Here we are…embarking upon March 2015. It’s the 1st day of March; 2 weeks 1 day 23 hours until my baby boy turns 18; 90 days 11 hours until graduation; 298 days 13 hours until Christmas and 305 days, 13 hours until 2016….
When you look at it that way, I begin to immediately go into a panic attack!
Worse yet, as those dates draw closer, I realize…there’s some things I wish I could go back and re-do for my kids…especially that soon-to-be-graduate!
I was recently fortunate enough to sit in on a “Strategic” meeting at our County School Board. It was a great forum with a mixture of board members, school administrators, community leaders, parents and teachers. Some of those people wore two hats. Together we discussed “our” education system – the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY. There were no name calling, no screaming nor any drama, but we did have a timer that really stressed us out a few times that kept us focused. It dawned on me, maybe this is how our kids feel – stuck in a classroom with all these demands. That’s okay, for some. Not every one works well under pressure. So I asked myself, “Why is our education system designed for one type of learner?” “When did our education system become a ‘one-size-fits-all’ system?” “When did teachers and counselors quit focusing on the student as an individual rather than a test score or a Federal funded dollar?”
Does it matter? Hell yes it matters! Because my son, ya know that one about to graduate, has suffered great setbacks because of that system that we call “education“. I’m sick of hearing and/or reading teachers’ and staff constantly counting down until that next “break”, Christmas Break, Fall Break, Spring Break and Summer Break. Oh..and how about those that are constantly praying for a snow day!? Really!! What kind of message are you sending the future of our already declining country? When my kids come home, more than I care to count, and tell me that teachers have predicted snow and convinced my kids that school will be canceled the next day – it infuriates me. It’s like the entire profession has been programmed to teach only when they want to. The only “break” that needs to be discussed is the system. It’s B-R-O-K-E-N people! Kids have a false sense of real life because of all these “breaks”. While some families have been fortunate enough to squirrel away funds and vacation days to spend on exotic vacations during their kids’ educational “breaks” – there’s more that are not that fortunate. YES, I am one of the less fortunate. I have to work for a living. That means, I don’t get snow days, Christmas Break, Fall Break, Spring Break or Summer Break! Hell, I barely get 10 minute or lunch breaks at work. Gimme A Break was a TV show NOT A WAY OF LIFE folks. The only BREAK you should be focusing on is the break down in educating our future. I’ve worked since I turned 16. I have had a few breaks in my employment but for the most part, I’ve worked even up to that 9th month pregnant. I worked 2 jobs, sometimes 3 while also attending college. Is this bitterness talking? NO! It’s a fact of life that makes me who I am today. I have higher expectations than most because I don’t tolerate excuses and breaks are for lazy people. YES, I burn out. That’s what sick days are for – and for the record, I’ve rarely used many of those! I’ve had jobs that took me from my home. I’ve had jobs that required me to take the work home with me. I’ve had jobs in factories, production, quality control, retail, food, banking, finance, telecommunications, specialized trade and education. I appreciate my paycheck immensely from each and every employer. I also know that EVERY JOB OUT THERE IS DEMANDING!! {I have to say, the ones that I don’t ‘take home with me’ are by far the best jobs. Shutting that office door and walking away for the weekend IS A BREAK!}
Did you know that kids today have very little knowledge of what it takes to get a job? How to interview? How about filing out a W-4 form? What about filling out job application – EVEN ONLINE? What about filling out taxes? What about opening a bank account? What about writing a check or making a deposit? What about reading or signing a legal document? Oh wait, what about writing in cursive? What about the big one EVERY kid is asked upon their senior year, “What are you going to do after you graduate?”
Back to that forum I got to attend. One of the things I hope I was able to convey was, kids today need to be challenged. They need be given the options that our big world has set in front of them. They need to know the REAL LIFE SKILLS to get them through life. They need work experience. They need guidance. They need teachers that have actually worked in the corporate world. They need counselors that actually check in on them and get to know them and by doing so help them find that one thing that makes them a productive member of society. By doing that, we empower them! We give them tools to survive.
If I don’t have to have a teaching certificate or degree to home school my kids; why aren’t we employing people who are just like us to teach kids? OK…okay…OK…I get it! Some of us are not cut out to be home school moms/dads. Some are natural-born “teachers”. Some are just natural-born “instructors”. There’s a difference in “teaching” and “instructing”. Those that have spent many years training to become a “teacher” simply regurgitate their learning. They “dreadfully face” the state board exams, gone through specialized training in safety or handling special needs because they have to, blah blah blah. Okay…I get it. However, they are not ‘teaching’ our kids anything except what they have been taught. They bring no new, real world skills and knowledge to the classroom. They don’t engage kids in learning. They just go through the motions and teach the same lesson for many years – including giving the same test every year only swapping the right answer from A to C.
“Instructors” show their audience the way. The give them the tools and choices. They give them a plate full of ideas and they engage the student. They look into their eyes and they see potential beyond that ‘trouble maker’ exterior. They care enough to constantly seek knowledge of current events, their surroundings, fellow professionals and the community and instruct the kids so they find where they fit into society after those doors close at graduation. Graduating today is scary for me and I’m not the one walking across that stage! The world these students know is NOT what is out there.
CLIMB ABOARD MY SOAPBOX 