To the Editor:

We continue to spend more money to keep the current [educational] system. Parents fear that this continual spending will guarantee that their children get “a proper education.” But it would seem that this radical politicization of education happening throughout the country would warrant a closer look at the curriculum and instructional priorities that our elected/appointed educators are implementing. Are our children being indoctrinated with ideas and attitudes that run counter our American beliefs and traditions that made America a place where many immigrants sought to live and work?

New York City spends up to $27,000 per student every year. Newtown residents spend over $15,000. Yet we use in school test scores to verify the return on investment. Yet many students who enter college are found to be deficient in basic skills necessary to succeed. They are obliged to take specific skill training to improve their ability to write and to explain the meaning of what they have learned.

This deficiency is directly related to an inability to think critically and creatively. But this is the result of many years of having to regurgitate large amounts of information in preparation for multiple choice tests that are taken in many subject areas.

Now, we realize that few parents or elected individuals are willing to challenge this method of instruction because they unwilling to investigate another alternative. But they notice that many young graduates lack common sense when faced with situations they require an ability to figure things out. Maybe this ability to think is unimportant because someone or some tech gadget can be utilized.

This eventuality is dangerous because it creates a dependency on other choices and dismisses the incredible mental potential that they have to develop. But if they are enrolled into an “education industrial machine” that puts very little effort in developing critical and creative thinking skills.

Is it possible that no one realizes that we are living and operating in a new “creative paradigm” where new ideas and concepts are the currency of the future?

Dr Rudy Magnan

Oakview Drive, Sandy Hook July 2, 2021