While visiting England this summer I picked up a copy of the London
Times and noticed that there was a debate going on about holding
“Secondary School Proms”.

In the past I have watched on English TV a series of documentaries on the “American High School”, as it so different than English secondary schools where they concentrate on “traditional education.”

I think that this is a debate that would be worth having in America also.

While the British are debating whether they should have such “social” activities in their schools, we in America need to be thinking about whether these are just a distraction to “getting an education” which seems to be a major problem here. Significant portions of the British public do not think that proms should be
school functions.

I can clearly remember that in my time in high school kids were “excused” from classes to “decorate” the gym for a prom.

In Federal Way there was uproar over not having a “Homecoming Dance” for a school that didn’t have any graduates!

Charles Hoff is a former Federal Way School Board member.

They did have plenty of drop-outs that I suppose could come back for a “Homecoming.”

In my teaching days I remember our school expelling one if its most egregious
malcontents only to find him back in our cafeteria.

He referred to himself as a “drop-in!” We had to get the police to remove him. Why was he back? “School is so much fun!”

I am sure that if the school board or administration in Federal Way were to suggest that they would be considering suspending school dances there would be an uproar that would even provoke people to attend a school board meeting.

The Board could consider almost any academic issue without provoking the heated debate that would result from considering banning school dances!

As one of our Principals put it, “It is hard to get any support for academics but very easy to get it for athletics, music, or in this case, dances.

We have seen in this school district, as well as many others, unfortunate situations arise from dances due to irresponsible decisions by both kids, and parents, and this was one of the major points that opponents in Britain brought out.

Just as some athletic events in some areas have had to be “closed” to the public events such as dances seem to bring out some of the worst behaviors in some.

America, as previously reported, and Washington in particular, just isn’t doing that well in the “Education race.”

Could this have something to do with how we conduct school? Do you suppose that nations that are leading in the “Education race” are debating whether to hold school dances, field athletic teams, or start cheerleading
squads?

I hope that there aren’t any readers that think that this is a topic in Singapore, Finland, Korea, or Ireland.

I think I can assure the readers that this isn’t even on the radar screen at its
highest resolution and range in the countries that beat our nation’s 26th, or 32nd position, depending on your measurement of America’s education of its children.

The amount of funding that goes towards these distractions, gymnasiums
with seating, shower rooms, playing fields, coaches and advisors’ salaries, officials’ fees, membership fees, etc. just isn’t an educational expense for the leaders of the education race.

Scott Oki, local former Microsoft manager, has recently released a book, “Outrageous Learning.”

In his writings he points out that in Washington schools there are more employees in school districts that are not in classrooms than there are in classrooms!

One of the reasons for this is the “Mission Creep” that has occurred in schools.
Instead of being focused on teaching the core subjects schools that have traditionally considered “education,” schools are, and in most cases, poorly, trying to address many of society’s “other problems.”

All of these efforts require staffing, usually starting with some expensive administrators and working its way down to others.

This gets expensive as this money is taken out of the classroom budgets.

Do other countries engage in this “Mission Creep?” Well at least in Britain this is a topic for discussion.

In America we have long ago crossed this threshold at considerable taxpayers’ expense and in the process diluted the basic purpose of education!

Perhaps worse than this “Mission Creep” is the expectation of our new crop of parents that schools are capable of educating their children in subjects that used to be considered the responsibility of parents!

Schools in turn have been most reluctant to push back from these demands, while the actual instructional time has diminished in schools the demands have increased.

This is clearly a “lose-lose” situation, yet school districts have no stomach for halting this dilution of effort.

They would be afraid to suggest that they cannot solve these problems and hold the line on expectations.

Where does this end?

Being 43rd in the nation in high school completion, Washington, ranked 32nd in the world, America, doesn’t seem to be enough stimuli. What will? I hope that Britain will be able to resist this “Mission Creep” as they already have some serious achievement problems.

Next thing they are likely to see if they don’t is the introduction of football and cheerleading! This will allow them to descend to “American Standards” of education!

The sleeping giants elsewhere in the world are awakening and they will be hungry! It is not their goal to beat us in football!