Early in October, the Governor of New York, George Pataki, issued a mandate that would require the state’s public schools to teach about Ireland’s potato famine.

While this may be a good subject for students to learn, it is but one of many new mandates imposed by a government body to improve education.

Other education legislation has included defining character through teaching courage, cooperation, cleanliness, loyalty, patriotism, self respect and many other traits. Including the three R’s, this a is a huge amount of additional responsibility to be handed down to teachers in the classroom.

Perhaps special interest groups are promoting their subjects the only way they know how — by addressing a government body — when they actually should be going to local school boards and letting the members or educators decide what programs should be imposed and which should be eliminated.

Continuity in education is more important than trying to embrace every subject that comes to light.

What these mandates entail is a designated time slot per day or week that would be centered on teaching these principles. Ten minutes after lunch on Thursdays may not be the best time or way to work with a student on how to be honest, especially since the subject will not be addressed again for a week. The classroom first and foremost should be procted for the basics of education, and only then should we carefully add other areas of education. It is not fair to our students that we expect them to learn in school what they may already know. It also isn’t fair to our teachers that we should expect them to teach this.

There has been a shortage of educators in this country. After the increased demand of teaching and subject matter in recent years, more may not be willing to enter or continue the practice of teaching America’s youth.

A well-rounded education is more important now than it has ever been, but the procedure to achieve this has been diluted by the lobbying process. It should be up to educators what should be taught to our children in the schools, not the government or it’s supporters.