You know what I want for these two precious girls? I want them to grow up to have a good work ethic, to be community-minded and law-abiding citizens, to choose careers or vocations that they enjoy, and to be able to earn money, if needed, to support themselves and their families. I want them to have knowledge and gain wisdom. I want them to be kind but to stand firm on their convictions. As a Christian, I want them to be Christians as well. I want them to be able to own up to their mistakes. I want them to be responsible. I want them to contribute to society, not take away from it.
But from what I’m hearing about education these days, I’m concerned. I’m hearing that teachers are no longer allowed to give a “zero” if a student does not turn in an assignment or make up a quiz or test. I’m hearing that a grade of 60 to 69 is a passing grade (D). I’m hearing that parents do not want their children held accountable. And I’m hearing that schools are playing the numbers game. They are forcing teachers to teach to the test. Yes, teachers are expected to teach the standards, but they do not have the freedom to teach the basics.
What do I mean by that? I mean that most students no longer know the basics. Ask any seventh grader to subtract 30 from 125, and chances are he’ll need a calculator. Even high school students can’t construct a complete sentence.
“Big deal,” you may say. “I couldn’t do that either, and I still can’t.”
Maybe some changes in education are not a big deal. I don’t think it’s a big deal that cursive is no longer taught. I don’t think it’s a big deal that students can’t do mental math since they are very proficient with calculators, but I think most teachers would agree that most students do not have the ability to reason and think.
True, there are some good things going on in high schools with dual credit programs, but you know what local college professors are telling me? The same thing middle and high school teachers are saying.
There is no accountability. Students expect to receive a grade for doing very little.
Who’s to blame? The schools? The education department? Maybe. After all, they’re so concerned with retention rates being low and graduation rates being high, they don’t care if the students actually learn anything. Blame the parents? Yes, for many. Even when I was teaching, I sometimes had a parent beg me to pass a student at the end of the year who had not passed a single grading period because of excessive absences and failure to make up quizzes and tests.
I get it. Parents have their own bad memories of school and want to protect their children from those experiences. But they are doing their child a huge disservice.
A nursing home manager recently told me that employees these days are unreliable. “They work a few days to earn enough money to pay whatever bills they have to pay, then they miss work because they don’t want to come in,” she said.
Can you imagine how that hinders the service given in a nursing home, to the sick and elderly who need care and help, but the nursing home can’t provide what is needed because of short staffing?
I know lazy people have always been around, but it does seem the numbers are growing.
“How,” you ask, “would you fix it?”
Well since you asked, I’ll tell you.
First, go back to basics in the elementary grades. No calculators allowed until sixth grade. Parents begin reading to their children from infancy. Teachers continue to read to children, not just short stories but books. Focus on math, reading, and language until sixth grade. Yes, teach science but incorporate it into the reading, language, and math components. Expand in middle school with more in-depth science and social studies lessons. Provide opportunities for physical exercise, music, and the arts. Give students a wide variety of experiences.
In high school, go back to the two-path system. Let students who have no interest in going to college learn trades. Don’t force them to take chemistry and advanced biology and four years of math to graduate (with the lowest level being Algebra 1). Let the college-bound students pursue those courses. Students can choose the dual path system in which they complete coursework for both.
But, most of all, make them accountable from an early age. As far as the state testing…in Texas on one test passing is 31% correct. Really? When I was in school (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), a 74 on a test was failing.
If the test is so hard that 31% correct means passing, maybe the test writers need to re-examine the tests. When I was in the classroom and gave a test that students did poorly on, I re-examined the test along with my teaching. I used it as a tool, re-taught the material, and gave a different test.
This is Teacher Appreciation Week, and if you’ve never done that job, you have no idea how challenging and difficult it can be. There is a reason so many are leaving the profession.
To you teachers who haven’t given up and are continuing to do your best, thank you. Our society needs more people like you, but we also need people who are making decisions about education and parents to look in the mirror. Those of you in the education department–stop playing the numbers game. Listen to what the teachers are telling you. I know not every teacher is a good teacher, and they need to be ‘”relieved of their duties.” But listen to the teachers with experience. They’re the ones in the classroom dealing with issues you cannot imagine.
And to parents–if you truly want what’s best for your children, have expectations. Help them learn. Make them accountable. Teach them to be responsible and accept the consequences of their choices.
As a former educator and grandmother, I am disheartened by what I’m seeing and hearing. I want my grandchildren to make our world a better place. To do that, they need great teachers and an education policy that focuses on student learning instead of inflated numbers that make the district look good.
Once again, to the teachers who are doing their jobs–thank you. I hope your students will recognize you this week in some way, either with an expression of thanks, a nice note, or simply putting forth more effort than they normally do. And I hope they show you respect.
You deserve that and more.
Life As I know it 