Education: Are Kids Getting Raw Deal

“Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don’t need little changes we need gigantic monumental changes. Schools should be palaces and the competition for the best teachers fierce. They should be making six figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expenses for government and absolutely free of charge to its citizens--just like national defense. That’s my position. I just haven’t figured out how to do it yet." Sam Seaborn, The West Wing, season 1

A few months ago, I wrote a series of “What is the Purpose of Life“ hubs hoping in part to spark some discussion and in part to seek more answers in my own journey. I love to challenge my thinking as well as the thinking of others. I love asking “what if” questions and many times, during my research and personal contemplation, I am amazed by the answers.

I wonder what would happen if we put as much value on our educational system and good teachers as what Sam Seaborn dreamed. What if we had schools that actually encouraged learning through a series of activities that fit the “child’ and not the “norm”? What if teachers actually had control of their classrooms, and the curriculum, and not have to make a one-size-fit-all curriculum work for every kid when one-size-fit most does not even work?

In his classic book Think and Grow Rich Napoleon Hill talks about Specialized Knowledge: Personal Experiences or Observations saying “The “missing link” in all systems of education known to civilization today may be found in the failure of educational institutions to teach their students HOW TO ORGANIZE AND USE KNOWLEDGE AFTER THEY ACQUIRE IT.” When you really look at this statement, you can see that education is more than sitting at a desk and learning facts and figures. It is learning how to put what you learn into action and move toward at definite outcome.

So what if class size was no more than 15 students with 10 or 12 students being ideal? What if teachers could get to know their students and design a program/curriculum that captured the essence of the individual learning style of “a” child….not the “group of children”? What if these children could participate in discussions and interact with like-minded students throughout the day I.e. reading clubs, writing a book, fashion design, architecture, archaeology, aeronautics and business development? What about design, build or repair an automobile? The possibilities are endless--bringing excitement to learning is key. What if administrators only had to worry about structure and form and how to help teachers be the best and help themselves be better? What if administrators went about finding the right consultants or adjunct instructors/lecturers/associates, etc. to help fill the gap and replace the “missing link”? What if teachers were part of a team of learners/instructors?

An article by New York City Teacher of the Year, John Taylor Gatto, really speaks volumes he says, “I taught for thirty years in some of the worst schools in Manhattan, and in some of the best, and during that time I became an expert in boredom. Boredom was everywhere in my world, and if you asked the kids, as I often did, why they felt so bored, they always gave the same answers: They said the work was stupid, that it made no sense, that they already knew it. They said they wanted to be doing something real, not just sitting around. They said teachers didn’t seem to know much about their subjects and clearly were not interested in learning more. And the kids were right: their teachers were every bit as bored as they were.” The article which appeared as part of a Harper’s Magazine forum “Against School: How Public Education Cripples Our Kids, and Why” speaks very eloquently about why “schooling” as we know it need to be re-thought and re-evaluated.

The thinking or re-thinking does not need to be done by a room full of educators or PhD’s. This discussion need to happen with a mixture of people--educators, PhD’s, the uneducated, community leaders, parents, small business owners, the rich the poor and kids (those who go to traditional school and the home schooled). Those who come to the table must have (1) an open mind and (2) a sincere and burning desire to change the system and help our children.

The kids and teachers Mr. Gatto wrote about had lost their ability to want to learn. When you want to learn you research, read, study, and enjoy what you are doing. If you think you know it all you have closed your mind to anything new coming out of the experience or process. Their boredom has become a barrier. What if the teachers and students decide to take what they have learned and what they already know to the next level? With a little simple research, together, they may actually find some new information that they did not know.

Young people are graduating from high school, every year, unable to read or write and if they can, they do not really comprehend what they read. No Child Left Behind was an attempt at bridging the gap of high school drop out and graduation but, for the most part, it failed. Kids were being taught how to pass a test but it was missing some key elements--learning, retaining and comprehending.

What if school were designed so that kids actually enjoyed being there so much that there would be no need to form cliques, bully each other, or shoot up the school. I remember a scene from the Michelle Pfeiffer movie “Dangerous Minds” where the teacher started the class with the statement “you all have an A, all you have to do is keep the A…she went about creating ways to get them motivated, encouraged and inspired to learn. The key to the success of this group of students was the fact that the teacher (LouAnn Johnson) found what motivated THEM and often talked about the lesson in language they understood; then she slowly raising their awareness to another level of both speaking and thought.

I think we make school harder than it has to be and we force kids to all learn in the same manner. We talk about the “norm” but everyone’s “norm” is different and is based on their individual and family experiences.

I have said, when asked, that I liked school. When I look back, I did not like school as much as I liked learning. My mother, without realizing what she was doing, taught me how to learn. That fact and the little things she did along the way, made my life-long experience with learning fun. I remember getting into trouble, on occasion, when I did something contrary to the way it was being taught, but it was “the way I needed to learn the material”. I also remember one of my children getting into trouble for “sounding out a word” because they were not to use phonics. I had a conversation with the teacher, but also had to say to my son “from now on sound out the word in your head (silently).

I was forced to take home economics (it was part of the 8^th grade course of study) and to this day I can barely thread a needle.  So, I ask, why did I “have to” take that course. I had no interest at all. I learned to cook from my mothers not at school. The only thing I truly remember learning to cook at school was apple brown betty. Didn’t eat it then, don’t eat it now.

I’ve said this before and I am saying it again now…I am learning not to ask the “if” questions--you know the ones, you‘ve probably asked them yourself …if I’d only said this, not that….if I’d only said I love you…if I’d just finished college…if I’d just gone to college….if I’d taken a few moments to hear what she/he had to say….If I’d given one more hug. The “ifs” will give us moments to reflect, to discover or explore, to examine, but far to often they make us feel guilty about some woulda, coulda, shoulda. Let’s take a moment to spin that in another direction. What if we raise our collective voices to let those in congress know that we are unhappy. They should be spending more money bailing out our schools and less bailing out wall street and banks. As Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (The Closer) once said “If is a very hard word to live with.”

What if Sam Seaborn’s idea of what schools should be like could happen? What if a purpose of life would be to make sure our children get the best education possible? What if our government used our tax dollars to make our schools palaces and paid our teachers a competitive wage? What if our teachers were allowed to be creative, innovative, and able to teach and learn right along with the kids? Why not?

What do you think? What is your “what if”?

Love to all,

Nonna