These Four Things Must be Present in a Good Education System

   Four things, I tell you, are the keys to a good education system.
   And, none of the four are exactly being emphasized. No, as our nation rushes to improve its education system, spilling dollars and coming up with assessment tests and establishing various programs and worrying about the curriculum -- it is pretty much overlooking these four things.
   Love, desire, choice of interest, and critical thinking. I repeat, if you don't have them, you won't have a good education system.
   Love. The old axiom holds true: "I don't care how much you know, until I know how much you care." People respond to love. When they are loved, they are more likely to succeed. We need teachers who love the students. All this is not to say we don't have such teachers, at least some. But, I venture to say many of them do not fall into this category. Many don't view it their responsibility to love. Some are stern, disciplined and authoritative. A stern person is sometimes not going to convey love. Now, if a stern person is conveying love, let him (or her) continue to be stern. But, I say, usually that is not the case. Other times, you have teachers who, while respectful in the way they treat the students, really do not care one way or the other about them.
   I tell you this: If you have a teacher who warmly greets the students, who smiles at them, and shows interest in them, that student is going to be more inclined to want to do well in school. Love is one of the strongest forces in the world. It is a healing balm. It is something people cannot do without. When they are without it, they often wither away. Talking today with a social worker, she told me of the stresses brought on by academic expectations. She spoke of suicides. She suggested that if these things were being caused by drugs, we would see it for the crisis it is. I say, give the student all the love you can, for you never know the good it can do.
   Desire. Everything begins with desire. If a person has the desire to do something, he (or she) will more likely achieve it. We do the things we want to do long before we do the things we don't. We go to movies, play basketball, and eat ice cream because they are things we desire to do. The teacher who can instill desire students, is the teacher who is a good teacher. Inspiring the student is a key to success.
   Choice of interest. Not sure that is the right term to use. But, what I speak of, is giving the student free rein to pursue whatever topic pics his or her interest. If it is math, let him specialize in that. If it is the Civil War, let him study that to death. If it is playing the piano, let that be his thing. This doesn't mean the rest of the curriculum goes away, but it means the student is given large blocks of time to study what he or she selects, what he or she wants to pursue.
   Thomas Edison is said to have one time been judged a poor student, but when given free rein to choose what he would pursue, became one of the geniuses of our time. Albert Einstein's father and uncle were involved electricity and drew the young Einstein into that interest, and the relationship of electricity and magnetism on light waves helped put Einstein on the road to the theory of relativity.
   Critical thinking. Teaching a person how to think, is as important as what he learns. It is said that if you give a person a fish, he will have a meal for the day, but if you teach him to fish, he will be able to get his own food for the rest of his life. This principle applies to education. If you get them through the situation of one assessment test, that is good, but if you teach them to think, they will have a skill that takes them through situations for the rest of their lives.
   I suppose other things could be added to these four items. Positive reinforcement would be one. That, though, is part of love. Any teacher who is providing love, is providing positive reinforcement. Discipline and direction can be important, for it the student is left to himself, he might not choose to study at all. Then again, if you have instilled desire into the student, he will be studying. Still, discipline and direction can be helpful, and with some students, all together necessary.
   I do not say all the programs and tests do not have beneficiary effects on the students, but the four elements I have mentioned are the real keys to a good system, They, perhaps, are more important. To not be considering them as we strain to improve our education system, is overlooking the real things that bring success.
   I had occasion today to reflect on what could be done to improve education. Some would suggest we go to private schools, or away from private schools. Others have other suggestions. Some of the ideas are wonderful. I only say, if it were me, I would look to see if we were excelling in these four areas before I would try other things. If you are a basketball player, you are taught how to make a layup. These four things are the basics. There might be other basics I am not thinking of, but these are four. If you are not doing them, you are not doing the basics, you are not following the rudiment instructions of how to make a layup.