Our Schools Are Failing Big Time
I know. I know, the entire idea behind the original posts online about this very topic was aimed at LeBron James, but I could care less about the name attached to the school. The whole idea is that our schools are failing our youth and I don’t mean just in grades.
In this case, LeBron James “I Promise School” is a school that exclusively instructs low-achieving students in grades two through eight, however, these students are not achieving the state’s already low benchmarks. According to board members of the school board, “For three years, not one child passed the state test in math? Not one? For three years?”, Valerie McKitrick stated.
But I want to stray away from just listing one school here and one there, let’s talk about how students today are just not ready for the world. Sure there are some very talented students, and there are always exceptions, but as a majority, the youth of today are being set to fail.
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a sector of the U.S. Department of Education, 84 percent of Black students lack proficiency in mathematics and 85 percent of Black students lack proficiency in reading skills. But I don’t want to make this about race, because it isn’t about race, it is about education.
First and foremost, education needs to start at home. The parents need to read to their children, they need to get involved in their lives and that is a huge problem today. Many parents are not interested in their children’s lives, they are almost like a check box and nothing more. Parents also need to continue to be involved in their children’s education, take them to the library for learning, send them to camps, and challenge them at home. We need to stop tossing a mobile phone or a video game at them and let them do their own thing.
It starts with reading at home, it then moves into being involved with their schooling and homework. Challenge them, not just their teachers. Most of the teachers today, are not equipped to handle students today. There are students who threaten the teachers, there are students who take violent action against the teachers, and sadly many of the parents are on the side of their child. As a parent, you know if your child is capable of violent activity, just like you know if your child is capable of certain grades.
How does nearly an entire population of students from a certain group, in this case, we will use the black students, become lacking in proficiency in mathematics and reading? It doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time and it will take time to correct, but it all starts at home.
I understand that many of these students in the inner city may not have great home lives, but I was raised in a sexually, verbally, and physically abusive household and I was a good student. My children were very much excluded from that type of life and my wife and I made sure to be involved in their lives and to challenge them every time we could. It was difficult at times and it also meant that our lives and AverageJoe and AverageWife had to take a backseat to our children, it also meant that our life as a couple had to take a backseat as well, and that is where the difference resides. The parents who are taking the time to get involved with their children, often tend to turn out better students and often more productive members of society.
So many parents today, are not involved with their children and are too involved in making sure that their personal lives are enriched and not their child’s. Stop going to the clubs, stop going to parties, and stop putting yourself front and center. Your child needs to be your focus. You can still party and have fun, but NOT at the expense of your child.
Sources:
https://abc6onyourside.com/
https://thepostmillennial.com/
https://thehill.com/opinion/
