Quote:
Originally Posted by Griff
if the culture is antagonistic towards academic success, as my rural high school was, only the most motivated children can succeed.
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Nor has that changed in my experience. The quality of education in small rural schools in the West (and probably the rest of the nation) is mediocore at best. I was tutoring a child who went to school in the booming town of Paradox, CO (NOT). One day she came up to me with a puzzled look on her face and said, "What's this mean?" And she handed me a note from her teacher "congratulating" her for being part of a group who got to stay after school twice a week and receive tutoring until their math scores improved.
I suppose the teacher was worried about the kids' self esteem, but congratulating them on not being able to do 3rd grade arithametic did not exactly send the message that its important to learn math. And the kids agree that its not important to learn much of anything. They quit high school to work in the mines or oil rigs and by 30 have suffered so many injuries that these jobs become closed to them. Should have at least gotten that GED, but at 16, its much more attractive to get a paycheck and 30 is an impossibly old age, far in the distance.
One of the best things our society could do is change its attitude toward teachers. Right now teaching is a low paid job in comparison to the education needed to qualify for a teacher's degree. Nor are teachers held in very high esteem. Communities too often refuse to vote in tax increases that would pay for better libraries and science and computer labs, as well as give teachers a badly needed raise in salary. An enthusiastic teacher who has a class of 20 instead of 45 can make all the difference.
But American continue to balk in investing in our future - our children. We are foolish and short-sighted in this regard.