Public Schools are Archaic
MR Ussery

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M.R. Ussery’s „Public Schools are Archaic“ is a short, 70 page treatise published by Outskirts Press.

Author notes regarding this writer states that Dr Ussery taught elementary school, secondary school and adult education classes in addition to writing more than 100 scripts for info and training films. Plus, per these notes, the author has received numerous awards for excellent for work as writer, director and producer of those training films.

Writer Ussery notes that the problem in education today is that most schools work under an obsolete curriculum, with students confined to follow a fixed path regardless of their aptitude; that I cannot argue with, and know of no educator who might. Those espousing lock step in education, I have found, are those who do not teach, but do proclaim often and loudly, that teachers don’t teach and demand that they begin to do so, NOW. ie send everyone to college, IQ be ignored, personal desire be ignored and job availability or need for those college degrees be ignored.

I do ponder who will cook in restaurants, cut hair, drive a taxi, type medical reports, or fix my car when the day comes that everyone in the nation has a college degree and is now ready to … ummm, what?

Reading over the author’s listing of students he has known reads as does the roster in most classrooms. There are those students who appear daily, have problems with reading or math, but are a whiz with their hands, can repair or figure out what makes anything tick. And, there are those who are often absent due to real or imagined illness, or other cause.

Writer Ussery notes the angry child who may be neglected, or tired due to lack of sleep as parents battle into the night, or hungry because there is no food and no money to buy any until pay day. He mentions the bright youngster who has little time to wait for classmates needing to hear instruction again as she/he gets it rushes forward.

He tells of the child who cannot see or hear and wears no hearing aid, or has old or broken, or older cousin’s glasses to use. And, he tells of the child who is capable, but is not the class leader, and slaps anything on the page when he/she sees most of the class is nearly done with the lesson. Then he tells of the older student who rarely attends class, ditching and being caught are not his/her problem, mom gets called in, authorities may be called, but he/she is not the culprit, it is mom, or the system, or…

And there is the child who has given up, home life is so impossible for a number of reasons, he/she may be in the foster system, authorities are those to fight, fear or otherwise ignore. And, sad to say, these are students most teachers see each year beginning in kindergarten and continuing on through high school.

From this beginning filled with the details that most educators understand too well; the writer continues with more basic understandings including time is constant, learning is variable. For instance: Teachers have students about 1,000 hours a year, which means nearly 8,000 hours of that year; students will be influenced with the weight of family training, peer pressure, television, internet, reading materials, church or other organizations.

Writer Ussery forwards the statement that all students could benefit from having individualized instruction rather than lock step, same outcome expected curriculum.

From page 11 which begins with a statement concerning home school education which is legal in each state, and has typical rules for parents including students must pass a test for success at a job which is generally an 8th grade equivalency, must teach prescribed subjects, will bring students to their local School district Office to test achievement in prescribed subjects; Author Ussery moves to a discussion of Instructional System Development.

ISD is the process of developing learning modules. Ussery discusses, Philosophy of Education, Research, and Military Involvement – the military has used the ISD approach for decades, and states some of his own personal involvement with ISD.

The writer lists his work in a Traffic Safety training setting for the Air Force, notes his introduction to Criterion Referenced Instruction, and work in producing Audio Visual Training films for the ISD program. That work came to a halt when changes in how the Air Force regarded the whole program took place.

When writer Ussery retired he turned his attention to public education and whether he might apply his ISD training concepts to public education.

Writer Ussery does point out that State Legislators do frequently feel it is their duty to mandate curriculum and hours spent in study, but rarely are these mandates offered with funds or materials with which to implement the mandates. Self pacing for student progress is constricted by mandated semesters and grade level expectations.

The writer does point out that too often school budgets are spent for things, rather than education, that more and more is expected of teachers, curriculum at grade levels is not individualized, and that while most teachers in the lower grades are accomplishing a great deal using older methods or traditional grade levels; older students begin to need more individualized attention which they cannot get because teachers are constrained to follow a set curriculum.

Learn how and drill is the model of the old Boston Latin Schools and is how most young learners do accomplish learning reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Writer Ussery goes on to outline what he calls his Pilot Program for renovation of the present educational system which he would implement as students test at or about the age of High School Freshmen.

I found M.R. Ussery’s „Public Schools are Archaic“ to be readable, filled with much preaching to the choir so to speak, but then, I don’t think he is directing his work toward teachers, but toward those who do not teach, but want quality education and don’t really have a clue how to go about achieving that other than MAKE THOSE TEACHERS ACCOUNTABLE, while continuing to hamstring the teachers with insistence that all students must face exactly the same curriculum presented in the same manner using the same materials and etc and producing the same outcome.

Suggestion I might make to the author would be offer a little more information regarding himself, where he taught, how long, what his expertise is. Provide a website and contact information where those interested in his ideas can quickly locate via Google, and then email, etc.

Do I think Writer Ussery’s ideas to be sound and workable, likely so. Do I think there is a chance in this world they might be implemented? Given the present tenor in the country with everyone an expert regarding what is wrong with public education from politicians, state, local, and federal, to admirals on ships, to the local dog catcher, taxi driver, or cook at the hamburger stand, but certainly not teachers or others actually in the field of education; no, I don’t think his plan might be implemented.

Happy to recommend especially for those who believe that Teacher’s are uncaring, not dedicated and cannot do their job.

Note: I cannot find anything in Google search regarding who this writer actually is, no first name, where he taught, or what this particular work hopes to forward. Having said all that; I did read the book and here is the review.