Edgewood, WA

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Adding the office of Department of Education in the state of Washington creates more bureaucracy and no solution. In the 60's, the teacher was there to meet the needs of the individual child. Over time, determining the curriculum moved to the administrators, then to the State Superintendent's Office, and finally to the federal government with No Child Left Behind. Does more bureaucracy produce better education or further stop expression of the children to explore and create?

Why is there money for more administration for a Department of Education when the state is in financial disaster? Why not use this money to hire teachers instead of supervisors? Instead of money for new offices for another department, why not supply classrooms with necessary tools?

Isn't there enough control going on to stop independent thinking and discourage curiosity and reasoning? This is not education. The student is now a rubber stamp of the examination they are given; they all think alike as to what is needed to pass the necessary test. They are no longer individuals with distinctive needs. Another office will not provide a student with the sense of being creative, imaginative, or inquisitive.

Many children are not being recognized as the extraordinary beings they are and considered problems for their parents and teachers, thereby being drugged into submission. Drugging children promotes a lack of clear thinking, addiction problems, and stops emotional maturity. Do we need this kind of control that promotes a drugged future as they grow up?

Allowing children to think of themselves as a failure from not meeting someone else's standards reduces self-esteem. We need to see the child as unique with his/her own path for learning that does not compete with some number on a test, but themselves. When minimizing humanities and arts as a vital part of a child's development, there is no understanding of education. Education needs to return to the old philosophy where the child can think outside of the box with imagination and curiosity, instead of learning to pass a state test.

It will take years to restore a healthy educational system for the students and teachers. The future of our country needs students who can develop creative thinking and individual abilities to become the leaders we need for the future, and not the sheep that follow the current path that actually reduces and narrows the scope of their education from a lack of uniqueness of thought. When students are properly nurtured, and they can grow into the leadership positions for which their unique wisdom and remarkable capabilities are destined, we will have accomplished education.

"Education that teaches life is an experience to be lived with imagination and originality restores power and vision. Knowing yourself and being able to express it, indicates an educated person. "To Thine Own Self Be True", is the best education we can teach," says teacher Marilyn Redmond, Edgewood, WA, who began teaching in 1961 in the Edgewood School District. She encourages, "Excellence in Education."

Marilyn Redmond, BA, CHT, IBRT, a retired teacher from the public schools, is now an inspirational speaker and writer teaching in colleges, wellness centers, and adult education. She promotes "Excellence in Education". In addition, she hosted and produced her radio show, "Solutions with Marilyn". She is an award-winning international writer, columnist, speaker, consultant, and counselor. Her first book is "Roses Have Thorns". Web page: angelicasgifts.com. She is completing her second book.

Rev. Marilyn Redmond

Marilyn Redmond, BA, CHT, IBRT

Edgewood, WA

253-845-4907