LETTERS: WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND OBE BEFORE TRASHING IT

To the editor:

Every time I read one of Peter Kinder's columns, I cringe. For one thing, I wonder what qualifications he has that even allow him to write about Outcome Based Education. Secondly, I worry that the citizens of Cape Girardeau and the surrounding area will adopt his point of view without really knowing the facts.

Please allow me to quote a definition of OBE printed in an August 1992 "Draft of a Proposal to Implement Outcome Based Graduation in Missouri High Schools."

"Outcome-based education is a philosophy which drives the way in which instruction is organized, delivered and evaluated. Its purposed are: (1) equipping all students will the knowledge, competencies and skills needed for future success; and (2) establishing conditions in schools which maximize learning and success for all students. Converting to an outcome-based system requires educators to accept the beliefs that all children can learn virtually everything school have to teach, and that schools can control virtually all the conditions necessary for students to learn successfully."

I teach in a small rural school, and my personal opinion of OBE is that it is certainly a lofty philosophy to aspire to. But I see no need to get all excited and up-in-arms about it. Don't we care about the outcome of our children's education?

One thing is certain: We cannot continue educating our students as we have in the past. Don't get me wrong. I realize that this was OK for us and our parents. In fact, my father only had an eighth-grade education, and he supported our family of four quite well, and I admire and love him for that. But those days are long gone. Businesses no longer need workers with strong backs and shopkeeper arithmetic skills. We have to train our students to be productive citizens in a world of technology that's constantly changing. Ask anyone. Ask your mechanic next time you take your car in. I bet he or she will verify that it's amazing how much is done by computers these days.

So before we start trashing the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, we first need to understand that it is only trying to improve education for future generations. Maybe this time the idea will work.

CAROLE DEL VECCHIO

Cape Girardeau