emersonstreet talk 25

I spent two delightful days last week as the substitute in a Pre-Kindergarten classroom of three year olds. They were cooperative, eager to learn, loving children. They don’t live in an affluent school district but the room is filled with books, learning centers, two computers and fun but educational things to do. By the time these children reach middle school, things will have changed dramatically including the interest their parents will have in their education.  What happens to children to change their attitude about learning and doing well in school between preschool and high school? In the lower grades they believe they can learn…they believe they are smart…are eager to perform and demonstrate what they know and can do. By middle school too many become sullen, difficult, negative and disruptive. Often libraries and current textbooks are not as plentiful at the higher grades as well. Classroom furniture is old, uncomfortable and uninviting for learning. Science labs do not have living things in them or the apparatus necessary for experiments. Even teachers express the loss of hope with the older students. At election time we speak volumes of talk about improving our schools, yet a dramatic disparity in the quality of public education continues to plague our nation. The quality of our children’s educations, and the amount of resources dedicated to our schools, varies radically based on where you live; yet all children must take the same standardized tests regardless of the conditions of their school and communities. Schools are then rated on how the students performed on these tests, regardless of any other factors, such as the number of certified and energetic, creative teachers at the school, parental involvement, the quality and quantity of the textbooks being used, whether modern technology is available, including computers and internet access or the size of the classrooms.  Having access to technology and the internet does not guarantee appropriate use of such tools and resources.  We seem to start the race well but never quite complete with success.  We lose a lot of runners along the way.