Well, the summer has ended and the yellow buses are rolling. There is an eager anticipation in the air. It's a time of joy, a time of reservations and a time, for some, of great fear. School can be wonderful and it can also lead to downfall. My biggest concern is that it's slowly failing. Kids today, might possess higher tests scores, but they are not getting smarter. Rote memory styles of teaching are teaching kids memorization, not how to learn. This is not a new phenomenon and is hardly a surprise, but it's a scary reminder that our country is not heading in the right direction. I have some ideas of how to fix it.
I am friends with a great number of teachers and they are not going to like the next comment one bit. When I was growing up, teachers were some of the smartest people I knew. That is no more. Pretty much anyone can become a teacher. Why is it that we have grades in school? A student with a C- average gets the same degree as that with an A. Why is this? That being said, an education major with a C- average can become a teacher as easily as those with an A. Maybe we should change this. Maybe we should have standards as to who can and can not teach. I know I don't want someone I knew as a bad student in high school, then again in college, being the one teaching my child. Or maybe we should have a test for teachers, similar to the SAT, that measures their ability to teach. I realize there are intangibles and those need to be measured too, but the reality is, if you're dumb, you can still teach. This needs to stop, because stupidity breeds stupidity.
The second way to enhance the system is to get rid of the summer vacation. Students go to school 182 days a year. Which means they have 183 days off a year. This means teachers have the same schedule. Now inner city teachers are vastly underpaid, but many teachers are very well compensated. First off, let's balance this out a bit, because I'd argue the teacher in Martin Luther King, Jr. high school is working a little harder than those in Edgemont. The average non-teacher probably works about 220 days a year. That's almost forty days longer than the school year. One of the biggest problems with the current system is it promotes a lethargy that starts in early may, runs through June and is at it's peak when kids are taking their finals. This is not conducive to success. My idea would be that younger children go to school for 50 weeks. As they climb the ladder, similar to adulthood this time would be decreased. Say to 48 weeks in high school. Colleges could stay the same, because most kids need to work during the year at some point. I also believe that school should be four days a week with some sort of technical training or enhancement program on the fifth day. This would not have to be a full day, but would give the kids some sort of hands on training.
I also believe parents need to be accountable. If I ran a school system, I would require every student to have their homework signed. This way, if a student did poorly and it was signed, it would become clear that the student was not getting any help at home. This, for people who don't realize, is its own form of child abuse. it's called neglect. I would also promote team learning, which is all but non-existent in schools today. Why do we teach our kids to be independent and then throw them into a job world that relies on teamwork? Usually this is where kids fail. I know in college, this was a huge downfall for some. I think parent teacher conferences should be personalized. They do not have to be in person, but some interaction with the teacher on a regular basis could notify both parties of internal issues, which left unmentioned, could lean towards serious problems. Don't you think the tragedy in Columbine and other various problems could have been eradicated? What about teen suicide and bullying. All these things could be recognized immediately, discussed and squashed.
Finally, we need to have higher standards. There are so many classic novels floating around, yet I see kids reading fluff. In my years between 5th-8th grade, I read somewhere in the neighborhood of eight Shakespeare plays. From 9th-12th, another five. I've spoken to kids who are graduating high school who have read Hamlet and that is all. Some haven't even read that. We need to stop teaching to tests. I'm not saying a standardized way of looking at intelligence isn't relevant, but I think the child should get to choose when he takes the test. What if the week before the SAT a child lost a parent? Is it fair that his entire college entrance be held in the balance of that moment in time? Sure, it's life and reality, but these are kids we're talking about. I also do not believe that one's math and English scores should be the only measure on one's intelligence. What if someone is a brilliant mathematician, but has poor reading skills. What about artistic ability? Shouldn't this person be given the opportunity to shine because of their strengths, not hurt due to their weaknesses?
I look at myself and how the system failed me. I did well as a youngster. It was easy, so boredom set in. I was rarely challenged, so my mind wandered. In HS, when I tried I was near perfect, but the times were few and far between, because I didn't care. I knew more about Shakespeare than my teacher did, so what was the point. I corrected history teachers and snored in math class as we went over the same busy work night after night. I flopped on the SAT, because there was an all-night party the evening before. In college, my papers were all As, but my attendance was horrible. I was more challenged sitting at the dinner table by my parents questions than I was by a person collecting a paycheck. How could the system be tweaked? Maybe if kids were shown the benefits of knowledge. Maybe if more teachers brought in recordings of Dylan Thomas reciting a Dylan Thomas poem, than reading it themselves, the kids would take away the power of it. Maybe if instead of poster board and generic pictures on the wall, the classroom became a creative cave, a home, then learning could be nurtured.
The biggest obstacle in the educational system is that boredom. Boredom on the part of the teachers and boredom on the part of the students. I think the teachers should need more training. I think they should be held to a higher standard and I also believe there should be a cutoff for their tenures. Forty years teaching first grade doesn't help anyone. Sitting at an uncomfortable wooden desk, having acts regurgitated isn't going to get anyone into Harvard. Opening one's eyes to the wonders of different things just might. Most of us hate our jobs, because we're bored. When I was hanging off a roof in my twenties, I looked forward to going to work. At forty, sitting at a desk reminded me too much of high school, but running around with twenty little kids? That is a life. So why can't teachers share that outlook. The main reasonis, for them, it's just like that desk job. it's a routine. Like brushing your teeth or hair. That is what the educational system has become.
Do not over think this and believe I do not have respect for teachers. I do. I have respect for the ones that come up with creative ideas to push their kids. The one's that aren't beating the kids out the door in a rush to catch the end of General Hospital. The one's who notice when a child might be having problems outside of school. The ones who take that extra thirty seconds to help those who didn't get it the first time, because a bird landed on the window ledge. The one who realizes that not every kid has what I had at home and tries to do their part, because someone else is failing.
"No child left behind" and "It Takes a Village," were wonderful thoughts. Sadly, the educational system, society and a great many families don't seem to be sharing in those thoughts and when children suffer, we all suffer.
I am friends with a great number of teachers and they are not going to like the next comment one bit. When I was growing up, teachers were some of the smartest people I knew. That is no more. Pretty much anyone can become a teacher. Why is it that we have grades in school? A student with a C- average gets the same degree as that with an A. Why is this? That being said, an education major with a C- average can become a teacher as easily as those with an A. Maybe we should change this. Maybe we should have standards as to who can and can not teach. I know I don't want someone I knew as a bad student in high school, then again in college, being the one teaching my child. Or maybe we should have a test for teachers, similar to the SAT, that measures their ability to teach. I realize there are intangibles and those need to be measured too, but the reality is, if you're dumb, you can still teach. This needs to stop, because stupidity breeds stupidity.
The second way to enhance the system is to get rid of the summer vacation. Students go to school 182 days a year. Which means they have 183 days off a year. This means teachers have the same schedule. Now inner city teachers are vastly underpaid, but many teachers are very well compensated. First off, let's balance this out a bit, because I'd argue the teacher in Martin Luther King, Jr. high school is working a little harder than those in Edgemont. The average non-teacher probably works about 220 days a year. That's almost forty days longer than the school year. One of the biggest problems with the current system is it promotes a lethargy that starts in early may, runs through June and is at it's peak when kids are taking their finals. This is not conducive to success. My idea would be that younger children go to school for 50 weeks. As they climb the ladder, similar to adulthood this time would be decreased. Say to 48 weeks in high school. Colleges could stay the same, because most kids need to work during the year at some point. I also believe that school should be four days a week with some sort of technical training or enhancement program on the fifth day. This would not have to be a full day, but would give the kids some sort of hands on training.
I also believe parents need to be accountable. If I ran a school system, I would require every student to have their homework signed. This way, if a student did poorly and it was signed, it would become clear that the student was not getting any help at home. This, for people who don't realize, is its own form of child abuse. it's called neglect. I would also promote team learning, which is all but non-existent in schools today. Why do we teach our kids to be independent and then throw them into a job world that relies on teamwork? Usually this is where kids fail. I know in college, this was a huge downfall for some. I think parent teacher conferences should be personalized. They do not have to be in person, but some interaction with the teacher on a regular basis could notify both parties of internal issues, which left unmentioned, could lean towards serious problems. Don't you think the tragedy in Columbine and other various problems could have been eradicated? What about teen suicide and bullying. All these things could be recognized immediately, discussed and squashed.
Finally, we need to have higher standards. There are so many classic novels floating around, yet I see kids reading fluff. In my years between 5th-8th grade, I read somewhere in the neighborhood of eight Shakespeare plays. From 9th-12th, another five. I've spoken to kids who are graduating high school who have read Hamlet and that is all. Some haven't even read that. We need to stop teaching to tests. I'm not saying a standardized way of looking at intelligence isn't relevant, but I think the child should get to choose when he takes the test. What if the week before the SAT a child lost a parent? Is it fair that his entire college entrance be held in the balance of that moment in time? Sure, it's life and reality, but these are kids we're talking about. I also do not believe that one's math and English scores should be the only measure on one's intelligence. What if someone is a brilliant mathematician, but has poor reading skills. What about artistic ability? Shouldn't this person be given the opportunity to shine because of their strengths, not hurt due to their weaknesses?
I look at myself and how the system failed me. I did well as a youngster. It was easy, so boredom set in. I was rarely challenged, so my mind wandered. In HS, when I tried I was near perfect, but the times were few and far between, because I didn't care. I knew more about Shakespeare than my teacher did, so what was the point. I corrected history teachers and snored in math class as we went over the same busy work night after night. I flopped on the SAT, because there was an all-night party the evening before. In college, my papers were all As, but my attendance was horrible. I was more challenged sitting at the dinner table by my parents questions than I was by a person collecting a paycheck. How could the system be tweaked? Maybe if kids were shown the benefits of knowledge. Maybe if more teachers brought in recordings of Dylan Thomas reciting a Dylan Thomas poem, than reading it themselves, the kids would take away the power of it. Maybe if instead of poster board and generic pictures on the wall, the classroom became a creative cave, a home, then learning could be nurtured.
The biggest obstacle in the educational system is that boredom. Boredom on the part of the teachers and boredom on the part of the students. I think the teachers should need more training. I think they should be held to a higher standard and I also believe there should be a cutoff for their tenures. Forty years teaching first grade doesn't help anyone. Sitting at an uncomfortable wooden desk, having acts regurgitated isn't going to get anyone into Harvard. Opening one's eyes to the wonders of different things just might. Most of us hate our jobs, because we're bored. When I was hanging off a roof in my twenties, I looked forward to going to work. At forty, sitting at a desk reminded me too much of high school, but running around with twenty little kids? That is a life. So why can't teachers share that outlook. The main reasonis, for them, it's just like that desk job. it's a routine. Like brushing your teeth or hair. That is what the educational system has become.
Do not over think this and believe I do not have respect for teachers. I do. I have respect for the ones that come up with creative ideas to push their kids. The one's that aren't beating the kids out the door in a rush to catch the end of General Hospital. The one's who notice when a child might be having problems outside of school. The ones who take that extra thirty seconds to help those who didn't get it the first time, because a bird landed on the window ledge. The one who realizes that not every kid has what I had at home and tries to do their part, because someone else is failing.
"No child left behind" and "It Takes a Village," were wonderful thoughts. Sadly, the educational system, society and a great many families don't seem to be sharing in those thoughts and when children suffer, we all suffer.
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