher, I can tell you that is simply not true. The public school system, by its very nature, undermines parents’ belief in their own knowledge and authority when it comes to their children. As a parent, you have an understanding of your child that no amount of training or certificates can ever replace. Nor does this factory model take your child’s individuality and interests into account...it is only interested in efficient production. But our children are not machines. What they know and who they are doesn’t boil down to a score on a standardized test at the end of the year. But that is all this system cares about. What do you care about? This is not the only system of schooling in the world! There are other ways of doing things! You know your children. What is best for them? Now’s the time to let your voice be heard.

Think back to your school days…what do you wish had been different? What did you like? What would have helped you to get more out of your time in school? Don’t be afraid to suggest ideas that make sense to you but seem unconventional. We’re talking about making changes to a system that was designed for a completely different time and place and was adopted 170 years ago from a country that no longer even exists (Prussia). It’s definitely time to make changes that make sense for our time and place! If you’re not sure what changes to suggest, ask your children and other students what would motivate them and improve their learning experience. As it is, our children spend an average of 1,188 hours each year in school, for a total of 14,256 hours by the time they graduate. A system truly meant for them ought to seriously consider their ideas and yours. Now is the time to speak.

Your next opportunity to share ideas will be on a second survey, expected to be posted any day now on the following website: gov.alaska.gov/administration-focus/alaskas-education-challenge/. You will be able to rank the responses from the first survey, influencing the topics which will be considered by five powerful committees. Please participate in the second survey.

We are being invited by elected officials to make sure our schools are what we want them to be. That’s not an opportunity that comes along every day. Let’s show them that we really care by participating in the process. Let’s advocate for our children.

Alaskans are also invited to write letters directly to the Commissioner of Education, Dr. Michael Johnson, at the following address: