BORED OF EDUCATION
There are at least four levels at which many school systems are found to be sluggish, inefficient and seen to be lagging behind national averages.
So often, sheer boredom lurks in the lagging system which is damaging our educational objectives in many ways, It grinds out graduates who are poorly equipped to face the actual needs of the world they step into; it steadily looses skilled and experienced teachers to other occupational fields and discourages new talent from entering the teaching profession. At the very top we often find it is governed by men and women who see it as a mere appendage to their overall political intent. Often party biased and cared for by people who have only a slight idea of what is required of them, it also seems to make little different if they are “elected” or “selected”.
I would seem to be time to re-evaluate what is expected of members of the teaching profession, school management and maintenance and governing bodies, those who develop, plan and activate circular's at all levels and yes, of the students themselves, as well.
Weak system rely greatly on criticism of students and parents in the system as they get into trouble student are depicted as being especially undisciplined at home, as being slothful in their or being victims of TV or game-gear excess, of parental neglect. The first people to hit the fan when proposed undertakings at started are the teachers, rather than the kids. The teacher view changes as an increase of their work hours and intensity. They deride the plan from the start, or fulfill new requirements in a cursory manner for what ever time it takes to kill the whole thing.
There was a time when communities took great pride in and honored their teachers and alloted them a special place in community affairs, but that era has long since ceased to be valid. Teaching today is, to many, about the same as anyone taking a job at the local factory assembly line not yet farmed out to Mexico, or at the local poultry plucking plant. Young people are no longer even tempted to be interested in becoming a teacher. Salary scales have advanced steadily because one of the primary ways those bored of education deal with a crisis is to stand back and throw money at it.
If you live in an area where school board members are “elected”, you know how cursory voter's knowledge of those nominated can be. A few ads in the local paper, maybe a glitzy, one-time ad on TV, and that's about it. The elected board member may just as well have been appointed by the groups which placed his or her name in nomination and they are often the very ones who expect and receive anticipated results or else.
But, don't get me wrong. Don't run on ahead of me and see trouble where it does not, as yet, exist.
There are still good, functioning school boards and systems, but evidence seems to be piling up which tells us they may not be around much longer. Let's re-create the world of teaching as a strong, interesting field which can be inviting, challenging for the young. Present day standards of colleges teaching teachers to teach are dismal, at best – even difficult to find at all. Worse than that, “ed” courses of study are dull - they are, purposely dulled down to increased teacher-turnout. The dullness carries over over to make the students think of them a waste of both time and money. When you talk of ”education”, you are speaking of our own tomorrow. Let's make it a brighter time.
A.L.M. May 2, 2004 [c625wds]
