John Abraham, Cobb County School Board Member Elect, spoke about his visions for our Cobb County schools.
At the Madison Forum breakfast meeting on September 30, John Abraham, Cobb County School Board Member Elect, spoke about his years in the U.S. Army, where he retired as a Colonel, and his 25 years at CDC which, he feels, have given him the qualifications to make a difference in this up-coming job.
Mr. Abraham said, in preparation for his taking a seat on the School Board, he has been visiting schools and taking to teachers and principals about some of his ideas for improving education for all students.
Some of his conclusions are: that middle school is a joke and not relevant, school principals are into control and not ideas, and teachers are being paid based on their degrees and not on performance.
He said principals are control freaks and, even when they say they want input from parents, board members, and the community, they really don’t.
Mr. Abraham said he would like to open up dialogue between school officials and members of the community, that there should be a mentoring program for students and teachers by members of the community who have many talents and much knowledge in practical subjects. He thinks these people should be allowed to teach and pass on this practical knowledge to students. He feels computer science should be in the School of Mathematics, and that teachers should become qualified in the hard core subjects they teach and not just in education.
He feels that there is too much federal input on what should be local matters, and he feels that education is too important to leave to educators, superintendents, and politicians. Education is not a singular issue. It is a parental challenge and a community challenge.
Mr. Abraham said he would like to come back as a speaker at a later time and tell us how he is doing with his agenda.