Steven Wallace
Overall grade point averages (GPAs) are just that: an average of grades received throughout a course of study. For example, as long as my grade point average is above 72 percent in any of my graduate classes, I pass the course. Seems like a fair method, right?
Let’s look at this a little differently. Let’s say these three hypothetical test scores represent a student’s overall skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic. As a parent, would you feel good knowing that your child is graduating with a high school diploma knowing how to read and write, but failed in learning critical math skills? Or let’s say your child is great at math and reading, but cannot communicate his or her thoughts in written form. Would that make you feel proud to say, “My child passed?” Would you sleep well at night knowing that your child was entering an already competitive world with less than they need to be competitive?
Some reading my last statements might think that I am being sarcastic about a very serious subject. I assure you I am not. As I learn more about our educational system — both in Maine and at the national level — I am extremely concerned.
In a recent report released by the Maine Department of Education titled, “Education Evolving — Maine’s Plan for Putting Learners First,” data from Maine’s community college system reveals that a majority of the students it enrolls right out of high school — 51 percent — require some kind of additional academic support. Simply put, they are not prepared to do college-level work.
Employers often express their concern that recent graduates lack the skills the modern work force demands. Tony Wagner, in his book “The Global Achievement Gap,” goes as far to say students graduating from America’s high schools “struggle with complex and critical thinking, labor to communicate effectively and work productively in teams, and often lack the capacity to think in the kinds of creative and innovative ways the information-age economy requires.”
The current design of our public school system, specifically the subjects to be taught, was introduced by a group known as the “Committee of Ten” back in 1892. Maybe this is why 67 percent of today’s students report being bored in school every single day; when asked why they were bored, 82 percent responded with “a lack of interest in the materials” or “not being able to see how materials were relevant to them.”
Knowing, understanding, and admitting that we need to change our system of education — from early childhood through post-secondary instruction — is the first step in moving toward a new, more positive education destination.
I am happy to report to you that it looks as though Maine’s Commissioner of Education, Stephen Bowen, is doing just that. More importantly, he is looking to Maine’s students, parents, educators and business community for feedback and solutions. In the near future, the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber will engage all of the aforementioned stakeholders in forums designed to provide feedback and solutions to Commissioner Bowen. We all need to be part of the solution.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Free seminar on Feb. 17, 8 to 9 a.m., “From Phone Books to Smartphones, How Customers Find Your Business” at the Inn at Brunswick Station, 4 Noble St., Brunswick. Our presenter is Jim LeClair of the Maine Coast Welcome Center. Please register by calling 725-8797, ext. 1 or email info@midcoastmaine.com.
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS: SMMC welcomes Roy’s Tire and Auto Sales, located at 1063 Main St., Bowdoin; Anchor Rentals Inc., a property management and commercial rentals company based in Bath; Beltone Hearing Aid Center, located at 14 Thomas Point Road, Brunswick; and Long Cove Builders based on Orr’s Island.
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