`STATE OF DISARRAY': FORUM SPEAKER ASSAILS PUBLIC EDUCATION

American public education is in a state of disarray, Allan Brownfeld, a journalist, political analyst and author from Washington, D.C., told students on the final day of the Missouri Freedom Forum.

"No institution is in more disarray than our public schools," Brownfeld said.

Over 200 high school students attended the three-day event held at Southeast Missouri State University. The forum is designed to give students an opportunity to discuss with professional speakers, business leaders, legislators and counselors the basics of the American governmental and economic systems.

Brownfeld told students the trouble in education can be traced to trouble in society, especially in families.

"The American family is in a state of disarray," Brownfeld said. "We have the highest divorce rate of any industrialized nation: 50 percent.

"In many two-parent families both parents are working. This generation of young Americans is not receiving the same amount of love and attention as previous generations. And the place of children has declined in our society."

He said many problems young people face drug and alcohol use and abuse and teen pregnancy can be linked to the demise of the family. He said students with less parental supervision achieve less in school.

Responding to a student's question about what the answer might be, Brownfeld said: "What we need to have in education is freedom of choice. When it comes to schools, only the affluent have freedom of choice. That's where the idea of a voucher system comes in."

He said under a proposed voucher system the government would provide a specific amount of money for education of each child. Students could spend that money at the school of their choice.

"It won't cost taxpayers anything extra, but it will provide opportunity for competition. That's the kind of shot in the arm education needs: competition."

He carried the idea one step farther: to teachers. "We need merit pay for teachers. Those who do a good job get more money; those who do a poor job get drummed out."

He said he also advocates competency testing for teachers.

"Teachers want to be paid like professionals, but they don't want to meet the standards of professionalism," Brownfeld said. "Doctors, lawyers, engineers must pass exams which say they are qualified to work in their professions. Teachers have fought against testing."

Brownfeld disagreed with an argument that more money is needed to solve education's problems.

He said: "The fact is we spend more money per student than any other country; however, we are at the bottom of the list on standardized tests. Our students score at the top of the list in self-esteem. Somehow we can teach self-esteem but we can't teach mathematics."

He said high school students reveal on tests that they do not know history. "Two-thirds of high school students could not place the Civil War between 1850 and 1900. One-half could not locate the half century in which World War I occurred."

"We are not transmitting the past, but beyond that we are not transmitting skills needed for jobs.

"American business spends $25 billion trying to provide elementary instruction to 1 million workers. These 1 million workers already graduated from high school."

"American public education is a disaster area," Brownfeld said. "We are not preparing students for the role of citizen. On the other hand we are not preparing them for jobs."

The sixth annual Missouri Freedom Forum was sponsored by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation, Southeast Missouri State University and the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

Organizations sponsoring local students at the Freedom Forum were Mercantile Bank, Rotary Club of Cape Girardeau, Union Electric, Cape Girardeau Lions Club, Farm and Home Savings, Evening Optimist Club, Advanced Business Systems, Capital Bank, Kiwanis Club, Metro Business College, Boatmen's Bank, Noon Optimist Club, Fox 23 KBSI, Breakfast Optimist Club, United Oil Co., Stanley, Dirnberger, Hopper and Associates, Kohlfeld Distributing, Biokyowa, and Southeast Missouri District Council of Carpenters.