We don't need no education

Old Wahoo read this opinion piece in The New York Times today, and while I agree that the emphasis on testing needs to be changed, I think the education system needs to be overhauled more than the author suggests. There's too much emphasis on tests, which only will teach our children how to take tests, and while there actually is a little good in that (i.e. completing the mundane tasks they'll find in the real world, from doing taxes to filling out paperwork at work), we aren't really teaching our children this way. 

The No. 1 goal of education should be engaging children by igniting their imagination, curiosities and passions. If they are interested at school, then children will be more likely to want to learn. I'm afraid that if they are trained to take tests, not only will they lack for knowledge in geography, geology, etc., they also will lose any interest in school. We need to spend more money for more teachers and resources. With more teachers, class room sizes will be smaller, enabling teachers to engage each student more effectively. 

Of course, this is no magic bullet, and any improvements by going this route will be hard to evaluate. Unfortunately, that means more standardized tests, and I'm afraid an enlarging of the United States' education gap.