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Bling is no solution
My
seventh grader started this year in a brand-new
school. As parents we felt, finally, that the school
system had done something to better her education.
Yet it took five weeks for her to receive worn-out
textbooks. The teachers made do by assigning
projects. Some did close to nothing because they
don’t know the subject matter. The computers are not
all set up yet. The science lab teacher has asked
parents to pitch in with money. Only those with
means, even modest, can comply. This leaves the rest
to wonder if their children will receive a seventh
grade education. Now school budgets are being cut! My
daughter had all As
and
Bs
on
her first report card, which is meaningless. As a
concerned parent, I know she learned almost nothing.
I cannot afford a private school. Will my child be
left out of the American dream because the public
school she attends doesn’t have the money to educate
her?
|
Dear Dr. Fournier: My seventh grader started this year in a brand-new school. As parents we felt, finally, that the school system had done something to better her education. Yet it took five weeks for her to receive worn-out textbooks. The teachers made do by assigning projects. Some did close to nothing because they don’t know the subject matter. The computers are not all set up yet. The science lab teacher has asked parents to pitch in with money. Only those with means, even modest, can comply. This leaves the rest to wonder if their children will receive a seventh grade education. Now school budgets are being cut! My daughter had all As and Bs on her first report card, which is meaningless. As a concerned parent, I know she learned almost nothing. I cannot afford a private school. Will my child be left out of the American dream because the public school she attends doesn’t have the money to educate her? |
The Assessment: There was a time when our public schools were a source of pride – the bedrock of American democracy. What has happened? Most Americans are right now wondering if their dream is vanishing before their eyes.
Approximately 23% of public school parents ask themselves if their children will be left out of an education, without which the American Dream is unattainable. It is not fair to surmise that the other 77 % are all that satisfied. The current economic decline has now refocused our attention on education yet I have been saying for years that we have a pointless attachment to an old model of teaching and until we are willing to let go of this attachment, the sad truth is that American education will continue to decline, even past the current crisis it is in. Yet, the mere idea of brand-new buildings enhances our expectations – just because they are new.
What To Do: Somehow, somewhere, someone decided that the shiny shell was more important than making sure – before it was built – that staffing the school with knowledgeable teachers was more important than the bling. We are in desperate need in this country of first having teachers who actually know what children need to learn without hamstringing them to textbooks. We should curtail construction spending while allotting precious budgeted monies to purchasing what is needed to educate children in a way that prepares them for the roles they will be playing fifteen years from now. What would that require? It would require reinventing school from the inside out.
Granted, your brand-new school is a disappointment, yet even if it came with all the bells and whistles money could buy, you would still be giving your daughter an education that will make her fit for employment in 1980 or thereabouts. Michelle Rhee, take notice.
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