"For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.” H.L. Menken.

This quote is often made about solving our education problems by local educators. There have to be a few corollaries to this axiom at least in education.

Let’s start with “There don’t seem to be any complex solutions to complex problems that work in education, or complex problems in education are usually a result of collecting simple problems into a larger problem.”

A local writer put it, “Problems whose solutions are simple but unpopular are labeled as complex to account for the fact that they have not had the unpopular solution applied. “ This creates an excuse for some of the poor achievement seen in many school districts.

There does seem to be a simple solution, for many, to the problem of getting a satisfactory education. Over Thanksgiving I was in Boston and had a meeting with my Son-in-law whose office is right across the street from Boston Latin School.

Boston Latin School is the oldest public school in the nation. It was founded in 1635, a year before Harvard, by the city of Boston. Checking their website I find that they have almost 2500 students in grades 7-12 today.

The graduates of this school are able to gain entrance to almost any school in the country without questions of their education.

I once worked with a gentleman who had graduated from BLS who was very highly regarded by everyone I knew. I arrived about 2 hours early and parked across the street from BLS. In the two hours that I waited it seemed like the school wasn’t even open as there was no ever ending procession of parents and students leaving and entering the school.

When dismissal time came buses appeared and students left without any adult supervision unlike what seems to be needed in our secondary schools. No skate boards were observed and many kids were taking their I-pods out their backpacks. I presume that they were not acceptable in school.

Boston Latin requires an admissions test to gain entry and entry is only made at either the 7th or 9th grade. An extensive waiting list occurs much as there is at our Public Academy.

Here’s the kicker. If you enroll as a 7th grader you will have to complete four years of Latin to graduate! If you enroll as a 9th grader you will only have to complete three years of Latin. I would assume that at least one more foreign language would be taken by most students. As a former high school student I can report to you that Latin isn’t for sissies.

The rules and vocabulary are mandatory memorizations for success in Latin. Sound a little like Mathematics? I think so.

How many of you would think that a group of 5th graders would be thinking “That I must study hard these two years, so I can pass the entrance exam and study four years of Latin at Boston Latin School?” If any of the readers think this is the case, I will buy them coffee!

So, what is the “simple solution” that has allowed this school to prosper since 1635 in spite of a declining emphasis on Latin and many other aspects of education which is often blamed on the “Culture?” Why does this school have a surplus of applicants?

Why does this school insist on the study of Latin when most schools don’t even offer the subject let alone require a minimum of 3 years of study?

Latin is the basis of many other languages and requires the discipline and organization of thoughts that are usually found in successful students according to many.

The simple solution I think that is that parents are controlling the education of their children, not educators who are worried about “Complex Problems!” Parents are the ones who are insisting that their kids attend this school. Parents that are aware of, and insist on, student focus on acquiring knowledge.

I continue to believe that there aren’t many kids just itching to begin the study of Latin, but there evidently are legions of parents that believe this “won’t hurt that much.”

Nationally, and I have seen it here, parents and kids seem more concerned about being “Satisfied” with school than acquisition of knowledge.

In fact I just read an article urging kids to “Have fun” in high school. The kids that I saw leaving BLS didn’t seem to be downtrodden. On BLS’s website there is a section on frequently asked questions by those seeking admission. The question is, “Do kids have any fun at BLS?”

Their answer is that there are many activities at BLS, and most of these are more in depth studies of favorite topics!

Why is it then that we don’t have these kinds of schools in Washington? Is it the water? Is it the genetics? Or is it that parents have abdicated their obligation to get the best education for their children by believing educators who proclaim that “All schools are good.”

What would Federal Way be like if we had a substantial enrollment in a school of the caliber of Boston Latin? Is this a “Complex problem?” Evidently not in Boston.

Is there a “Simple Solution” here? I think so. Set high standards, make sure that parents know them, and have consequences for failure. Many of our parents, educators, and Legislators can’t seem to fathom this simplicity.