Ahora que Albert Esplugas y Álvaro Vermoet debaten sobre educación pública y privatización, una nota sobre el sistema educativo norteamericano. No lo sé con certeza, pero no me extrañaría demasiado que la creencia popular sea algo así como que en EE.UU. no hay colegios públicos, o que los pobres y de pocos recursos no pueden de ninguna manera acceder a la educación primaria.

Bueno, pues según escucho a Eric Hanushek, un estudioso del sistema educativo norteamericano y del “capital humano”, en su último podcast de EconTalk (aquí aparecen los 4 que tiene), el 90% de los niños acuden a colegios públicos, un dato que realmente me ha sorprendido (quizás fuera un fallo auditivo y de comprensión mío, dejado a la fatal suerte de mis particulares sesgos ideológicos).

Ahora Obama parece que dice que los niños norteamericanos pasan demasiado poco tiempo en la escuela, lo que les supone una desventaja competitiva con los niños de otros países. Sobre esto, leo en The Daily Bell (excelente sitio):

In fact, the public school system in America was basically an invention of the early 20th century, and we tend to believe that school performance has been going down fitfully ever since. It could very well be possible that literacy rates were higher in America prior to public education. Additionally, while sciences and math continue to be upgraded in the American classroom, it is an open question as to whether American students are doing better as a group with these subjects.

Then there is the large issue of public school itself. A bright child, well motivated, will probably learn no matter what. The average child will also learn in due course. The slow child who needs extra help becomes the standard around which the rest of the class revolves. For bright children, and even moderately bright children, education is probably to some degree a matter of interest and application. They would learn in almost any sympathetic environment. Slow children need more help, but at what cost?

Conclusion: American public schools seem to us to be going down the hill rather than up. We tend to believe that all the applications of tests and additional money will not help the system in the long run. It is a system where towns and cities routinely spend between US$10,000 and US$15,000 to educate an individual student, and the results are often disassociated from the actual dollar amount, the time spent by teachers, the amount of teachers per students or any other specific resource. What is needed is likely privatization and decentralization – neither of which President Obama seems inclined to contemplate.