Eileen Sheedy-Currie sent the following letter (response sent from mail@cartalk.com).

--the strength to walk away
from destructive relationships--all types

Dear Car Profs,

I love this idea! You have posed a question that has befuddled societies since the beginning of time--and we still haven't got it straight. This will be fun--and your initial offerings are both simple and complex: easy to achieve, but difficult to teach in our current educrat-run environment. Here are my offerings and observations:

First, a little background: educated in the East--the classic liberal arts offerings--but used to work at Peasant Stock restaurant, not far from your beloved Harvard Square. Learned more there than in 15th-Century Philosophy. Moved to Bowdoin in Maine--then grad school--NYC-- bank--headhunting--Boston--headhunting--Houston, 10 years teaching history--back to restaurants...

I believe that a well-educated person needs the following skills:

--the ability to engage anyone in conversation who is not pedantic

--the ability to appreciate the skills of all types of labor--and the breeding to appreciate their contributions to the smooth running of any society--i.e., don't disrespect your garbage collector

--an appreciation and faith in a higher being--familiarity with the writings describing said faith

--respect for elders--you can never say Ma'am or Sir too often

--the ability to listen to conversation

--table manners--at home and in public

--understanding of fashion for you--what you look good in and can afford

--the ability to read the New York Times -- all sections--and understand its contents

--the class and confidence to ask a question when you are confused or don't understand an issue

--a basic exposure to music, art, basic architecture, principles of science, economics, government and one foreign language

--writing in a coherent and interesting fashion

--balancing a checkbook

--ability to invest your savings in a profitable pension account

--the wisdom to hire a trustworthy lawyer for a will and an accountant for your annual payment to the IRS

--know how to buy a car, rent an apartment, book a vacation and pick your doctors

--the strength to walk away from destructive relationships--all types

--know how many drinks you can consume before you say stupid things to strangers

--ability to say, "Thank you," with sincerity--and never to say, "Have a nice day"

--the education and confidence to be able to walk away from a career you hate and still be able to support yourself and your dependents

This may seem like a long list, but it can be achieved if we:

1. Accept the fact that teacher-education programs in this country are useless--filled with theorists who haven't been in a middle-school classroom in the last 20 years;

2. Design curricula that incorporate teachers and material from the real world--have adults and teens from the working world give classes and bring the classes to their world;

3. Rewrite most of the current textbooks--and check them for accuracy--many current history books have glaring errors;

4. Instill basic requirements for classroom decorum--and kick out kids who do not comply--period;

5. Involve the parents from the beginning in all aspects of their child's education--if there are no secrets, there will be less hostility;

6. Lengthen the school year;

7. Give nightly homework starting in the 5th grade;

8. Give each child a faculty advisor who can be an in-school advocate;

9. Require that all children in middle and high school be involved in community service activities;

10. Have older high school students be mentors to freshmen;

11. Have parent-teacher meetings every quarter;

12. Require teachers to dress and act like professionals if they expect to be treated as such;

13. Pay teachers salaries that are competitive with the private sector--you get what you pay for;

14. Fire 75 percent of the administrative branch in public schools--they are useless.

15. Stop pitting public, parochial and independent schools against each other;

16. Offer European-standard vocational education to our students--not everyone is going to Harvard, thank God. People will always need a plumber at 10:00 p.m.--and he or she had better be qualified.

Thank you for offering your listeners a chance to jump into this national discussion--you are both good people to do this. You have made me laugh through many Saturday mornings. Thank you so much.

Back to Tommy's Education Forum Part II

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