Free Education In Politics Essay Example

Education In Politics Name: Institution: The politics of curriculum development has always been one that has come under great scrutiny, with equal support being leveraged for differing opinions. Perhaps the biggest political move in this regard, that brought it even further under inspection was the national RTT initiative by the Obama administration that awarded points to states for employing certain policies and performance standards, to be eligible for the funding. This was an attempt to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education. While many states opted for this, there were also some, such as Texas and Alaska that did not. In my opinion, the very concept of structuring a rigid, standardized set of guidelines is in itself contrary to the concept of an evolving system of education. To have national players design an educational edict would be akin to stating that curriculums, which are effectively the birth place of pioneering research and industry can be established by a distant bureaucrat, with an academic understanding of the global issues of education, but a very little working understanding of the local and cultural context. And there is also the question of how these political decision-makers and chosen, if there is adequate transparency in the process and if it isn’t solely furthering personal and political agendas. The education curriculum should ideally be set by local school communities and the local government as they alone understand the local circumstance. The presence of multiple guidelines that adhere to differing schools of thought will inherently influence an environment of competition and dynamism. Parents and children will naturally send their children to schools that are performing better, which in turn will force the other schools to truly introspect and evolve their method of instruction. When you have a central body, that is not immediately accountable to the people setting the standards, there is very little involvement in the decision-making process by the actual stakeholders of the local educational institution and this can only breed apathy. The quality of education can only improve through direct investment and accountability of the local governments. The question of the Core and Arts or qualitative higher education subjects only further supports this method of governance. To have a standardized method of teaching the subject only belies the concept of exploration, which is synonymous with the Arts. The curriculum should in every respect be an evolving and progressive notion, and in that sense be the universal ideal that institutions aspire to. Universality and Standardization are often confused. To have a universal framework that directs institutions to apply local contexts to their system of education which local communities can interpret and expand upon, seems an ideal and developing system of education. ReferencesBowen, Daniel. "Politics and the Scoring of Race to the Top Applications” American Enterprise Institute. "Race to the Top Assessment Program" U.S. Dept. of Education. June 24, 2010.