Public School Woes

A friend of mine recently went to her son's meet the teacher night for his first year at school (Kindergarten). I was horrified as she recounted her experience with a very rude, preoccupied, clueless teacher. This mommy introduced her son to the teacher, and the teacher didn't even ACKNOWLEDGE him! She hastily said something like, "Okay, great." And then turned to do something else. When this mommy asked the teacher any specific question, she was met with answers like, "It will be taken care of," or "We'll figure it out." She was left with zero assurance of her son's well-being with this particular teacher.

This mother's heart only grew more discouraged as she spoke with another school worker who said that she was not at all surprised. Why? "Because there is a serious shortage of caring teachers right now." Apparently even kindergarten teachers in our public schools are so bogged down with meeting certain criteria and following specific guidelines that they have forgotten one of the most important aspects of their jobs - nurturing those sweet babies! Sure they are five or six years old...but they are still just babies in their parent's eyes. These precious kiddos need to experience love from their teachers. They need to feel secure and safe. And they absolutely do NOT need to have teachers who are so preoccupied with their duties to take just a second to warmly welcome a new student into their class!

Apparently school officials are saying that it's just impossible to give these students the attention that they need and deserve. They can't make special arrangements for one or two children, because that wouldn't be fair to all the others. Is it really too much to ask for kindergarten teachers to simply get down at their students' level, smile, and say 'hello'? Or is it because they have 25-30 students and they don't have the time to do that for each and every one of them?

What are we doing with our children? What is the point of sending them to school? What are we teaching them? Who cares if your kid knows all of his letters and can count to 50...if he's crying out for attention, constantly being overlooked, and just being eaten up by the system? What about his emotional well-being? Or does that not matter in the whole scheme of things? And we wonder why so many children are being diagnosed with ADHD? Attention deficit...perhaps the true problem of the deficit has nothing to do with the child, but rather of those adults caring for the child? Maybe we're just not paying enough attention to our children? Perhaps their cries for attention are not a symptom of some childhood epidemic, but rather, a call for help...and change.

There are so many issues with public education right now. I cannot, nor do I wish to, go into them all. But I am hoping that someone, somewhere will stand up for some major changes. Or that parents would become more aware of all of the issues that public schools are facing. It is no wonder that more and more families are choosing to homeschool their children these days. Education is SO much more than what is being offered to our children right now. I do realize that there are VERY good teachers still working in today's schools. And honestly, those are the ones who are keeping it all together. I have several very good friends who are WONDERFUL teachers and love what they do. But I have also seen some great teachers grow jaded and weary because of the present demands by school officials. The bureaucracy is sickening and has a tendency to suck the life and creativity out of SO many well-meaning teachers. Their once burning passion has been reduced to nothing more than a toilsome job. And this is happening across the board.

I don't have any answers to these problems. But I do have the freedom to express my opinions on them. And having a degree in education myself, I am more than interested in theories, methodologies, and practices in education. As in every institution, there is bound to be bad right along with the good. Perfection is unattainable. I recognize this. But working toward better, rather than settling for mediocrity is just wired into my being. Thus articles like these...calls for change. But rather than devoting my energy to coming up with ideas for changes, I have given up on public education and just decided to do what is best for my family...which is homeschooling. I know other families have also resorted to sending their children to private schools. So many of the families that could actually stand up for the change that needs to take place are just walking away. But perhaps that's what needs to happen? I don't know! :)

And as for the teachers who are still working their butts off to make a difference in the lives of these precious children...please don't forget WHY you went into this profession to begin with! Don't let the weight of responsibility and the crazy demands ruin you and the positive impact you could have on your students! Delight in them! And never forget the most important aspects of your job! Keep up the good work...the work that is making a difference in the lives of children everywhere!! :)