Posted on 09/26/2002 11:52:28 AM PDT by hsmomx3
I'm just a mom. And I know, from experience, that doesn't mean very much to those in charge of educating my child (and yours) here in Arizona. I grew up on the East Coast, where school generally starts after Labor Day. Coincidentally, schools there are rated much higher on national standards tests and are ranked among the top 10 or 15 states in the country. I doubt that there is a direct correlation, but I have no doubt that parental input is taken more seriously.
There are many things I don't understand about the education system here. I am a newcomer; I have lived here only a decade. That comes to 10 years of paying school taxes (some of the highest in the Valley) and finding that when my child finally attends public school, it is old, overcrowded, understaffed, ancient (by current standards), dirty, depressing looking and in dire need of a total replacement. The population of this state and specifically of the Valley seems to have grown in adverse proportion to the number of well-equipped, modern, Internet-functional schools, along with properly staffed and trained teachers. I haven't forgotten the governor's promise to put children first, education first. I hope no one else forgets that either.
More children are dropping out of school in Arizona than ever before. The standardized tests indicate that we are almost up to the national "average" level. A terrific feat for the state that can boast No. 48 out of 50 states for educating the next generation of America. How appalling!
Schools overburden children with reams of monotonous busywork and homework so they can raise standardized tests. But are they learning? Do kids read books for enjoyment, to learn how to discuss content, to improve communication skills? Are assignments relevant, or are they to show tax-paying parents that they're getting their money's worth?
Children are stressed to their limits doing hours of homework, trying to participate in a sport and perhaps community service. It should be evident from the number of violent acts committed by children and directed at their schools that there is a severe problem.
The number of teenage suicides has dramatically increased in the past decade and a half. We are not listening. They are overwhelmed by our plans for their lives.
Additionally, I don't understand why many schools here begin classes in early to mid-August. It is certainly the most beastly and unbearable part of our famously brutal summer. We force children outside into temperatures of 105 degrees and above and wonder why they are sluggish in class. How can our kids be expected to perform well while lugging around 8- to 10-pound backpacks, water bottle and books while running across a stifling, overcrowded campus to the next class in a timely fashion?
The state claims to have no money for schools, but if it were to delay the start of school by even one month, it could save on the expense of air-conditioning and electricity. We are delaying the inevitable by refusing to allow schools to expand, build newer and much-needed facilities, hire enough well-trained teachers and provide vital, real-world services to our children.
We, as Arizonans, are essentially shooting ourselves in the foot by not acknowledging our obligation to educate and prepare today's children for the realities of tomorrow. We kowtow to the voting bloc of senior citizens who balk at the idea of paying to educate children who aren't their own. How shortsighted we are. If we take care of the kids, they will be the ones who will take care of us. Give these kids the tools they need, the space they crave, the educators they deserve. This is no time for the state to be stingy with its funds. It will be money well spent.
Jesse Browne-Upchurch, a Scottsdale resident, was a reporter in New York City, Chicago and Dallas and currently is a voice-over announcer. The views expressed are those of the author.
Kids are precious, bust your butt looking for that just-right school.
As far as taxes, I've never met a public school admin that was worth a shovel of horse-pucky.
But I do not look to be with either.
kj (ancient zony)
As to the suicide rate, I have suggested elsewhere that the cause may in part reflect not what the writer suggests, of expecting too much, but the destructive effect of a "politically correct" mindset, in stripping away the normal motivations for proper conduct, and denying the students what traditionally would have given them a sense of purpose in life. (See Something Of Value.) One of the clear signs that my interpretation comes closer to the mark than those more popularly accepted, is in the fact that in a number of the school killing cases, the targets were in whole or part the more religious students--those who despite the levelling secular mindset of the school systems, still had a sense of purpose. That they would be the targets of those caught up in a suicidal rage, tells us a great deal.
I am not saying do not build nice schools--within cost effective reason;--only that it is a mistake to blame most of the problems on such factors. Nicer buildings and equipment may give a community a sense of pride, they are only a very small part of what the students get out or fail to get out of their school experiences. And to the extent that some of the equipment distracts students from the benefits of simply sitting down with a good book, they may not always be productive at all.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
Good thing they didn't use that other word for stingy. Might've got 'em in trouble.
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