Yesterday I met with a professional who owns her own business about a handout to be used by the nonprofit agency we both volunteer with. She had just been to a meeting in which the high school graduation rate for our town came up, so we ended up talking about education in general. Folks, it’s scary. In our town, approximately one in three students doesn’t graduate from high school after four years. And of the ones who do, too many of them lack crucial preparation for either college or the workplace.
As I write about this, I fear I sound like some old fogey who starts out with “Well, in my day . . .” and ends up with “These kids today . . . humph!” But here goes, because if things continue the way they are, we’re going to have to stop calling ourselves a literate nation.
Some students leave high school well prepared for college. Others, honor students, can’t spell their way out of a box. They’ve been told all their lives that they are smart and articulate, but they can’t write. Masses of students don’t know why World War II was fought or where Cuba is on a map.
And then there are the soft skills. Things like being on time, and doing what you said you’d do. Things like professional appearance and customer service. Going beyond mediocrity or even recognizing it.
What’s up? How did we get here? I know teachers who are so frustrated they want out as soon as possible. They have to teach to tests, and they know that’s not education. They have to teach young people how to be good humans, hard workers, and independent thinkers. In an environment of social upheaval, they have to teach students drug awareness, death awareness, gender awareness, cultural awareness, sexual integrity, nutrition, self-esteem, environmental awareness – - – and the list goes on.
The problems aren’t just at school. How many students go to school every day, feeling either like they are walking into a battle zone or leaving one? All they can think about is survival. Coming out of life with as few scars as possible, wherever the attacks are coming from.
I admire Marva Collins. She was a public school teacher who got so fed up with what was happening in Chicago’s schools back in the 1970s that she started a private school in her home. The Marva Collins Preparatory School today teaches children pre-K through 8th grade, and Ms. Collins gives seminars on education and trains other teachers. It says something that her philosophy and methods are considered unique today, because they are really classical. And they work. If only more teachers could be equipped and then set free to teach this way. Yes, I know that’s only one piece of giving stressed children more of a chance. But at least it’s one piece.
