Now and again business leaders volunteer an advice on math education. The latest I came across was freely shared by Lee Iacocca in his new book Where Have All the Leaders Gone?;
Lee may not know much about education but he sure knows a lot about catching attention:
Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff …
The book is not exactly about math education. From the excerpts, Lee is worried about the absence of leadership in industry, the bloody war in Iraq and other causes as well. As an expert PR person, he does not shun misrepresenting the facts be that intentionally or for the lack of knowledge. Concerning the No Child Left Behind program he blames the president:
He (President Bush) also ran on the No Child Left Behind program, which he proclaimed as his proudest achievement while governor of Texas. Only after Bush managed to push the program through Congress as a federal mandate did we learn that the Texas record was not exactly sterling. An inquiry into the Texas No Child Left Behind program revealed widespread test-rigging and numbers-fudging by educators and administrators.
I am no fan of the NCLB initiative which, in my view, was bound to be a failure from the very beginning. And I am not about to absolve President Bush from the responsibility. However, in all honesty, the whole congress embraced the program as everyone who cares to remember may recollect. The December 18, 2001 resolution passed Senate voting with flying colors: 87 YEAs against 10 NAYs. Pushed by the pangs of the leadership responsibilities, with the lackluster performance of the US students in international studies at the back of their minds, and prompted by the business leaders who worried about the future competitive edge of the country, the US Congress showed an overwhelming support for the program. This is an indisputable fact, but apparently not so for Lee Iacocca.
The former Ford’s and Chrysler’s CEO has more to offer than his indignation with the President’s program:
Teachers today have a brand-new problem to worry about-getting shot in the classroom. As I write this, I’m looking at three school shootings just in the last week-even though most schools have metal detectors. I think maybe a little tough love is in order-and a lot of people are going to scream, but hear me out. Why don’t we say that every kid has a right to go to school in this country-until the first time he shows up with a gun, a switchblade, or a little white bag of coke. Then we write him off. Send him packing. Think of it as a form of educational triage.
Here’s the way I see it. There are some kids who will make it no matter what you do or don’t do. Then, there’s the large majority who need a lot of help to make it. And finally, there are some who just can’t be helped, and who suck up all of the resources and attention like a black hole.
I am somewhat ambivalent about this approach. There is no point in speculating whether Lee Iacocca lost any sleep when, as a CEO, he had to fire thousands of workers. These were entitled to some benefits and, in any event, were grown-ups that could be assumed to know how to take care of themselves and their families. But what do you do with the kids in the streets? Thrown out of school, they may no longer be in a position to bring a knife to a class. But who may expect them to part with the blade in the street?
To be fair, some of the advice one gets from the book very acceptable to me. For example,
A word to parents: The biggest favor you can do for your kids is to have plenty of books around the house. Read to them, read around them, be a family that reads. (And if you’re not such a good reader yourself, it’s never too late to learn.)
Here, I join my voice to Lee Iacocca’s, although I can’t recommend his book to have around. Perhaps, too, the US system of education should be modeled after some successful business organization. I do not have a definite opinion on this account. But two things I am sure about. First, the US schooling was never so bad as to hamper the societal or industrical progress in the country. This nonwithstanding the high pitched concerns of the math educators and business leaders. And second, as I strongly believe, the only way to improve the system of education is through a systemic change on all levels from kindergarten to college by emphasizing the development of interest and motivation as opposed to the skills and the necessity of tomorrow’s job market. Wasting years to retain a few basic facts is meaningless regardless of the educational philosophy under which those facts are acquired. A good start for the required change would be to admit a simple truth which is that very little math knowledge is required for a successful and fulfilling life. As Lee Iacocca has put it, There are some kids who will make it no matter what you do or don’t do. And the fact is, I believe, no more is actually necessary. (See my Manifesto.)