There was a story in the Jan. 12 Press that said Idaho's public schools get a "D." On the cover of the Jan. 13 paper, Gov. Otter plans to seek more funding for schools. That is always the short term, do something solution. Throwing more money at education does not work, if you don't identify and solve the problems. Throwing more money is always the first plan of action but in the end does not solve the problem. Look to private schools, they accomplish more with less. In private schools, they spend less per pupil and have far better results. Look for reasons why they do better.

One reason, you will find parents are much more involved at private schools as a whole in their children learning and they don't just drop their kids off and expect the school to teach them everything they need to know. Not to say parents in public schools are not involved, there are some very involved. Generally speaking, the parent involvement ratio is higher at private schools than public. Many private schools have mandatory volunteer service hours and parents are welcome in the classrooms to be involved in their children's education. Most private school parents realize it is partnership with the school, and they don't just drop their children off expecting the school to teach their children all they need to learn. Parents need to make sure their children know what they need to in order to be a responsibility citizens.

As far as pre-k and K failing grade, in Idaho, K is not even required in Idaho. That is the first step is to make it mandatory or parents have to prove their children have mastered their skills they need to be successful in K and beyond. Honestly with technology, there really is no excuse for parents not to have their children prepared whether the attend preschool or not. Putting children in preschools in Idaho is not necessarily the answer solution either. After moving to Idaho from another state, I was shocked to be told by several preschools in Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington that children are not developmentally ready at the age of 4 to read. (There are some good preschools but you need to verify what is being taught or not being taught to young children and confirm results.) All three of my children were reading 3 letters words by the time they were 4. At age 3 they could recognize letters and sounds of the alphabet. Currently at Classical Christian Academy in Post Falls, the many Pre-K (age 4) students are reading three and four letter words by mid-school year. Kids are more capable than many in Idaho believe. It is like mediocre is the expectation so that is what Idaho gets in its public education with the exception of Cd'A Charter. There are some great teachers out there in the public schools systems who work hard to make a difference and who are very passionate at what they do. There are some excellent homeschool groups whose children are doing very well and well ahead of their peers. They can tell you some sad situations where kids are not prepared and lag behind. When kids start off behind, they typically stay behind. This is not about the teachers, there are some excellent and amazing teachers in the Idaho Public School Systems and many work so hard to make a difference, there things are lacking, some teachers hands are tied thus one reason Idaho Schools are behind the rest of the nation.

Don't compare your child's Idaho school with other Idaho school compare them with other states and you will see the difference in expectations. Look at national test results, and test your children yourself to see where they are at nationally. Do keep in mind that test scores do not tell you everything, it is only one measurement tool. Having moved from another state to Idaho, I really see the difference in expectations and results. I do have a difficulty in understanding the why and how the two states' education system differ. A friend told me, her friend moved from Idaho to another state, her children with significantly behind. They had attended one of the better Idaho elementary schools. Parents take responsibility for your children's education and make sure they know what they need to know and supplement their education. A school either private of public can't teach your child everything they need to know.

To help parents, there are a few references and books that should be in every Parent's library, first is the essay by Dorothy Sayers, The Lost Tools of learning which you can find in its entirety on the internet, The Well Trained Mind by Susan Bauer and Cultural Literacy, What Every American Needs to Know by E.D Hirsch, Jr. and Douglas Wilson two books, Recover the Lost Tools of Learning and Repairing the Ruins. Mr. Hirsh as many books that can help make sure your child learns and know what they need to know to be a responsibly and successful citizens.

I am always open to the fact that I don't have my children in the public system for many reasons. I care about the public system because those children are our future leaders of our country. There are many reasons I choose not to have my children in the public system. A few of the reasons are the fact that the religion of humanism is being taught in our public schools and most parents do not object, our Country's Christian Heritage being lost and not taught in our public schools, the Judeo-Christian values that made this country strong are being pushed out of the classroom and teachers not allowed to even discuss these history facts due to political correctness. The world's top selling book, the Bible is not welcome in many schools and in some schools student are not even allowed to read it even in their free time. The bible is a part of this country's history whether you agreed with what is in the bible or not. Our founding fathers, some who were not Christians, recognized that the principles, virtues and wisdom from the bible were worth teaching and to live by and good to follow for a strong thriving society. Could the removal of the biblical teachings from the classrooms be a factor of the decline in our public schools? Is the public education system better off today since the removal of biblical principles from the classroom? Has student behavior gotten worse as the public schools have gotten more secular in their teaching?

As we look for solutions as to what troubles our public school system, we must notice there is a real difference between modern progressive education and the way students were taught classical for many centuries. Why change what has worked for centuries? Is newer always better? A question that needs to be ask to help find the real solutions and answers is "What is the purpose of Education?" What do we as a society want to accomplish with our public school system? Students who can think, who possess good moral character, general core knowledge and know our country's true history so it can be preserved, who can function and responsible productive citizens or is the goal to train students for a particular vocation?

I leave you with these quotes about the purpose of education and a chart which should test results from independent, religious and public schools. We must understand the reasons why private schools exceed public schools results. Private schools do for do a better job educating over children for less per a student. There are some good things that public schools that private schools just can't do. We need to focus on where public schools are failing and improve those areas. It will take us working together as a society to make public education better for the good of our communities and our country.

"Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate." - Martin Luther King Jr.

"The purpose of education is to give to the body and to the soul all the beauty and all the perfection of which they are capable." - Plato

"A Bible and a newspaper in every house, a good school in every district - all studied and appreciated as they merit - are the principal support of virtue, morality, and civil liberty." - Benjamin Franklin

"It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible. Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, our religion and morality are the indispensable supporters. Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that our national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." - George Washington

Joleen Norcini is a Post Falls resident.