The Biggest Problem in American Education - The Parents

Or at least that is what the results of one poll suggest:

Blaming teachers for low test scores, poor graduation rates and the other ills of American schools has been popular lately, but a new survey wags a finger closer to home.

An Associated Press-Stanford University Poll on education found that 68 percent of adults believe parents deserve heavy blame for what's wrong with the U.S. education system — more than teachers, school administrators, the government or teachers unions.

I would have to say, as an educator, that I wholeheartedly agree with the result of this poll.  I have been a teacher for 16 years and I can say that there are way more requirements and expectations of me, and all teachers, now than there were when I first started teaching.  Talking with retired teachers, I see a pattern.  They agree with that and say that teaching is less about teaching nowadays and more like a business.  Many teachers are getting out early because of it. 

Anyway, I digress for a second.  Getting back to the fact that there is way more pressure and expectations put on teachers today does not mean this a bad thing, but it is important to note. Yes, we choose some stupid curricula or fads sometimes (CRISS and fuzzy math as examples), but even those stupid curricula don't matter when your kid doesn't do his work or come to school or gets in trouble all the time.  You can have a school with the best teachers in the world in every classroom and if they students don't show up or just don't care and put no effort into their studies, then it doesn't matter.  They will fail.  So don't put all of it on the teacher.  Parents need to stand up and take responsibility!

A friend of mine recently told me that he thinks every child should be homeschooled.  There, they would learn things such as manners, politeness, respect, appropriate language, etc.   Then he said that once they have learned these things at home, then the kids could be sent back to public schools. 

Problem is, many of the kids in today's schools will not learn those things at home.  I hear more and more kids cussing not only in school, but in stores with their parents!  Many kids are not learning any manners or social skills at home.  That puts an extra burden on teachers since they inevitably have to try and correct a students bad behavior that is a cause of lack of good parenting.

Schools are a microcosm of the families and communities from which their students are drawn. Some schools are able to overcome genuine deficits created by dysfunctional families and communities, but the majority are not. We in the the education field should keep trying to improve our craft and educate all children--that's what we get paid to do--but it would be wonderful if it weren't such an uphill climb sometimes. 

Imagine if the parents would be supportive of the schools and teachers.  Imagine if the parents would push their kids to get good grades and behave well in class.  Imagine if the parents would actually sit down with their kids each night and ask them how their school day went and what their homework is.  Imagine if all parents actually cared about their child's education!!!

It would be a type of teacher Utopia!  Alas, it is only a dream.  A dream that will probably never come to fruition, but I can pray!

Teachers' Pay Based on Performance? -- I Think Not!

I know that several states and some individual districts are looking into basing a teachers' pay on the performance of their students in the classroom.  This would include classroom performance and how they rate on a standardized test given at the end of the course.  If the students do good, the teacher gets a raise or bonuses, etc.  If they do not, then pay cuts, no raises, etc. 

There are many who like this idea, but is it really fair to teachers to penalize them for something they have no control over? Some kids just don't care.  They are in school to socialize and they want to squeak by with a D and that is all.  Many students have no desire to go to college. 

Also, how much of the educational burden should be placed directly on the teachers.  Doesn't education start in the home almost from birth?  Isn't a big part of parenting really education?  Teaching your kids both scholarly knowledge (Facts, ideas, etc.) and moral knowledge starts way before kids enter school and it can be argued that both types of knowledge is shaped more outside of the school than in it once they start.  Nowadays, being a teacher isn't just about teaching your subject matter, we are also expected to teach respect, ethics and morals (Things that should really be teached in the home and reinforced in the classroom.) Unfortunately, there are many kids today that don't even know what those words mean. Look around the United States Newspapers and on TV.  It seems that many of our students are too busy dealing drugs in school, bullying other kids, shooting guns at them, starting families and who knows what else. They come to classrooms all over America and have no respect for anything dealing with education.  We teachers try and discipline them and fingers get pointed at us.  "It must be the school's fault that all these kids are geting arrested" they say.  Newsflash -- I, nor any other teacher I know, goes around telling students to bring drugs to school, or get pregnant or start fights in front of the school.  There is some other force out there that is causing that.  Do not blame the school. 

In todays' schools, it too often seems like the teachers are expected to do what the parents have not been able to do.  The sad reality for many of our students is that they are just trying to survive and school is not the most important thing on their list of "Things to do."  Think about it -- What would rank higher:  Finding a meal, finding a warm place to sleep, avoiding a beating from an abusive parent or getting an A in History class?  The reality of the world is that many of our students across the country are literally fighting for survival.  School is more of a place to go and get away from everything.  Many students are too tired, hungry or burnt out from day to day living to care about their studies.  And you are telling me that teachers may get docked pay because we are not connecting with these kids?  As long as the teacher is trying, that should be good enough.  There are some kids that just don't care. 

And teachers can teach all day but what happens after school? Who is helping these kids with homework, making sure they are home at a reasonable hour, getting enough sleep? If there is no support at home, the rest won't matter. You could have the greatest teacher in the world, but if that student only connects with that teacher for an hour or two a day or every other day and outside of school does nothing, then they are not going to learn as much as a student who can go home to a peaceful environment, get a good meal, relax and study without interruptions. 

You can make kids go to school. That doesn't mean you can make them learn.