Posted on 02/15/2011 4:29:04 AM PST by Kaslin
Former first lady Barbara Bush said on Greta Van Susteren's "On the Record" this past week: "We've got a real problem in public schools. ... This is a national crisis. It's as bad as anything in our country."
When Van Susteren was pointing out from Bush's own op-ed piece that "Texas (is) 36th in the nation in high-school graduates (and) 3.8 million Texans don't have a high-school diploma," Bush said, "No more, you're killing us."
Bush was commendably protecting Texas pride as she told Van Susteren not to cite any further degrading statistics about the state of Lone Star education, though she herself references it in her op-ed piece:
--Texas ranks 49th in verbal SAT scores, 47th in literacy and 46th in average math SAT scores.
--Texas ranks 33rd in the nation on teacher salaries.
Such low verbal and literacy scores make it even more unbelievable that just this past week, some of the state's educational administrators joined the feds in seeking to mandate Arabic classes for Texas children. No joke!
The Arabic studies program -- funded by a five-year, $1.3 million Foreign Language Assistance Program federal grant -- was to begin this semester at Cross Timbers Intermediate School and then spread to neighboring schools in the Mansfield Independent School District.
Thank God for the parental passions and patriot fires of the almost 200 parents who showed up at a meeting last week to question the wisdom of school officials. They are fighting in their own personal education Alamo and presently have the upper hand. For the moment, the school district has backed off plans for its Arabic studies program.
With 14 percent of American adults (32 million) incapable of reading a newspaper or instructions on a prescription bottle, don't you think federal monies could be put to better use by helping Americans learn to read and write English?
I appreciate Bush's non-politically correct stance on the primacy of English in America, which she echoed to Van Susteren: "I'm against English as a second language. My great-grandmother came here as a German. She didn't have someone give her English as a second language. She learned it in three months. It's survival. And you see it in schools all around now where you're allowed to speak English only, and you sink or swim. And they swim, because they're immigrants from all different countries. I've seen a school in Boston where they asked me to read, and I said, 'Read? They all speak 80 different languages.' But in three months, they learned English."
What Bush and I (and others in this educational reform movement) are essentially calling all of us to do is fight in a local education Alamo! To square off and fight against all the negative forces that besiege our children and impede their proper education. You don't have to have kids to engage in this culture war; you only have to be concerned about their future -- America's future.
It is people like the 200 parents helping to overturn that Texas school district's decision to mandate classes on Arabic who are showing the way. They prove another point Bush made to Van Susteren: "I don't think government can do everything at all. Parents, grandparents, neighbors, churches, everybody ... we've got to get ourselves geared up and not be lazy parents and not be lazy neighbors, but we've got to help children."
The only way to get America and its educational system back on track is to take back the primary role of parenting from teachers and other societal guardians (including Big Brother government). That also includes our not expecting those who lead Sunday schools to be the primary spiritual teachers of our children, rather owning that area of their maturation, as well.
What U.S. educational reform entails is that we all find a place in the battle. It might mean that you join an influential group that makes decisions in your local schools or pressures those who do.
What I'm saying is this: Be proactive. Don't wait for first lady Michelle Obama to correct your children's school diet before you do something about it. Ensure that civic organizations in your area, including tea party groups and churches, are activists for your public schools. Call parishioners out of the pews and into school community outreach.
My wife, Gena, and I are fighting for the next generation, and our life mission is to take physical education up a notch in public schools by offering our KickStart Kids program. For years, we also have supported The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, and we encourage you to do the same by going to its official website, at http://www.BarbaraBushFoundation.com.
It all comes down to one question every citizen in our country must answer: Are you spectating or fighting for America's children in your local education Alamo?
My school district here in TX is excellent. I agree... this has everything to do with illegals swarming the system in many places here.
I still get spun up when people compare the US to other countries. Our numbers are low not because our education is terrible - though yes there are definitely areas that need improvement. However, we have an albatross around our neck that we put there. I’ll explain:
In the US 100% of students are measured to determine high school graduation and other metrics.
In Japan after middle school students test to determine not only which high school they will attend, but if they will attend. Those who do not test well apprentice out or go to a trade school. These students are not included in the graduation or other metrics for Japan in the calculatons. The same is true for most other asian countries. Therefore, their numbers look better than ours when in fact they aren’t.
I can’t speak to european countries, but would not be suprised if something similar were occurring.
I do not advocate changing our measure, but I do advocate ensuring that everyone is measured on the same level to ensure proper reporting and actions. Do I believe that a large number of students are not receiving proper education - yes. Do I blame the schools 100% nope.
In my home nothing happens till the homework is done and explained. They don’t have homework from school - that’s ok we have some review to do. Do I think this happens in every house - nope....and that is where the real problem is. Sure I’m tired when I get home at 6-7 but we eat supper as a family and then sit till the work is reviewed (and it better be done by the time I get home). As with most things - once the routine is started early it self sustains and instead of a long 2 hours it becomes a 15-20 minute checkup.
It isn’t my responsibility to educate other people’s children - but I pay my property taxes and don’t complain. It isn’t the teacher’s responsibility to educate my childeren it is theirs to instruct and provide a plan - and I have complained about insufficient plans and workload.
sigh it’s too easy to give up, ya gotta fight for the important stuff.
An excellent comment that can be used for almost any article. I'll add it to my other two universal responses, "This is a parody, right?" and, "Who ARE these people?"
Surprised you didn’t get mugged.........
I told them I was a blackbelt... :)
We have a lot of Spanish speakers in Texas. I am not surprised to see the average verbal SAT come out bad. Too many drop out of school.
I have lived all over the country and Texas is no better and no worse than any other State’s multicultural public school systems. We have so many foreigners under the impression that Nation of origin tribalism is “freedom”, that it is a hopeless cause to teach foreign kids English now.
“occasionally”... as in rarely attending school.
Yet another reason to make English the official language. It will save money on printing forms in other languages. It will save money for interpreters. It will force non-English speaking people to learn English to get any type of benefits. They will have to learn English to survive and assimilate.
Do you also consider and factor in the following: Children coming from a disfunctional enviroment: No parental involvement, getting educated is acting like whitey, not knowing who your Mother or Father is, out of wedlock births. When you have these situations factored in it is amazing that some barely obtain an education at all. While the Teachers must be accountable, the Parents must play a role too.
Oh, absolutely. Lack of parent involvement is almost analogous to failure in school. I think we have to break the dependency cycle on welfare and other public assistance that encourages welfare mothers to just pop babies out to increase their welfare check and then let them run wild in the street.
How are they going to make their quota in wildwood flower sales if they don’t attend school regularly? Their gang leaders wouldn’t be happy.
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