Give Them A Foundation To Build On

Conclusion

This is the second of two related commentaries.

“Back-to-Basics!” “The 3 Rs Rock!” The slogans are everywhere.

Parents, politicians, and otherwise interested folks are urging a return to old-time education. I can’t argue with them; it’s the way I learned.

But as today’s teachers look around their classrooms they see Johnnys who can’t sleep nights because their parents’ constant fighting and yelling keeps them awake; Susies, whose moms have a succession of frequently abusive live-ins; and best friends whose parents are selling dope to the neighborhood kids.

So, how do we convince Johnny and Susie that it’s imperative to memorize the multiplication tables? They’re focused on surviving.

Have school systems, in their dedication to students’ rights, gone overboard in the move to “socialize” teenagers? Is the emphasis on sharing and celebrating differences leaving schoolwork and study in the lurch? And what does “facilitating” mean, anyway?

In a society where newborns are being tossed into trashbins and success is measured by acquisition, how do we make Johnny believe us when we tell him he is important?

Would it be surprising to learn that Johnny has become an unwitting victim of society’s rampant pessimism about everything from job security to political leaders? What can we give Johnny to believe in? What can we offer him as a long-term reward in return for his academic labors?

Schools can and do provide the skills Johnny will need for lifelong learning. Critical thinking and problem solving are two of them.

One of the goals of education is to train young minds to think - not what to think, mind you, but simply how to think. To be able to apply already learned information to new situations and ideas - to think critically and to solve problems.

It has never been education’s belief that in 12 short years it might provide a student with all the answers - with everything he or she would ever need to know. We’re far more realistic than that. Our aim is to prepare them for postsecondary education - whether it be academic, technical or life, by offering a firm foundation in the basics.

In a commentary on the times, schools now find themselves in the business of teaching conflict resolution, so that Johnny and Susie can learn to solve disagreements without resorting to mortal combat or packing a “Saturday night special.”

But what about Johnny? If it’s not the teacher, the system, or society causing Johnny to fail, then what is it?

Have Johnny’s parents failed Johnny?

By today’s standards, my Johnny is a lucky boy. He has two parents, two sisters, and one brother, and they have always lived together - an uninterrupted biological family - which eliminates the single-parent rationale.

OK, so where’s the problem?

“Johnny works hard on the farm,” his mother remarks by way of chalking up one on the plus side of her son’s slate. “He’s a good boy and he helps his father.” I nod in agreement; Johnny is a good boy. I ask Mom if the family encourages Johnny to finish his homework before he flops in front of the television for the evening. Mom says Johnny never has any homework. I tell Mom that Johnny’s blowing smoke and suggest she get in touch with his other teachers.

Mom shrugs. Says she does her best but she works long hours.

I ask Mom who Johnny’s friends are. Are they achievers or goof-offs? She’s not sure.

I mention peer pressure and the positive effects it can have on kids like Johnny. I explain how on more than one occasion I’ve seen persistent underachievers turned into acceptable scholars when they begin “hanging” with a different crowd or get all goofy in love with an honor student.

In fact, peer pressure is a most effective means of turning a teen around because he (or she) will do what it takes to “belong,” frequently without questioning the wisdom of following the crowd. Adolescence does not appear to be a time when objective decision making is emphasized. Glands so frequently seem to get in the way.

Well, what about Johnny?

Has Johnny failed Johnny?

Of course he has. But why?

There have been enough studies conducted on why Johnny and Susie are failing. Most all of them, I’m sure, have been carefully researched and painstakingly evaluated, but what about results? What do we do with all of these facts and figures? Where does education go from here?

Simple. We keep trying.

Educators know there’s no road map to an educational Utopia, no universal remedy to education’s ills, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to call in the scouts and abandon the exploration. Johnny deserves better than that.

Johnny deserves an education.

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