- Harro Penk - Poughkeepsie, NY - United States Reduce the
number of classes and refocus on fundamentals: Math, Science,
and Language. Modern students in America are bombarded with many
class choices. It seems that we try, unsuccessfully, to turn our
students into a swiss army knife of sorts, i.e. exposed to all
kinds of various topics. Everything from basket weaving to ping-
pong, with an equal sprinkle of math and science thrown in just
so we can still call it a "school" instead of a playground. I
propose the following: Extend the time spent on Math, Science,
and Language to 70-90 minutes. Get rid of classes that simply
don't have a place in PRIMARY education (photography, art,
music, etc). Focus our kids on the important subjects early on
with a boatload of exposure to them, so by the time they enter
High School they will have mastered Algebra, Trigonometry,
Geometry, Writing, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and
Scientific Principles. Now, let me also expand on this and say
that I don't advocate c