<p>Here are some changes I’d like to see in our K-12 system -</p>
<p>1) Start writing as early as possible. K-2 kids may not have the mechanics and the vocabs, but that shouldn’t stop them from writing stories of their own. This requires K-2 teachers to look beyond spelling errors and grammar mistakes and instill a love of writing and free expression in our children.</p>
<p>2) Reading more classics. Kids are not reading enough books that stood the test of time. No, they don’t need more Shakespeare or Homer, but how about more Hemmingway, Dostoyevsky, Dickens, Yeats, Eliot, and Fitzgerald? Reading and getting used to reading literary works of giants will help our children tremendously.</p>
<p>3) Stop forcing kids to take regular classes before allowing them to take AP classes on the same subjects. I know from CC, many schools do this. If a student is on an AP or accelerated path, why slow him/her down by a whole year? Same issue with taking Calc BC after taking Calc AB.</p>
<p>4) Stop repeating in high school the same math that kids learned in middle school. If properly taught, most kids should be done with Algebra and Geometry by the end of middle school. Our system is dumbing them down. Knowledge is accumulating at a tremendous speed. Our kids need to learn efficiently at a faster pace. Top math/science/engineering kids are expected to have completed the equivalent of Calc BC in high school today, but it was the norm to start trigonometry at Princeton a century ago.</p>
<p>5) Teach number theory as a required class in middle school or high school. Math becomes much easier once this fundamental block is laid.</p>
<p>6) Take more field trips and visit places other than just museums and zoos. Take the kids to factories, hospitals, research labs, judicial courts and fortune 500 companies. Let them see what’s driving this economy and propelling our civilization.</p>
<p>7) Adopt didactic and dialectic teaching methods in our K-12 classrooms. It is much easier and more enjoyable to acquire facts and build up knowledge when it is done for a greater purpose than just for the sake of gathering facts. Most of us agree it is much better to acquire vocabs organically by reading worthwhile books than by rote memorization.</p>
<p>8) Encourage (or may be even require) intramural sports. Kids shouldn’t be near-pro to participate in organized sports.</p>