—Robert Maynard Hutchins (1899–1977)

Two considerations:

*Several years ago, the Educational Testing Service “re-centered” SAT scores because the median score had dropped so much it was embarrassing. All this has done is obfuscate the reality that our scores have declined even more than we are aware.

*Today, our major research universities increasingly obtain their scientists from beyond our shores because our American product is considered less prepared and less motivated.

As American education continues its decline on the world stage (from #1 to #16 in science and math), we have seen our country’s public schools gravitate toward curricular offerings that veer from the rigorous broad-based liberal arts program that served us so well for so long. As a candidate for the Newtown Board of Education, I support a curriculum, i.e., a broad-based liberal arts education, that develops critical thinking, creative problem-solving, a developed knowledge base, intellectual perspective, and effective communication skills in all students. These competencies, which a liberal arts education fosters, should be developed throughout elementary school and high school and subsequently serve students throughout their lives as an invaluable foundation for further academic and societal pursuits.

If elected, I will propose for all students a rigorous liberal arts education that will cultivate the following: critical and logical minds adept in rhetorical skills; the ability to find answers to problems through research and logical thought processes; and a broad understanding of the fine arts, the sciences, literature, Latin, philosophy, foreign languages, and history.

The late Robert Maynard Hutchins, once dean of Yale Law School and later president and chancellor of the University of Chicago, established the renowned core curriculum, which stepped away from the specialized, one-dimensional course of study and mandated students digest a broad spectrum of knowledge before graduation. His vision for education, which remains a model for all academic institutions seeking to produce thoughtful, articulate, and knowledgeable students, is a model I propose the Newtown Board of Education give profound consideration.

Daniel Shea

Candidate for the

Newtown Board of Education

44 Queen Street Newtown                                       February 25, 2011