Before I quit work to be a stay-at-home mom/housewife, I was a teacher. I taught first grade at an elementary school in the Poly area of Fort Worth.
My school was just blocks from the intersection of I-35 and Rosedale, which during the 1990s, was the murder capital of the United States.
Since I've stopped working and am mostly focused on parenting, my eyes have been opened to just how wide the achievement gap is. Claire, almost four, knows more about the world, life, and even school subjects, than many of my first graders did.
I always knew that my students were behind those at the prosperous Tanglewood Elementary, but I never realized how much. When I had Paul and Claire was two, I started noticing. It makes me sad for those less fortunate children in our own city who start out behind and will probably spend their lives catching up.
Claire has been writing her name for almost a year now. She can count to 100 if the numbers are in front of her, or to 30 if she's counting aloud without looking. She knows the insect life-cycle and what a plant needs to grow. She adsorbs anything you teach her and retains whatever goes into her head. (This is not so good when I want her to forget things.)
She is a sponge of information, and whenever I'm teaching her and am amazed at her knowledge, (she read a small book today.) I can't help but feel a little sad for the children whose mothers have to work two jobs to put food on the table and who don't have a computer to print off storybooks or the time to even read to their children.
I know that the majority of teachers are giving above and beyond to teach their students everything they can. I know that the majority of parents do the best they can for their kids and only want them to succeed. I also know that the achievement gap is real. I don't know the answer. Some kids were born to succeed, and some to fail. I believe part of that is just the way the world works. Life just isn't fair.
Here's a place where Sarah writes what's on her heart and mind for whomever will read it. Sometimes it's hilarious, sometimes it's little pieces of life that I'm grateful for. Enjoy!
making light of the situation, there are some great people out there that came from crap and succeeded. i am always amazed at their life cycle because i think...how are they able to do that without a support system? sad thing, there are alot of kids out there that have all the opportunities but their parents fail on giving the tlc and attention that kiddos need. it burns me out when i see a soccermom on her cell scheduling her nail/massage/yoga/tanning/life coach appts while her child screams attention.
ReplyDeleteI certain don't know the answer, either. I do know what isn't the answer, though. SOAPBOX ALERT! The answer is not...
ReplyDelete1. Putting 25 kindergarteners or first graders into a room with one teacher and no aid and expecting the children to sit, listen and learn.
2. Testing children on basic skills then taking money away from the schools, teachers and principals who do not succeed on those tests.
3. Taking the best and brightest out of schools (students and teachers) and sending them to charter schools, special interest programs or private schools, leaving the least motivated and lowest performing to flounder alone.
4. Putting businessmen who know nothing about educational pedagogy into leadership positions in those schools and expecting them to know how a third grader learns.
5. Expecting teachers who have to worry about clothing, feeding and cleaning the children in their classrooms to accomplish the same things that are accomplished in classrooms where children come well dressed, well clothed and smelling sweet.
I've been very disappointed with Obama's approach to education. I had hoped he could cut through the crap that has floated around in educationland for the past several years, but alas, that does not seem the case. Prayers continue.
Hey Sarah, why don't you run for State Schoolboard?