President Barack Obama hassuggested new ideas for excellence in the nation's school system: acurriculum-based process that will include a variety of subjectsranging from literature to mathematics, science, arts and socialstudies, apparently no longer based on standardized tests. Thissounds like an excellent idea, but it will be interesting to see itall explained.

The current system of financing schools based on test scores hasdone little to promote education beyond the mediocre level. Everychild in the school was given the same test at “grade level,” butthe pass-fail rate was based on all the children in the individualschool, even those who may have been functionally impaired orfluent in a language other than English. Therefore, the schoolsthat needed the most help with their student body got failinggrades and help taken away, while schools in more stableneighborhoods reaped the rewards. One city went so far as to fireevery teacher in the school, regardless of what the caliber ofstudents—or teachers—may have been. It's a good bet that the newteachers in that school won't fare any better.

My wife, a former third-grade and high school teacher, got“hooked” on the TV show, Are You Smarter Than a FifthGrader? The whiz kids who supported the dopes trying to winmoney were usually far better at correctly answering the questionsthan the competitors. I can see why some would miss a mathquestion, as current mathematics language is quite different thanit was in the 40s and 50s when I was in school. However, somedidn't know east from west, couldn't answer a simple geography orhistory question, and walked away looking dumber than a dodo bird,let alone a fifth grader.

Computer Literacy

In almost every European country, the kids are far ahead of theaverage American kid, university-ready the day they completesecondary education. This is not to say that our kids are dumb;most are far smarter than I could ever hope to be, especially whenit comes to technology. While it is true that Americans are farbehind in our average education—at least in many parts of thecountry—we are dealing with one noticeable disadvantage. The kidsin any given American school may originate from 10 or moredifferent places, each with a separate culture and achievementobjective. One school in which my wife taught in Miami, Fla., hadstudents from 27 different nations, speaking 10 or more differentlanguages or dialects. Thus, how could they be expected to master auniform test?

At one time, I thought the difference between foreign schoolsand American schools was “individualism.” In America, one size doesnot fit all. It was “Theory Z” or some such nonsense that rewardedthe group rather than the individual. It seemed, at the time (andthere was at least one column on this topic) that the reasonAmerica was then ahead of the world was because of our ruggedindividualism. Then again, that was 20th century thinking. In the21st century, it appears as though we're all going to have to shapeup and paddle the boat together. Our students need to become littlecookie-cutter kids, all studying the same things in the same wayand learning the same things all of the other kids in the world arelearning, and doing it via computer.

Insurance Education

One item missing from the list of topics the ObamaAdministration considers to be essential for our students—a goodlist including art and music and science, and so on—was a courseabout how to deal with the real world. The United States, takingthe rest of the world with us, found itself in a mess because wewere led like sheep down a slippery path to the edge of a highcliff. Let's reminisce for a moment: “For nothing down and anadjustable rate mortgage forever, you, too, can own a home. Look atthose AAA-rated bonds. Hurry!”

So over the cliff we fell. About 100 years ago, Phineas T.Barnum said, “There's a sucker born every minute.” How right hewas! In an interview with the head of one of the big New Yorkinvestment bankers, the interviewer asked whether buying, “defaultcredit swaps”—basically bets that bonds the same firm peddled tocustomers would fail—wasn't dishonest. “No,” he replied, “it wasrisk management.” Yes, “hedging” is a form of risk management;however, it usually refers to having alternatives available in theevent of an unanticipated disaster. The investment bankersanticipated the bond failures.

Quality education is never static. I was reminded of this whilewatching an old movie on TCM about a British school master. Even inAmerica in the 19th century, every student in a good school waslearning Greek, Latin, Shakespeare, philosophy, and the “classics.”Apparently Obama's plan is to return to some of that, but not allof it, as other subjects have become much more important. One isgrammar. On a recent trip, I was amazed to hear somecollege-educated people saying things like, “Me and him wentfishing” or “Where's he gone to?”

No matter whether high school students are headed for college or“blue collar” jobs, they need to know how to get along in theworld. I had a nephew who didn't know how to address anenvelope—and he was a college grad. E-mail, text messaging, and nowtweeting have virtually killed the art of writing a personal orbusiness letter. Communication may be instant, but it often isunclear, which can lead to mistakes and confusion.

A neighbor who dealt in life insurance and I decided to see ifwe could write a textbook for high school students that explainedinsurance. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, some 2.3million people are employed in the industry, over 60 percent byinsurers and the rest in related industries. That is down from whatit was in the 1990s, when nearly 10 percent of the nation'semployees worked in some sort of insurance-related activity. Onecaveat is that the Bureau statistics probably didn't includeemployment such as body shop repairmen, repair contractors,clerical workers in physicians' offices and hospitals, or attorneyswho work for or against insurers.

We thought our textbook idea would be a winner. We started withthe fascinating topic of insurance history and then discussed theprinciples of risk and risk management. We progressed to the basicsof the types of insurance everyone will purchase at some point intheir lives: life, health, auto, or dwelling insurance. We thentouched on some aspects of business insurance, simply outlining theoptions available.

There was no market for such a book. No publisher wasinterested. Admittedly, we did not try the Texas TextbookCommission, which has the power to set the standards for what goesinto school textbooks nationwide. Even so, I doubt it would havemade such a book marketable. Maybe the fact that it was a “book”was the problem. Many kids simply don't read books anymore, atleast in the traditional sense. They read computer screens.

As this is being written, the day after the House passed theHealth Insurance Bill, it is still unclear as to whether theinsurance reforms in the watered-down legislation will pass. It hasto survive further battles in the Senate, and new bills to repealit in both houses of Congress, plus a number of state challengesexist. Either way, it will impact high school and college studentswho know little more about insurance than that disability insuranceis sold by a duck and auto insurance by a gecko.

While the kids may not be learning about insurance and risk, itseems that many of their parents are equally clueless. On a recenttrip, we witnessed a number of auto wrecks. From what we coulddiscern in most of these cases, drivers' education was as lackingas insurance information. People went zooming by far in excess ofspeed limits, running red lights, turning left in front of oncomingvehicles whose drivers had to slam on the brakes, and rolled rightthrough stop signs. As one can imagine, there will be a need forauto claim adjusters for the foreseeable future.

One of the aspects of the new insurance bill—provided that itsurvives the challenges—is a state-by-state pool of insurers forhigher risk applicants, as purchasing health insurance will bemandatory. Apparently people are confused by such a process, andcall it “socialism.” Why they are confused is a mystery to me. Thishas been around the auto industry for decades, and it is calledfinancial responsibility laws and the “assigned risk pool.” If the14 percent of Americans now uninsured for health insurance join the86 percent of us who currently pay for their costs through ourtaxes and own insurance premiums, there should be some improvementin the system. Undoubtedly there will be further fiddling aroundwith the system, so we can't expect for things to get cheaper.

One thing is certain, though: like all new programs, it is boundto be more confusing. We all just may need a new textbook tounderstand it.