School years are the exciting times when we as parents watch our children morph into mini-adults with knowledge, excitement, and newfound understanding. Not all children are so fortunate, however, as not all schools are created equally. There are great schools, average schools, and schools that are little more than buildings that house children. If you are a parent concerned about the journey of your child’s education, take a look at some of the information that your teachers unions and politicians don’t want you to see.
This journey of education in America was analyzed in Waiting for Superman, produced by Davis Guggenheim, and takes the viewer on a voyeuristic expedition through the educational paths of several children, many of whom are attending struggling schools. Guggenheim, able to and sending his children to better schools, was still struck by the reality that for many children, there are no other choices. His documentary is an attempt to highlight the challenges that American schools face and put personal emphasis on the children who are at risk.
Throughout Waiting for Superman there are several themes about the struggles, and dangers, of American education.
- The power of politicians as exemplified with “No Child Left Behind” and other grand plans that never quite made the grade.
- The power of teachers unions. I admit I was shocked to find that they are responsible for funneling more lobbying money than any other group. Unions spend almost 3x as much money on political campaign ads as all other corporations taken together.
- The dangers of tenure, which originated as a way to give fair and equal opportunities and pay to women and minority teachers. Anyone who has been in a classroom with a teacher or professor who spends more time reading the newspaper, having students watch movies, or seeming as if he couldn’t be more bored has probably met a tenured teacher.
- The mismanagement of money that does go to schools. Money isn’t everything when it comes to building effective educational systems, but it is necessary.
- The inability of school systems to keep progressing with global education requirements.
- Guggenheim’s documentary is an effort to spark energy for improving the education system in America, and he is attempting to do this by bringing us into the personal lives of several children, some of whom we watch crumble under the reality that they weren’t selected in the lottery system to attend a decent school.
Another education advocate, Sir Ken Robinson, took another approach in Changing Paradigms to highlighting the failing education approach in our country. He partnered to create this animate video that truly is an eye-opener when it comes to the struggles our children face in their educational endeavors.
Robinson discusses the various ways in which our educational systems are outdated, ineffective, and underperforming. Some of them include:
- The current educational system was designed for the economic needs of the time during the age of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. It is outdated for modern society.
- Education systems are failing for two reasons – economic and cultural. It is difficult to prepare children for an economic future when we don’t know what that future will be like. Cultures are trying to maintain their cultural identities, yet still teach children on a global scale.
- College no longer guarantees a job, especially a good job.
- The current education system is based on a narrow definition of the mind – you are either intelligent academically or you’re not. This preconceived idea has caused countless children to fail in school.
- There is a plague of diagnoses of ADHD in our schools. The incidences of ADHD have risen in parallel with the increases of standardized testing.
- Children today are living in the most stimulating environments ever. Technology means our children are inundated with constant streams of information, yet in the classroom they are expected not to be distracted and to absorb information the same way it was presented decades ago.
I homeschool my children precisely because of many of the reasons presented in these two sources. I remember telling someone who was questioning my decision that I just didn’t like the idea of my children being subject to the result of a crap shoot. Teachers, school districts, classmates, and a myriad of other factors beyond a parent’s control can mean the difference between success and failure for students. However, just because I homeschool doesn’t mean that I turn a blind eye to the struggles of educational systems. I still support local school districts, form relationships with the activities within them, and work to be proactive among the students in my community.
After all that is said, it still isn’t enough. Educational reform will take more than people caring. It will require an inside-out response that will make us uncomfortable. The educational system as we know it feels safer than the unknown for many people. But in order for real progress to occur, somewhere along the way we need to take the bull by the horns and institute real changes for our children.
- A revamping of tenure. Both of my parents are retired teachers. I can understand the value of job security for teachers, but practically no other job allows for underperforming employees to receive a salary without high levels of accountability. Merit pay is worth it if it means actually providing excellent education possibilities for our children (who are scheduled to inherit the world).
- A reexamination of charter and other successful schools. Charter schools are succeeding in our country, in part because of financial responsibility that is taken and in part because they take into account how modern children learn and how to best prepare them for the future.
- A restructuring of the teachers unions. Imagine if all of the money spent lobbying politicians was spent on paying excellent teachers and providing amazing opportunities for kids. According to Teachers Union Exposed, just the California Teachers Association alone spent more than $200 million for lobbying against education and healthcare reforms.
- A closer look at tracking. So many schools place students on tracks for education and often these tracks lead them to self-doubt and failures. Students who are labeled as “struggling” or “average” are tracked and expected to take certain classes of lower achieving levels than those who straight A’s. Make sure you know if your child’s school does tracking, and push to have it stopped for your child.
- A reality check. The schools of today were built for the world of yesterday. The jobs, opportunities, and possibilities are vastly different today, as are family structures and finances.
Yes, as a homeschool mom it seems unlikely that I would seem to have interests in or enthusiasm for academic reform. However, I am a homeschool mom because I am so concerned about the academic opportunities, or lack thereof, in our country. As parents and citizens we do need to make efforts when we vote, when we support or don’t support community events, and how we either let the system continue as is or stand up and do something.
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