Education

It's bad enough when students cheat, but now teachers? This strikes me as petty and seems like a real administrative problem here. We've got the government pressing for better scores or schools will be closed so we have principals telling teachers to get their kids better prepared and we have kids wondering what it's all about.



It seems that if we have to cheat to make our children look good, we have serious problems that go way beyond what the politicians are talking about. I don't claim to know how to fix this. I appreciate all the "extras" that my high school had. The computer classes, art, extra sports, etc. I think schools need these for the kids. But, if we're not even succeeding in teaching children how to read, write, and do math then what is the point of having them learn archery? "Oh Billy, you can't read? You got a 500 on your SAT? Well, let's go to the gym and teach you the rules of dodgeball."



Is it just me or is there a problem? When I was in grade school (and it wasn't that long ago), if you couldn't get your work done, you didn't get to go to recess. You stayed in and learned how to fix your mistakes and you caught up with the rest of the class. Those days seem to be long gone.



There is no one person or group of persons to blame for this. Parents increasingly don't make time to be with their children, instead allowing TV and other more noble (but all too time consuming for some kids) endeavors like sports or after school activities. Teachers either don't care or feel overwhelmed (I've met both in my days) and are constantly told by the courts and ultra leftist groups that any discipline in the class room is a violation of the child's civil rights. Administrators have tried throwing money at the problem and found it doesn't work, now they don't know what to do. And the kids are caught in the middle, years of opportunity squandered because no one could figure out what to do with them or their problems. And this next generation is the one that will be hurt the most by this. Relativism, apathy, greed, and the blame game are weapons that work against our nation's future but these seem to be the elements most in abundance in our education system.