A nation should require all of its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college.

A national curriculum sounds like a good idea. It would be ideal if every student in the country has the same body of knowledge and set of skills upon graduation from high school. However, this is only possible if every student is same as every other student. Some may argue that a ready to use curriculum would save individual school districts and teachers to save a huge chunk of time that it takes to develop a curriculum of their own. Others may point out the expenses incurred in purchasing textbooks and other materials needed to follow a national curriculum. But to follow a national curriculum, each of the fifty states in America must be convinced to give up it's control over its own educational philosophy.

A national curriculum in United States is daunting. The US has third highest population in the world, divided among fifty separately governed states. It was and continues to be a nation of immigrants. Those immigrants came from all over the world, bring along with them their languages and customs. Immigrants have a greater impact on some states than on other. Schools are entrusted with the responsibility to educate children who even can't speak English. A national curriculum may be the straw that breaks the camel's back, educationally. Under ideal conditions school districts would need considerable financial and technical support to adopt to a national curriculum; added to other obstacles that already tax the abilities of some districts, a national curriculum would cause a mutiny.

A national curriculum is likely to focus on core areas of education such as math, science, language arts and social studies. One would be hard put to find someone who disagrees with the idea that all students of the country should have same math skills and same understanding of science and same abilities to read and write. However others may also argue that their is great benefit in participating in art, knowing how to cook a meal and sew on a button, etc. Others may hope that their children learn the basic of vocational trade such as carpentering, plumbing, mechanics or welding. Would there be room for these elective programs in national curriculum? Two compromises come to mind. The first entails requiring a national curriculum through eight grade. From kindergarten to middle school all teachers will adhere to a national curriculum. These are the grades in which the students learn the fundamental of reading, writing, math and social studies. Every student would be prepared for high school, where teacher develops a curriculum that fosters students to further develop the skills they learned in lower grade. The four years of high school would focus on core areas but allow students the time to explore the other areas of interest. The second compromise consist of a set of guidelines and standards that enumerate the skills and knowledge that every student must be able to demonstrate with proficiency before graduating from high school.

A nation's desire to promote the educational well being of its children is laudable and perhaps necessary. In order to foster creativity and individuality, the means to accomplish this must be left to the practitioners who also have the best interest of children at heart.