I’ve been reporting on schools for about twenty years, and probably visit more schools each year than anybody except the milk delivery guy. I have formed some strong opinions.
Yes, there are ineffective teachers, weak principals, and poor superintendents, but they’re heavily outnumbered by the really good ones. It’s just like any other profession.
Yes, there are questionable learning programs. I’m not a fan of Common Core math, and probably never will be.
Teachers tell me that some of those out-of-town consultants are truly enlightening, while others are a waste of time and money.
Any school that starts before 8:00 a.m. just to save money on transportation issues is doing children a disservice.
Any school with a population of 98% of a single race can’t possibly prepare students for their adult life. And if you’re so focused on “teaching to the test” that you can’t spend a little time on cursive writing or Black History Month, something’s out of alignment.
I see some dress codes that go way too far, and others that don’t go far enough. I am puzzled that schools on extreme ends of the financial spectrum seem to get all the technology: rich schools benefit from wealthy community members, and poor schools get much-needed help from the government. But schools “in the middle,” those that fall just short of the poverty level, get nothing, from anybody. And don’t get me started on how some students have full access to great arts programs, musical instruments and athletic facilities, while others get by on duct tape and hand-me-downs.
Having said that, it makes me cringe when I see a politician wearing a thousand-dollar suit, promising to “fix” schools. Truth # 1: He probably didn’t attend public school. Truth # 2: His children will never attend a public school. Truth # 3: He will never support a funding increase for public schools, because his aging voters aren’t interested.
Still, Mr. Candidate will rant and rave about bad teachers, poor morale, ineffective curriculum materials, and every other failing, real or imagined. It’s an American tradition. Go to the library and grab a newspaper from fifty years ago. You’ll see that the same issues politicians are harping about today, were on the front page in 1964.
So it was a real treat to read a column last week by Lane Filler, a terrific writer for Newsday. He imagined a world in which politicians would tell the truth, on issues like immigration, Social Security, and government fraud. The best “truth-telling” was about schools. Read this, from Mr. Filler: “What if politicians really told the truth about education.”
“I’ve been promising to fix the schools, but they’re mostly not broken. It’s just that the failing ones serve poor kids who fell so far behind between birth and age 6 that they mostly can’t catch up. For them, the hours they spend at school are the safest, most structured parts of their day. They get fed, have heat and air conditioning and deal with adults trying to help them grow and learn. We need kids to stop having babies. We need to ensure a comfortable, stimulating and loving infancy for poor tots. Without that, increasing spending on schools is like setting money on fire.”
There it is. In about 100 words, he wrote what I’ve been thinking for a long time.
Mark Smith
We just lost a good principal, Mark Smith of Tyner Middle Academy to a sudden heart attack, at the age of 53. Last month, he told me the same thing, basically. He had vowed not to let any 8th grader advance from his school without knowing how to read. “We’re not doing social promotions, that’s in the past,” he told me. “By the time we get through with them, they’ll be ready for high school, or they’re not crossing that street,” he said, pointing to Tyner High. When he arrived at Tyner Middle last year, he was alarmed at the high percentage of 6th graders who had been promoted from elementary school with a 3rd grade reading level.
Go ahead, politicians, blame teachers. Then, walk a mile in their shoes. Go into one of our lower-scoring elementary schools. Take a child who has had ZERO educational training at home. Start from scratch. Deal with all the other distractions in that child’s life. If you can squeeze in 3 years worth of education during those 5 turbulent years, with no support from home, the child being shuffled around to different family members, and oh yes, occasionally dodging bullets…give yourself a pat on the back.
Mark Smith did the best he could, and he was off to a flying start. Believe me, those teachers at Tyner Middle will carry on his work. But his message needs to be echoed. The schools can only do so much, and should accept only so much blame. It starts in the home. It starts with a family.
David, thank you for speaking for the students and teachers who work hard every day to accomplish miracles. It is so important for schools and families to work together to do what is best for the students.
You Nailed it David. Don’t let up.
Thank you so much! Finally, a truthful article about education.
Thank you David! A great read! Everything you state is exactly as it is….we see it time and time again with very little movement toward what needs to be done, but political candidates maximize the moment and walk away.
Thanks, David, for a beautifully written, truthful article. Thank you for all the time you’ve spent/donated helping out in our schools. Keep up the good work!
David,
I agree with your article and appreciate all you have done for the students and teachers over the years. We need to do something for those kids are going to be having these babies. As a music teacher and administrator, I got to watch many students go through the City and County systems. College prep, teaching for tests, standards, fad of the year. We have forgotten some very important basics. Home economics including child care, economics to learn about checking accounts, pay day loans, interest rates, and Civics to understand how basic government functions. Goals of teaching all kids AP Physics and Trigonometry are fine unless we forget to teach our kids how to live better.
I am a retired educator, and I agree with all of your comments. We need more principals like Mark Smith. Allowing students to move along without being able to read is setting them up for failure.
This is the absolute truth. Thanks for sharing. I wish everyone would read it.
Thank you, David, for your thoughtful opinion piece. The only item I disagree with is I believe American education is grossly underfunded. However, the money we need is not for programs or books, but people and infastructure. More effective teachers with better salaries, continuing education, and solid and up-to-date facilities are needed as well as positions that have been cut or not supplied in the arts, guidance, and vocational classes. Title I school budgets are allowed to pay for “extra” staff members and that is a huge advantage over non-Title schools. Smaller classes, individual attention, and opportunities to grow as a well-rounded person are needed in every public school.
Parenting classes should be manditory for anyone enrolling a child in pre-k, rich or poor.
David, thank you so much for this! My boyfriend and I have, between us, 4 nieces and 4 nephews, ages 4-17. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly in our schools. Recently we attended a middle-school football game at an inner-city school. Believe me when I tell you the lack of decent facilities at that school nearly made me cry. I spoke to the SRO–a personal friend–who said, “Welcome to my world” in a resigned tone of voice. Their team had half the players we had, only 4 of them 8th graders, and maybe 1/4 the fans we had (not only was it a home game, it was homecoming!) but they played with heart and they played with class. Our school has concrete bleachers on both sides, a press box with sound system, a permanent snack bar and restrooms. They had a coke wagon and 2 porta-potties. Many of these kids stay in school and work hard for grades ONLY because of the hope sports gives them. If I had money, guess where it would go?
Well written it starts at home and in our community including our elected officials.We need to spread a little love to all of GODS children.One other thing i would challenge our non profits to come”together” for the sake of our kids!
It seems that the reason for going to school has been forgotten. I did my best in school so I could go to college and provide a better life for my family. I did the best I could so I could get out of the lack of wealth that I lived in an make sure my children we better off than I was.
Parent of today’s children and the children themselves think that working at MacDonalds is a good job. As you well know you cannot get out of the poor house working for minimum wage.
A good teacher is one that inspires our youth to go for greatness and to be all they can be. However, for many to succeed they will need their parents to have dreams for them. Remember that anyone cam become whatever they want if they want it bad enough.
David, you hit the nail on the head. If a student has home support….making education the number one priority …no matter where he/she attends school…they can and will get a good education. It all starts at home! Teachers can only do so much! We have so many fantastic teachers who really love and care about their students….but they can’t make their students be successful alone.
David, thanks for all you do.
I remember you very well and these comments are exactly what should be said. I wish the truth would be shared on all issues and then maybe we could all come together, cooperate, and solve the issues and problems we are facing. As a retired educator from RBHS, I remember following you while I lived in Chattanooga. So very glad you are still trying to get the word out. Thank you. sue sheldon
AMEN!!!! My children both attended public schools, and survived. There were good teachers and worthless teachers, but the good outweighed the bad. As a school nurse for almost 7 years, I witnessed children coping every day with hunger, abuse and uninterested parents. These kids will go on to relive their parents mistakes unless they get involved and engaged at school. For many, school is their only hope at success. Parents do not realize, accept or care about the precious gift they have. Ensuring their child’s success should be their priority.
Dead on. As an educator of 27 years that goes into classroom after classroom, I couldn’t agree more. However, I do believe that education is still underfunded, and that we could do so much more if we were funded properly and had fewer students in each classroom. You can’t teach science with 44 students in a classroom, which is what is happening currently. Thank you for spreading the truth.
I totally agree, I would like to add that we live in a terrorist society created by the government. Teachers are not allowed to teach for fear of losing their jobs and being sent to prison, for educating students in values, skills, ADL’s, civilized behavior, citizenship or where the parents left off. Discipline, socialization etc. etc.
Great article! Unfortunately, those politicians you mention, who are so skilled at twisting words, will interpret it thusly: “See, David Carroll agrees with me that putting money into schools is like setting it on fire! We need to cut funding.” :/
David,
I appreciate your words of wisdom. You see “the good, the bad and the ugly” in your reporting of schools. You report fairly, making sure you have the facts before you release a story; that is true, sound and unbiased journalism and I only wish we would see and hear more of that type of journalism locally, regionally and nationally.
Thanks,
A Local Educator
Excellent article! The truth was “well-spoken”. Yes, teachers do work miracles each and every day with little resources to help them achieve. No, it may not be viewed by students’ high test scores, but the reality is that many students come to school already set up for failure. And as they proceed through life and attempt to proceed through school, they are still behind. So sad, but true. One thing is for sure though, where I work the students are shown love, respect, and safety… things that cannot be measured by a standardized test, but things every student deserves. Thank you again for printing this article.
Thank You! Your awareness of the truth and your courage to speak out are more appreciated than you can imagine! Well said!
It is not politically correct to point out such truths as these, but sometimes you must use some common sense in your view of things. Teachers are often blamed for every deficiency a student might have even though they have very limited control over each student’s life. We are not miracle workers, although we are expected to be. Thanks for speaking out for both teachers and students.
Thank you for the article David, however I disagree with the statement that “Any school with a population of 98% of a single race can’t possibly prepare students for their adult life. ” I am a proud product of that statistic and I am an Educator and Principal. If anyone believes that students cannot be successful simply because they attend schools with peers of the same race cannot be successful is simply not true. Maybe this statement was NOT referring to ALL schools or students.
LaFrederick, thanks for the comment. (It has been edited to reflect your comment only on the subject of my blog. The other issues, I have addressed with you directly.) I base my opinion in large part from my own experience. My school was 100% single-race. It was simply the community in which I was born and raised. The rest of my life, thankfully, I have been able to work and socialize with a more diverse population. I wish my school had been more diverse. In my opinion, and judging from America’s current racial climate, I would like to see children be able to interact with other children from various backgrounds. Again, that’s simply my opinion. I appreciate you sharing your opinion.