Mission Impossible: The Quest for Success in California's Schools

"Your mission teachers, should you decide to accept it, is to provide all students with a real opportunity to become educated regardless of the hurdles State and Local Operatives may put before you and your students."

Across the state of California, teachers and their students are finally exhaling now that testing has been completed. However, most teachers still have a gnawing feeling in the pit of their stomach. This feeling stems from wondering how well their students scored on the Standardized Tests.

California teachers and some of their students face the virtually impossible task of anti-biased education daily. The task has been made more difficult because of the attitudes of some politicians and administrators.
Some examples of how these attitudes are exemplified at the State and Local level that affect students would include Prop 227, lack of minority staff members, and allocation of district resources.

The mission for some students and their teachers is a difficult one. How do educators ensure that all of our students are receiving real opportunities to educate themselves? It seems that teachers seldom get a lot of support in this area from certain politicians or administrators. The lack of support can sometimes be very overt and can lead to other problems that may be somewhat covert in nature.

One overt directive that can and has led to many problems would be Prop 227. The passage of 227 has eliminated many of the bilingual programs needed in order to ensure that all of our students are given a fair opportunity to gain an education. Prop 227 has lead to other forms of elimination as well. Because some of the bilingual programs are eliminated, there are students in mainstream classes that suffer from serious language barriers and are not receiving assistance. They are falling behind and in some cases being labeled as remedial. They are not being given an opportunity to succeed. As a result many of these students give up on themselves. This is only one of the many tragedies of the seemingly impossible mission.

Many of the students who are labeled are minorities. They need to have people who they feel they can talk to and look up to as role models. Yet, in many of our districts, the staff is made up of primarily Caucasians. This would not pose a problem were it not for the fact that many of the people who label these students are Caucasians. There is a need to have more diversity on staffs if society is truly are serious about helping all students. Diversity amongst staff members not only helps with an understanding of many of the issues that arise in a diverse school, but gives students examples of people who have become successful. Without role models, many students will not be able to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Allocation of District resources often creates a further separation between students. In many districts, schools utilize a laptop program for many of their students. However, in many cases, the students in the program are the ones whose families can afford to buy the computers. The students who truly need the program are the ones who cannot afford the computers. There are not reliable computers available to them so their progress is further impeded. In many schools, programs such as these have created a split amongst the student body of the "haves" and the "have-nots". Districts need to get their priorities in order and make available reliable resource tools to all of their students.

These are just a few of the examples of how some students can be excluded from real opportunities for educational success. Not only are some students not given real opportunity for success but teachers are held accountable regardless of the support afforded to them. The real problem with all of this is that many of the decisions impacting teachers and students are made by people who have no clue of what it takes to be successful within the walls of a classroom.

"Teachers-as usual, should you or any of the members of your team (students) fail to accomplish your mission, you will be disavowed regardless of obstacles put before you. Good Luck!"