Several years ago, at a 20-year class reunion for a former high school group of my students, a successful business man was introduced as having been invited by other students. As one, then another, of the attendees stood to say a few words, this man also spoke, after being introduced by another person who mentioned the business success and achievements of his friend.
The guest's words were thoughtful and emotional. First, he thanked the others for inviting him, adding that he appreciated it especially because he had been a "dropout," and had not felt worthy for some time of being included in the group, with doubts about whether or not to attend. He briefly told the story of some of the difficulties he had faced while in school and of his guilt about leaving school. He humbly spoke of his family, his community, and his appreciation for the kindness of his former classmates.
As a former teacher, my turn came next. Prepared remarks went by the wayside, for this was a "teaching moment," and it could not be missed. A few years earlier, I had participated in a state group purportedly seeking to "improve" public schools, which turned out to be a political move by a public official seeking political advantage. Remembering that, and the vast evidence available of the abject failure of these "public schools" to improve the learning performance of children, my remarks were addressed first to the man who had just poured out his heart about the burden he had carried at having been labeled by the very "system" which had failed him as a "dropout."
It was apparent that his life had been impacted by that label, and that no amount of success on his own part as a positive influence in his community, as a person who provided jobs to others, as one who gave money to charity and to churches, and as an all-around good citizen--none of these had erased the stigma placed upon him by so-called "educators."
My first remarks were directed to him, telling him that he should never allow that term to define him again, that he may have been one of the wise students who recognized that he was not being served well and made a choice to seek employment, work hard, achieve, and better himself despite the lack of a high school diploma. He was advised to treasure the fact that his fellow students remembered him and wanted him to be a part of the reunion and that no label applied by institutional bureaucrats can define the potential of any human being.
The attendees' applause and support of those remarks spoke volumes, as others agreed with the premise.
Failing in their duties to appropriately challenge students and to improve their learning performance, public education bureaucrats, such as the Principal named here, attempt to deflect their own failure on to the victims--the under served students and families who pay their salaries and future pensions.
With so many students who graduate from high school, only to find that they must take remedial reading or math courses when they get to college, how can these so-called educators label anyone in a negative context who simply chooses to find another path to success? Home schooling, as one retired Professor of Education at a major university has stated, is the "brightest spot" in American education today.
Thank You