Educating our future

Public education has always been a work in progress.  Our founding fathers had a grand idea that everyone should have a chance to learn, to better themselves and to make choices that could lead to a better life.  But public education has never been perfect.  From the one room school house where the poor teacher (figuratively and literally) had to deal with all grade levels, clean the school, start the fire and countless other things, to the contemporary teachers who either specialize in a subject or grade level, one thing remains; it’s HARD!  The general public doesn’t understand the demands on a teacher, never has, most never will.

This submission of thoughts is by no means the highest understanding or comment on education, but an humble collection of thoughts from a former teacher, a parent and an offspring of teachers/administer. 

My father began his teaching career in Oklahoma City in 1960, teaching self-contained 6^th grade, with a full classroom of 47 students.  I heard many stories about these years in OKC, he loved the students and enjoyed being with them, hearing their stories and being a part of their lives.  My dad’s career spanned more than four decades as a teacher and administrator of small rural schools.  My mother began teaching when I was small, she too loved being a part of the students’ lives.  They were phenomenal teachers because of the love they had for their students and because they knew that teaching takes work.  They were willing to learn themselves and try new things.

Before I became a mother, I myself taught 3^rd grade, then after my children were quite older and we had moved around quite a bit I taught first grade in another state.  This second school district I taught in was progressive in their methods.  They encouraged higher level thinking, problem solving and the administration even encouraged the teachers to read a book about disciplining with love.  They encouraged teachers to stay abreast of new developments in education and to be willing to change and learn.

While reading and learning and teaching I saw things about the highly successful school district that were similar to the way my parents taught.  I’ve since moved to another area but through all these years I have watched teachers.  I noted the teachers that students loved, the teachers that students respected and truly learned from and the teachers students mocked and endured due to lack of respect.  I’ve lamented the plight of teachers, the lack of respect they receive from most parents and the media.  I’ve been frustrated as the government tries to take charge of education knowing that this is not the key but leads to more disrespect as those in places of power, who are not teachers, begin to dictate what happens in the classroom. 

Regardless of one’s political or social point of view, one must admit that the most effective teacher is the one that builds a relationship with the students, the students know they care and thus respect.   This kind of teacher is the kind that can reach the heart of students and help open their eyes to the wide world of learning.  Of course the teacher needs to have a plan, to teach with a purpose and to be respectable, not just try to be a friend to the students.

Recently while reading one of C.S. Lewis’ books, The Abolition of Man, thoughts of the sad plight of education were brought to mind.  It is my belief that his thoughts confirm my thoughts; that too much education outside control kills the spirit of the educator and those being educated.   In chapter 1 he discusses, if one can understand this great mind, education and with eloquence beyond my capabilities he describes the shortcomings of a text book.  My interpretation is that students are being feed things that are opinions of others and not encouraged to think for themselves.  “Some pleasure in their own ponies and dogs they will have lost; some incentive to cruelty or neglect they will have received; some pleasure in their own knowingness will have entered their minds.  That is their day’s lesson in English, though of English they have learned nothing.”  And  “Where as the old initiated, the new merely ‘conditions’.  The old dealt with it’s pupils as grown birds deal with young birds when they teach them to fly.  The new deals with them more as the poultry keeper deals with young birds – making them thus or thus for purposes of which the birds know nothing.  In a word, the old was a kind of propagation – men transmitting manhood to men; the new is merely propaganda.”

I believe, as formulas were created to make educating the masses easier.  We started ‘feeding’ ideas to students instead of motivating them to think for themselves.  As history was rewritten to be more PG rated, to hide corruption  or even to remove Christian thoughts, even words of our founding fathers, our students lost the means by which to learn from history and it became a boring story, memorizing dates instead of hearing real stories about real people who lived, struggled experienced victory and defeat and died.  The subject English became a few text book writers’ choice of what is correct and acceptable the class became tedious and so have all subjects diminished. 

I have seen more good teachers than bad.  I’ve even seen more great teachers than bad teachers.  Unfortunately there are some that go into education because they see the summer’s off and the recipe books of how to get students to memorize the facts and think it is easy.  These are teachers that sit behind their desk all day, giving orders, handing out worksheets and playing on their computers or cell phones. 

With this in mind, how do we apply this to our public education system in general?  How can we hold teachers accountable (because all professionals should be held accountable) yet let them have this kind of relationship with students be creative in stimulating thought?  This is quite a conundrum.

I don’t have the answer to this difficult puzzle.  I do have some thoughts.  I would like to see the government red tape leave the classroom and the government trust the professionalism of teachers.  I would like to see teachers BE professionals.  I would like to see state testing like the TAKS or STAR abolished.  I would like to see teachers held accountable, but only accountable that the students they had improved from the previous year.  I do agree that teachers need a plan, a purpose, and objectives to teach toward, how they get there should be in any way that will motive and stimulate the students but not disrupt learning elsewhere.   I would like to see teachers remembering what they were taught in college about the bell curve.  A teacher, that makes everything so easy that most all make A’s and B’s, is not properly challenging the whole of the class.  Conversely a teacher who feels pride in their teaching skills if all students struggle and no one makes above a 65-70, is not properly educating the whole of the students.  I would like to see teachers that are passionate about their students and passionate about motivating in them a love of learning.  And now to the end of my list, I would like teachers to remember that to teach to or at students doesn’t help them grow.  Psychology has proven that when things are just a little out of their reach it helps them stretch and grow.  The truly connected loving and professional teacher can see where this point is with each student and help challenge them in learning.

I know this next thought will not be popular with the teachers unions but I feel strongly that if teachers are to be seen as professional then they must perform as a professional.  If a CPA is not up to performance, he is put on an improvement plan.  If no improvements are made over a certain amount of time they let him go.  All other professionals are held to this scrutiny, why not teachers, the hands on our future?  True, I don’t think a new administration should come in and wipe out teachers to replace them with his family or favorites, there should be that protection, as well as from false student/parental claims.  But professionals should be expected to do their job!

Basically, I would love to see my parents in every classroom.  They knew how to motivate, to inspire and most importantly, how to love.