I was floored when I heard that a solution to school shootings is arming trained teachers to now be gunslingers. I mean how much more can we pile on our educators until they break. How many more seminars can we ask them to attend, how many more processes can we ask them to learn and how much more teaching for tests can we request?
The solution of arming our teachers in response to school shootings should not come as a surprise. As a nation we have pretty much blamed every social problem on teachers while expecting schools to be the solution for everything from unemployment to teen pregnancy to the war on drugs and lazy kids. Next thing you know they will be punished for global warming and traffic that doesn’t move. Of course, all of this is done while cutting their funding and screaming at them as being unmotivated and selfish when they demand to be paid their real worth. Teachers have become the solution, scapegoat, and sacrificial lamb rolled into one.
Our education system isn’t doing so well. America’s students continue to perform poorly on standardized tests in comparison with the students of other countries across the globe. America’s education system hasn’t completely failed, but it is failing.
We’re on a slippery slope with our only notable claim being that our country has more college educated kids than any other country. While that’s definitely a good thing, the bar is being set lower and lower. We’re on a race to the bottom, which is unacceptable for a nation that believes itself to be a world leader.
As our education system has noticeably begun failing our students, many people have put the blame squarely on teachers. On both state and national levels, the Government has begun blaming teachers by holding them accountable to unreasonable testing and grade metrics although there are numerous other problems that exist. We must stop blaming teachers for our failing education system. They shouldn’t be the central focus of blame. So let’s be honest…
1) It’s the System
The K-12 public education system is a big business, and anyone who’s worked for a big business knows that the workers are constantly the ones to blame, although it’s the executives responsible for making the decisions that determine success or failure. The workers bee’s are merely doing what they’re told. In the education system, teachers –plain and simple are the workers. It is as absurd to blame them for the failure of our education system as it is to blame employees for the failure of a business. The fault lies at the top where the decisions that truly make the biggest impact are being made. This includes decisions that affect budgets, activities, teaching support, technological investments, etc.
2) It’s the Students
Some kids just aren’t cut out for school. It doesn’t matter how good of a teacher they have or how much they’re inspired or motivated by their parents. Some kids are just poor students who don’t care. I hate to say it – Especially since my The Student Success Project – tries to help these kids, but the truth is the truth.
3) It’s the Parents
Parents are the first line of defense and offense. They have a responsibility for building an environment where learning and education is not just enforced but made enjoyable. It’s not enough to simply send your kids off to school and hope the teacher inspires them to care about their future. This is your job as well.
4) It’s Society
I’m increasingly becoming convinced that our society doesn’t value education, intellect, or higher thinking. As a society we’ve decided and accepted a school system that houses children in factory facilities eight hours a day where they’re each stamped out like clones. One after another they are each thrown into the world with the same attributes. What our school system and our society needs to push is individualism. We cannot continue building clones anymore!
5) Keep It Up and No One Will Teach
We’re demonizing teachers so badly that eventually, classrooms will be without teachers, because no one will be inspired to teach. Would that encourage you to continue to stay in your field? Furthermore, how would that impact the next generation of people in your field? This is what’s happening in teaching. Who wants to deal with the headache of students, parents, and the government constantly telling them they’re not good enough?
6) Maybe Our Expectations are Too High
Everyone thinks their kids are brilliant. Every kid isn’t equipped to be an “A” student. Yes folks, most are average students. That means that sometimes kids will get “B’s” and “C’s”. But what do most parents say when their kids come home with these grades? They insinuate that they’re not good enough or somehow didn’t try hard enough. This is nonsense and this approach permanently ruins children’s self-esteem and sense of self-worth.
The failure of our education system can’t be blamed on one group of individuals. The blame must be placed on all of us. However, if we each do our part to make things better, then and only then will our education system improve. And when that happens, we can once and for all stop blaming teachers for everything wrong in the world.
This column is by Ritchie Lucas, Founder of The Student Success Project and Think Factory Marketing. He can be reached at 305-788-4105 or via email at ritchie@thinkfactory.com and on Facebook and You Tube as The Student Success Project.
