Are the Schools Failing Our Students?

A young boy, at the age of 14, didn't know what a noun was. When I asked him if a boy was a noun or a verb, he stated that it was a young man. After going back and forth with this young lad, I began to figure out that he didn't know what subject/predicates were, or how to form a complete sentence. This had me wondering if the schools just passed him through the system, or if he wasn't a fast learner, thus still being passed through the system.

How often do we enter a school or educational institution and recognize how the children are being taught. By saying this, I mean what are the children being taught, if not the basic English, Arithmetic, and History? I've walked through halls of schools as a staff writer for a local newspaper and nearly lost my breakfast at how the teachers are not taking time with the students. Don't get me wrong, there are some teachers who are there to help build characters out of these children, but the majority of them, just enter a classroom, put an assignment on the board and proceed with their personal lives, outside of educating our youth.

I have witnessed first hand how some children return home from school with homework, and they need even more help because the teacher didn't explain it to them. The teachers' responsibilities are to make sure that the student not only knows what they are learning, but to be able to understand it as well. Why send homework home that has not been explained to the students? And what ever happened to having a serious affiliation with the student's personal life?

I know it has come to be a hard struggle to get parents involved with the students studies, but it takes a joint effort to ensure that the student/child is getting the best educational experience. It's so often that I see a child who does not receive any education at home, or in school; does this say something bad about that child? It shouldn't, because if a child is having problems, it's the responsibility of the school's faculty to notice , and take action; maybe have a conference with the student and its parents/guardian;, make special assignments for the student to help bring them up to pace with the entire class, and last but not least take the necessary actions to see if the child has any learning disabilities. Either way, there is help out here for our children, but it will take more than a doctor to diagnose what problems a child may/may not have.

If the schools could try to keep a mandated observance of the progress of each student individually, then maybe there would be room for a chance to get these students who need that extra help, the tools needed to get them on the right track. Keep records of what classes/lessons they are doing good in, and the ones they are not doing so good in; make mandated parent/teacher conferences, which will ensure parent participation; and reward the students when you know that they are trying their best! Motivation and Support never hurt anyone, but it sure has helped many!!! And lastly, love the children, regardless of any misguided actions/traits that they have , and pay more attention to them, they have a lot to say! And as many questions!