January 14, 2009 12:01 AM
I Are a College Student
I single out DPS in this cartoon only because it's the largest district around, and as such, is representative of the inability of many school districts to prepare its college-bound students for the rigors of higher education. As the parent of two former DPS students now doing quite well in college, I know that this drawing paints a somewhat inaccurate picture. My kids got a good education in DPS schools. That said, many of their classmates did not, and they went to two of the best-performing high schools in Denver.
I'm guessing that many readers will be only too happy to blame the teachers' union, so-called "educrats," lack of discipline, lax standards, grade inflation, or liberalism in general. Oh, that it were so simple that we could blame one thing or group and be done with it. My kids had all the advantages: a home full of books, computers, two educated parents who read to them, worked with them and demanded high performance, met with teachers and administrators, and had enough time and money to support their speech and debate, choir, theater, sports, National History Day, Model UN, Odyssey Club, newspaper, and whatever else they became interested in doing.
I'm convinced that parents are our children's primary teachers, and that the school is only one of the educational tools that we use. If we don't do our job, the school cannot possibly pick up the slack, no matter how skillful and dedicated the teachers may be.
January 14, 2009
10:11 AM
AlanS writes:
I agree. It takes a collage to raise a child (apologies to Hillary Clinton).
January 14, 2009
10:40 AM
Ted in Vegas writes:
That's one reason why I'd never trust the government's reeducation camps with my children. I sacrifice a lot of creature comforts to keep them in private schools, but I love them and would never subject them to the idiocy of public schools.
January 15, 2009
9:22 AM
incognitoboy writes:
alan s - a COLLAGE? is there some joke there i'm missing?
ted in vegas - drew is spot on in his assertion that the family is most important. if the family does not support the school, meet with the teachers, and play an ACTIVE role in their child's education, how can the school faculty possibly pick up the slack? they can maybe spot a few with potential and attempt to nourish that despite obstacles, but many more fall thru the cracks due to apathy on the family's part. bully for you that you can afford the private schools, but not all are so lucky. and yes, the schools are full of idiocy, but it's not usually the faculty that brings that idiocy in the door....it's the students who DON'T respect authority and refuse to learn because their parents don't teach them the value of education FIRST!
January 15, 2009
12:43 PM
Ted in Vegas writes:
incognitoboy: True, to a point. However, good parents alone are not enough.
I had that type of parents; the parents who valued education and pushed us kids to excel and I was an A student when I wanted to be.
My last year of public school I attended the top-academic-scoring public high school in the state of Colorado that year, Loveland High School. I had GOOD grades there. I also got involved in drinking, drugs and other illicit behavior that is VERY common in public schools and my grades began to fall.
The next year we moved to another town where my dad's church (he was a pastor) had a Christian school. Gone were the negative influences and that saved me from a bad fate, I am certain of that.
However, what surprised me is how I went from being an A student when I wanted to be to being a B student by busting my hump. That one-room school (17 total students) had such a higher standard of general education (math, english, science, history, etc.) that I trully struggled. That small time student put out students that were far better educated than the "best public school in Colorado."
When I took Algebra II in that Christian school, that school actually had the gall to assume, since I took Algebra I in public school, that I should ACTUALLY KNOW the material; I didn't. Somehow I managed to get A's in the top public high school in Colorado without actually learning EVERYTHING I needed to know in a small school of higher standards.
Then, years later, I find myself a mid-level manager in a large business in Denver. In my team there were 13 people, nearly all of whom had public school education and most could not form a proper sentence that adequately communicated important information. That experience has been repeated hundreds of thousands of times since I graduated from high school.
Experience being my teacher; there is no way I'd have my kids in those public-school flophouses.
January 15, 2009
7:47 PM
ringostarr102185 writes:
Respectfully, Ted In Vegas, I disagree with some of your comments. I myself was also a naturally gifted student in that I didn't need to study and could get A's. I attended public elementary-middle schools and a parochial high school, and I can honestly say that I pretty much cake walked through high school.
Experiences can vary by individual but I will say this. Parents DO need to show in interest in a child's schooling and parents DO need to emphasize that teachers, regardless of whether a child disagrees with them or not, garner respect as authority figures. Former titles such as "Mr." and "Ms." should still be used unless mentioned otherwise by the teacher and if a disagreement arises, those can be settled outside of class so as to not disrupt other individuals who may be genuinely trying to learn.
There's plenty of blame to go around and no one entity is 100% responsible; however, if people start taking steps/responsibilty for their involvement in education, collectively, we can make progress in a positive direction.
January 16, 2009
10:57 AM
Ted in Vegas writes:
I'm either sorry to hear that your parochial high school was not any better than the public schools (which hardly the usual condition) or elated for you that you didn't find the stepup any more difficult.
Regardless, I don't disagree that parents should be highly involved in their children's education! On the contrary, I sincerely believe that.
However, I also contend that a parent that truly wants their child(ren) to succeed will not condemn them to our inferior public school system when research has clearly shown that almost any private school will substantially outperform the mediocre public schools. In deed, private school students historically score much higher on SATs and ACTs; and, home schooler usually out perform even the private schoolers.
I've also found that private schooling is not always substantially expenseive either. Tuition for my daughter runs $220/month so I'm just putting off buying a new car for awhile and instead investing in her future.
Solutions are there; you just gotta break the mass hypnosis of the liberal, union statists.
January 21, 2009
1:17 PM
CP in Lakewood writes:
I agree with Mr. Stein that parents should be the primary teachers of their children. Indeed, it is their responsibility, and not the state's.
Additionally, the issue is one of authority: the parents right and responsibility of authority over their child, the right of teachers to have authority over the children under their care, and the proper balance of school respect of parental rights, as well as true consequences for defying authority.
As a child matures, proper authority trains to autonomy (in the form of self control and law abiding). As we tie the hands of teachers and parents preventing proper discipline for negative behavior, we do a major disservice both to our youth and our country.
January 23, 2009
9:05 AM
RP from Wyoming writes:
As a parent, I sent my kids to a private school because I was dissatisfied with some of the public schools values(or lack thereof.) When I went back to college to become a teacher, I worked in public schools where I learned the biggest problem teachers face is those parents who do not support their child's education, do not read at home, don't own a book, & point the grubby-little-finger-of-blame at anyone but themselves. Parents model behaviors that kids will follow. When Mom & Dad show no respect for laws or authority their children assimilate that attitude. If parents don't care about school, kids will not care. Kids also notice when folks don't care about them and internalize that negativity.
CP got it correct, as kids mature and gain freedoms, they must accept the responsibilities that come with them. Are you modeling that for your kids? Or will you rely on cops for that?
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