The (scary) teacher or the system?

I first knew of my dissatisfaction with public school at the "mature" age of eight. My mom and I attended a parent-teacher conference one evening to discuss an alleged wrongdoing, and I was both indignant (how naive I was) and scared.

Feeling small in my short chair, mom (who I thought was extraordinarily tall) took her position next to me as concerned parent, but also as comforter; and together we sat across a moon-shaped table from my teacher. Turning toward my mom, the teacher told her I lied (which wouldn’t be that hard to believe) about completing a reading assignment.

Mom knew I had finished the homework, and defended me.

To our shock, the teacher then accused mom of lying.

I decided that day that something was wrong with the teacher.

Looking back, I’m sure the teacher knew my mom was young and economically disadvantaged. Subsequently, she assumed Mom didn’t care about my education.

Today, I realize my second-grade self was wrong. The teacher isn’t to blame as much as a faulty system.

While I would argue that the Texas education system has its strong points, the unfortunate truth is that it is failing our kids. This is why I have created this blog; as a forum on how to strengthen what works and improve the weaknesses.

I said “our kids” but to be honest I have none – yet. Why then would a 22-year-old journalist with virtually no stake in public schools care about this issue?

I care because it’s possible to see how these weaknesses are contributing to a depressing trend (more on that in a minute).

Please understand that public education benefited me in many ways. I had several inspiring teachers; my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Dillon, helped me earn commended on my math TAAS test through diligent tutoring. Mrs. Lowry, my middle school history teacher, talked me through an awkward adolescence and taught my class what a teacher who loves teaching – and especially loves students – can accomplish. (To her credit, she also shared a lot of candy.)

Unfortunately, devoted teachers such as these can’t fix the problems alone. Teachers face many obstacles, such as poorly executed standardized testing, favoritism toward athletic excellence and economically- and time-challenged parents.

These obstacles, and others, contribute to a 30 to 40 percent drop out rate in the United States, according to the Milton and RoseFriedman Foundation.

At this rate, close to half of our population will struggle to read, write, budget or hold a job, among a number of other essential skills. Are overwhelmed teachers, discouraged students or overworked parents to blame? Or is the system at the core of this offense?

For good teachers’ care to be most effective, change is needed.

Consequently a former superintendent of Dallas ISD, Linus Wright, recently published some interesting ideas on restructuring Texas’ education system. These ideas include early childhood education, more rigorous teacher training and exploring proper compensation and benefits for teachers, as compared to the private sector.

I plan to discuss the pros and cons of Wright’s 13-point plan during the next thirteen weeks. Expect, around Fridays, thoughts on extending the school year, early childhood education and even eliminating the senior year of high school, (yes, that does mean cutting a whole year of football.)

Check back often, as I’ll post on other topics, as well.

Naturally, the purpose of blogging is to solicit comments – after all, the only way we can improve what doesn’t work is to speak up.