Regardless of where they live, as a whole, our schools are not preparing our children for adult life. They don't have adequate job skills, they can't communicate orally or written. Our schools are not strong educational institutions. Most have skills so limited, I fear for them as they are pushed in the adult world.
Yes, some children excell, but upon a close examination, how many succeed compare to those that don't. I spent several years assisting college students write basic compositions and simple research papers. It made me cringe when I read some of those papers. As think of some and write this blog, I am shaking my head. Those young people were not ready to produce in college. It surprised me as I witnessed the number of remedial courses that crept into the schedule each semester.
I talk to educators everyday and they have become so disheartened. A friend and spiritual sister of mine who has always been a strong advocate for our youth talked with such defeat regarding education in America today that it sent chills through me. I can't believe she has become a pessimist. She has never been one to think of her position as merely a job! I couldn't believe my ears!
She is evidence that the good teachers who remain in the system are experiencing feelings of defeat, discouragement, and helplessness.
I have just a couple of question,
Where are the lawmakers?
Who will be advocates for our children?
What good does giving more time for paperwork do for our teachers?
Why are our children being systematically set up to fail?
Why are teacher's being blamed for a mis-education so deep and so thorough that is it systematically setting our children up for generational poverty?
Why is more money spent on building prisons as opposed to creating viable educational programs?
Why can't 70% of our 8th graders read?
Why is the American public education system graduatig students from high school with low literacy skills?
Why are good teacher's being fired or forced into retirement?
Why is the American high school drop out rate still rising and fast?
Why did over 7,000 African American and over 4,000 hispanic high students, in the state of Illinois alone drop out of in 2005?
Why were most of these youngsters male?
Does it matter that only over 1,000 of these drop outs are Causcaions?
Does that number, smaller than the rest, make this population less important...aren't they these all children we are talking about?
How then can these children compete for jobs?
How will they surviive and are they doomed for generational poverty?
Why are teacher's raises based on performance when they aren't given the tools to perform?
Who then is responsible, the children who are grossly miseducated, the parents whose rights are being stripped, or the teachers whose hands are tied?
Why are teachers being required to spend even more time educating students, how much time does one human being have?
Is it clear that we have a prolblem?
Just what is No Child Left Behind really about?
It is the new millineium, 2007, why can't Johnny read yet?
...and why are we still just talking about it!
