Thursday, October 19, 2006
Tough Times!
Kids are going through tough times these days! We thought we had it hard when we were in school, but kids today are going through all sorts of stresses we never dreamed about when we were in their shoes. Incredible school safety concerns, No Child Left Behind mandates, MCAS, multiple assessment tests, non-supportive home/parent environments (for some), stressed out teachers and administrators trying to keep their focus on educating the “whole child” while trying to keep their schools from being labeled “underperforming”. Then after the kids get through the local school challenges, they get the opportunity for a college education that will likely leave them with huge loans after they graduate. These are all extreme challenges for the kids, and they deserve our support, encouragement and congratulations for succeeding in spite of it all. The teachers and the school administrators will tell you that one of the biggest challenges they face is the non-supportive and/or very low-income environments many of the kids are coming from. There’s only just so much the school system can do – there is nothing more important than the full support and encouragement from the parent(s). What do you think about this? And how can we get the parents more involved with their children’s education?
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2 comments:
Part of the problem, as I see it, is the fact that babies are having babies. When a 14 year old freshman at Drury has a 28 year old mother or father, my belief is that the discipline, the family values, and the work ethic have not been instilled in these children. Younger parents either "don't have the time" or just don't care enough to become involved in their children's social and academic lives.
I agree Andy. And the number of high school students getting pregnant is more than most of the public realizes. It's a serious issue in our high school. Another part of the problem is single parents - a lot of them here in North Adams. Not that single parents don't care about their kids, but it's a lot harder to raise a child on your own, and it freqeuntly is compounded by low income issues.
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