It's All the Teacher's Fault --David Wirth--

It seems our nation’s educators have become incompetent sometime in the last ten years. At least that’s what it sounds like when you hear politicians talk about fixing education. When a school is failing tests, it’s blamed on the curriculum or the teachers or any of a million other things that take place in the classroom. While there are definitely bad teachers out there, that minority isn’t the main reason education is they way it is—people just like to point at teachers because they’re relatively easy to change.

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The real problem is a cultural one. Single parent homes are more prevalent than ever before. It’s a lot harder for kids to receive the attention they need to flourish when they’ve only got one parent taking care of them.

I’ve worked in education for the last six years and dealt with kids of all ages. The students who struggle the most are almost always the kids who, for whatever reason, don’t have the support at home—whose parents are at work or are doing drugs or are just too worn out to give their kids the attention they need. It’s no coincidence that most failing schools are in poor neighborhoods—those are the places where the parents are most frequently unable to give their children the support they need. It’s hard to get kids to do their homework and behave in class when their parents aren’t enforcing the rules at home.

Changes in culture can’t be forced, so you have to adapt. The solution to our educational problems isn’t high-stakes testing and school takeovers, it’s after-school programs. The same types of programs that have been in place for years, with a slight change.

Traditional after-school programs are used as an extension of the school day—a place where teachers are available for tutoring or extra scholastic enrichment. What I’m suggesting won’t require a teacher. For a third of the price you can get an adult employee—maybe an instructional aid—to supervise what will be ultimately be a nurturing homelike environment.

Provide videogames and sports and movies for the kids. Create an environment where they want to be. Make it a fun place, but a place where education is given value. Make them do their homework before they can play Halo. If they’ve got some down time, encourage them to read. Tell them how important it is for them to learn. For two or three hours a day, give them the kind of environment that more fortunate kids have at home.

With this kind of support, students who otherwise might have fallen to the wayside will get the attention that they deserve and will have the tools they need to grow into educated teenagers and adults. Plus they might do a little better on those tests politicians seem to love so much.

David Wirth-- change42@gmail.com