A public apology to public school students
I received this e-mail today from a regular Get Schooled reader and thought it was worth sharing.
Maureen, I have been an avid reader and occasional contributor to your blog for quite some time. Recently, the tone of the bloggers has become quite unsettling to me. It appears that many of your readers have taken an “us vs. them” mentality in the discussion of public education. Although anger and frustration surrounding educational issues are understandable with a weak economy and an apparent lack of leadership in the political and educational arenas, there is no reason to shortchange the people for whom the educational system was established. I am, of course, talking about the students. With that in mind, please allow me to share this letter to the students in public school systems. Feel free to use the letter as you wish. Erase it. Print it out and burn it. Whatever you want to do with it is all right by me. I feel better just having written it.
Dear Students,
I am writing to apologize to you for the failure of my generation to give you adequate preparation for life beyond high school. Unfortunately, there are many well meaning, but misguided, adults who have handicapped you in your quest for a meaningful and productive life. Your parents, teachers, administrators, and political representatives have let you down. They have decided that you are simply not worth the effort it takes to prepare you for the future. Please do not take offense to this; as I stated earlier, they did mean well, but they forgot to put you and your needs first when it came to your education. I will address the failures of each group individually in the following paragraphs, but please accept this blanket apology for all concerned as the heartfelt sentiment it is.I have opted to structure this apology according to the level of importance each of these groups holds in your life, so, obviously, your parents must come first. These are the people upon whom you rely for the most basic of human needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. They are also very instrumental in providing moral guidance and civic awareness. Unfortunately, many of them have fallen short in some (if not all) of these responsibilities. They have delegated these responsibilities to the state. They have failed to provide you with adequate nutrition, warm clothing, and safe housing. They rely on programs such as Aid for Dependent Children to do what they fail to do. Furthermore, they do not provide good examples of parenting skills for you to follow. Unfortunately, decades of research has shown that you will also fall victim to the trap of dependence on the state when you have children. By the example they are setting, they are promoting the same inadequacies in basic human needs for their own grandchildren.
Many of your parents do not actively participate in their communities. Choosing instead, to ignore their responsibility to elect the officials who represent them and make policies which have a direct impact on your lives. They make inadequate excuses for this behavior such as “It doesn’t matter who wins; they are all crooks anyway” and “I’m just not interested in that stuff.” Their lack of participation will guarantee that your needs will not be considered by those elected.
As a final insult to you, many of your parents will not teach you right from wrong. You will grow up thinking that anything is all right as long as one does not get caught, or, if caught, does not get punished. Your parents are the most important adults in your lives and many of them have failed you, and for that, I offer apologies from my generation.
Your teachers have failed you as well. Many of them have become complacent in their jobs. They no longer fulfill their responsibility to educate you, but have chosen to provide you with an easy way out. They do not wish to “rock the boat” when it comes to your education. They refuse to demand excellence from you in the classroom for fear of reprimand or losing their paychecks. They believe it is far better to maintain the status quo than to be seen as one who challenges his or her superiors, so they let you slide by. Thus assuring that you will be unable to compete academically with your counterparts in the global economy. Many of them simply do not care whether you gain any skills under their tutelage and, for this, I apologize on their behalf.
The administrators at your schools have also let you down. Many of them have forgotten their responsibility to support you and your teachers. They have decided to play political games with your education. Some have practiced dishonesty in representing your needs to their superiors which assures that those needs will not be met. Many have practiced nepotism at your expense: promoting relatives or unqualified friends to work as their underlings and further impairing your educational opportunities. Some have even misappropriated funds provided for learning materials, such as textbooks. For their failures, I apologize to you.
Finally, your elected officials have failed you. They have failed to provide adequate compensation for those people in the educational community who really do care about your future. They have failed to hold your parents, teachers, and administrators responsible for their misdeeds and enact legislation which would give you an “adequate education” as mandated in many government documents including the constitution of the state of Georgia. They have eliminated restrictions on the number of students in class. They have diverted tax money from your education. Many of them have refused to allow their children to attend school with you, opting to send them to private schools instead. This will give their children large advantage over you when you leave high school. They do not have a vested interest in your success, and, for that, I apologize on their behalf.
Students, I wish you well. I know you are capable of great things in spite of the failures of these adults. You have my apologies but not my sympathy. Sympathy breeds resignation to one’s current circumstance, and that is unacceptable! You must rise above the circumstances forced upon you! There is no other choice for your survival! And you will not only survive but excel despite these failures and frustrations! Good luck to you, and I look forward to the remarkable achievements you will make during your lifetimes
Signed, Fred
PS. If I have offended any adult who reads this letter, please be aware that there were no absolutes used in its composition. I opted to use the words ”many” and “some” rather than “all” or “every.” Therefore, if you are offended, you must be one of those discussed in its body.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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84 comments Add your comment
William Casey
February 24th, 2011
11:53 am
Make that “slept.” BTW- I spoke with my son at Georgia Southern last night about the new rules for the full HOPE Scholarship. Luckily for us, he has a 3.7 GPA. He now knows that his efforts must be ramped-up. His college fund is a substantial but limited resource.
Cobb Teacher 2
February 24th, 2011
12:09 pm
@ Mom who Disagrees: Your response was an excellent one. I’m curious to know, though, what was mediocre about the school system. It sounds like it served your family well. What more could the schools have done for your children?
Top School
February 24th, 2011
12:20 pm
An how should you take action now…in this moment?
Leave those Administrators and APS Board members in positions of authority to make additional decisions.
Shame Shame Shame on the ADULTS AND POLITICANS that do nothing in the process of demanding excellence.
They KNOW UNETHICAL CORRUPT LEADERSHIP IS IN CHARGE…and they continue to turn a blind eye.
Do not condemn APS for not ADDRESSING the issues with TAMARA COTMAN for a mere two months…When the APS Board, PSC, OIR, POLITICIANS and Parents have ignored the reports sent to them about APS issues for the last 10 YEARS.
http://www.TopPublicSchoolCorruptionAtlanta.com
Dan Wagner
February 24th, 2011
12:22 pm
I don’t dispute the general validity of the letter; it’s good. But it seems to assume that since individual irresponsibility at all levels is the key problem, it can be fixed by individuals at all levels becoming responsible. I don’t agree that that would or can happen. The system itself of government control, funding, regulation, etc, is the overarching problem that naturally leads to corruption, laziness, etc, at all levels.
I believe public education (aka “government schools”) should be eliminated. Privatization is not an automatic solution; I am not so naive as to assume that. But by removing the multiple levels of remotely distant control and consequent ease of blame-shifting, it *allows* for individual responsibility (parents, teachers, and administrators) to become more obvious and important. More importantly, it’s the right thing, the American thing, the way of freedom!
School Daze
February 24th, 2011
12:36 pm
“Fred” you sound like someone who thinks with your heart and hormones more than your brain. This kind of hand-wringing acquiescence is unproductive. Use your energy to do something positive that might bring about change, like calling your school board member or state legislator.
Really amazed
February 24th, 2011
1:06 pm
To keep my children in challenging private school, possibly having a lower GPA because extremely hard, but learning something or transfer to local public high school so little Johnie can get a HOPE scholarship without truly trying due to grade inflation, extra pts. for showing up to school in all classes on exam day, 100% just for turning in homework??? Well guess I’ll have to go with the truly learning something and focus on a truly deserved, well rounded education that taught him something. Maybe he will get the HOPE or not but at least he will have learned. I couldn’t agree with this article more. I am already hearing parents telling students just take easier classes for the next two years to get the HOPE. This is very, very sad. Parents telling their children, take the easier way out! WOW! Then we wonder why little Johnnie and Susie are still living at home w/mom and dad at the age of 40.
Momof2
February 24th, 2011
1:07 pm
This wasn’t an apology – it was an accusation. So, Fred, in which of those groups do you belong? It’s pretty easy to come up with something like this, can you come up with something constructive?
chuck
February 24th, 2011
1:13 pm
Dan Wagner,
To me, your “solution” is to throw the baby out with the bath water. Public education is NOT the problem, though it HAS PROBLEMS. What do you think would be accomplished by shutting down public education? We would certainly be able to replace it for SOME CHILDREN, but we would lose at least 2 generations of kids before we come up with a suitable replacement.
It’s funny to me that my fellow Republicans have failed to think these things through. We have about 45,000 teachers. Of those, probably fewew than 2000 would fall into the category of “poor teacher”. I think the teachers in most schools are doing everything they can do to help their kids succeed. I would probably agree that education has become too political. Too many administrators are working harder to make a name for themselves than they are to improve schools. Teachers are getting pressed from every side.
There are efforts to cut our pay, paperwork has increased exponentially over the past 5 years, our benefits have been cut and nothing we do is ever good enough, even though we have very little control of what goes on in our students lives. I can tell you now that I am not going to work for minimum wage. I have put too much time and effort into becoming a professional to be treated like crap by people who don’t know ANYTHING about what it takes to educate a child.
The net result of all of this hand wringing will be to drive good teachers (most of whom have marketable skills) out of the profession and leave kids with those that can’t do anything else. Remember that you get what you pay for.
commoncents
February 24th, 2011
1:25 pm
cobb teacher 2: I responded to you (and others) on the teachers…babysitters blog. Sorry for the late response
Mom who disagrees
February 24th, 2011
1:47 pm
Cobb teacher 2:
By mediocre, I mean our system spends very little per student, our average test scores on all standardized tests are very poor (less than 1000 avg on SAT), only one of our high schools made AYP last year, only one middle school made AYP, very high free and reduced lunch rates, all of our buildings are old and in need of repair, very few computers in the buildings, etc. But my point (as I think you saw) was that NONE of that mattered. My kids teachers were there to teach, my kids were there to learn, and I was there to support both–together we all did a great job! EVEN WITH limited resources.
V for Vendetta
February 24th, 2011
2:10 pm
Chuck,
I’m an atheist. I generously give to charities of my choosing and teach my children that sharing and helping others is in their best interest. Ayn Rand called it “rational selfishness.”
If I want to be told how to live and think, I’ll go to church. For some silly reason, I think I can lead an extraordinary life without god. Who knew?
Tad Jackson
February 24th, 2011
2:21 pm
You really don’t need much some days. Consider a plain room and some desks and all the kids have a textbook and a teacher that makes the material interesting, not by teaching necessarily, but by having a good conversation with his or her students about what’s in the textbook and out of it. There’s the best agreement in education right there … in any classroom … students who like to learn and a teacher who cares and won’t give up on them. Maybe a couple of posters. Okay. Fine.
And, Chuck, there’s no religion in the best and right classrooms. My friend, it’s called magic. I hope that doesn’t freak you out, too.
http://www.adixiediary.com
jarvis
February 24th, 2011
3:21 pm
You should have burned it.
Mom in the City
February 24th, 2011
3:31 pm
@Momwhodisagrees is right that resources in public schools are limited. Those resources must travel through many layers of bureacracy to reach the schools, the classrooms and finally the students.
Unfortunately, when the funds get there (including funds raised by community efforts through PTAs, neighborhood support groups, property taxes and Title I funds or grants), the resources must be allocated. That is where the apology should begin. The parents who are in the know – “know” the value of their and their child’s sucking up to administrators and teachers (if teachers adore you/your child, they’ll get picked for important programs even if there may be a better qualified student in the class); the value of asking in the “right” way (sometimes nicely, something not…some teachers fear these Alpha moms because many of them have law degrees and will sue) to get what they need (and usually they’ll take straight from a lower-incomed kid so they don’t have to use their monthly country club dues on school things); the value of first-in-line matters (they can always be first in line because they don’t work in a 8-6 job); the value of picking the right “clique” of moms to hang out with (”mean girls” start in high school but continue to the old folks home and they’ll ruin anyone’s reputation who dares question them);….the list goes on. They know how to navigate the system to ensure that THEIR CHILDREN get the best teachers; and their children’s extracurricular activities get the best funding and school acclaim. Most parents (mostly ones who work) don’t understand the game that is being played.
The value-added moms always act first in public school to protect and promote their children and their self-interested group of friends and only dribble the leftovers to those children in the lower economic class, the wrong mommy-social group or whose parents that work and are unaware of the game. They will do this without missing a beat in repeating “We’re here for the children.”
These are the parents that act like they support public school education, but their ACTIONS show they are trying to get a private school education on the public school dime for their kid. Their actions ruin it for many public school children on so many levels. They need to apologize for pretending to be public school supporters and then head on over to private school where I hope the private school moms outsmart them at their own game.
chuck
February 24th, 2011
3:49 pm
Tad, I didn’t say anything about having religion in the classroom. What I said was that PARENTS need to take their kids to church.
V, I understand your point of view. I just think that you are going down the wrong path. Just my opinion. You are free to raise your children however you wish. In my opinion though, that is part of the reason for the problems we have with kids today.
chuck
February 24th, 2011
3:51 pm
Mom who disagrees,
If YOUR KIDS, got everything they needed to excel, how is the SYSTEM mediocre? Wouldn’t that more likely mean that the other PARENTS were mediocre?
Mom who disagrees
February 24th, 2011
4:48 pm
chuck
If you go back and read my original post, you will see that was precisely my point. The system was “mediocre” by all MEASURABLE standards, but MY kids did very well–in fact they excelled–because we took advantage of the limited resources the system offered.
That is why I say, teachers and school admins should NOT apologize. If parents and kids make the most of what is availalbe, they will get an education and be fine–but if they sit passively, make little or no effort toward their own learning, and expect their school systems to somehow magically educate them, they will always walk away disappointed!
No apologies are needed here–I dislike the whole idea of it. If our children were in one of the many countries where education is a rare privilige reserved for the wealthy, they would fall all over themselves for the opportunities kids in Georgia enjoy and completely DISREGARD every single day.
Mom who disagrees
February 24th, 2011
4:50 pm
Also Chuck–please note in my original post I said that I was sure I could have found a “better” school for my kids, but at that school the teachers and admin would be very similar to ones my kids already experienced, but the PARENTS and STUDENTS would be different. So we are making the point–I think you just missed my first post.
Cobb Teacher 2
February 24th, 2011
4:53 pm
@Mom who disagrees: Your comments prove that we don’t need the latest and greatest in order to educate students. I think most of my parents would fall into your category, despite being a Title I school. I’ve always felt that if I do my best every day, keep the lines of communication open with parents, and and focus on teaching instead of all the outside garbage, things will work out.
Cobb Teacher 2
February 24th, 2011
4:56 pm
@Mom: And your comments about education being a privilige in other countires is so true. I try to make my students and my own child aware of just how great they have it. Such an important lesson.
Ole Guy
February 24th, 2011
6:23 pm
Bill, that ad-hoc frenzied approach was replaced, around the late 50s, in response to the Soviet threat initiated by Sputnik. Leaders from a broad spectrum of industry, science, education, and National Defense saw to it that youth (my generation) would be well-educated in the disciplines of math, science, and language. At some point, probably around the time of the entry of the pc gods onto the platform of public discourse, everything was allowed to lapse into mediocrity. The “frenzy” of HAVING to learn stuff that, quite frankly, was not too much fun, was replaced by the “whatever is fun” methods of preparing generations completely strange to the concept of discipline. The “task at hand”, of the 41/45 time frame was a task met by the tempering brought forth by the Great Depression, a time when youth learned how to adapt, adjust, and function.
I, for one, would favor a return to a period of “measured deprivation”, for both youth and adults, combined with personal codes of enforced responsibility and accountability. Anything else is crap!.
Lee
February 24th, 2011
8:04 pm
Hell, while we’re at it, might as well apologize for the impending Social Security meltdown, for allowing our country to be invaded by hordes of third world aliens, for allowing our politicians to spend this country into bankrupcy, for allowing big business to ship our jobs overseas, and for electing anybody named Bush or Obama as president.
That apology and a couple of bucks will buy a Coke (used to be 25 cents when I was your age). Sucks to be you. Now go do your homework….
Jack
February 24th, 2011
8:08 pm
Dear Fled. I am sorry you did not like Georgia. I suspect you you had no preconceived notions about Georgians and came in with an open mind. I like you have lived in other parts of the country and found myself pleasantly surprised by what I found in Georgia. On behalf of my adopted state may I say excuse us if we disappointed you and come by for a glass of ice tea and a good BBQ sandwich next time you are in town. We will try to have the courtesy to ignore your arrogance and snotty attitude. But I doubt we will leave the light on.
Mom of Struggling Math Student
February 24th, 2011
8:19 pm
My son is currently in the 9th grade. He has been struggling with this farce called math all year. “He can go to tutoring”, has been the suggestion all year–only all the tutoring classes are FULL! He has always been a solid A/B student–suddenly a “D” in math is something to be excited about. In our County, the teachers admit they “don’t know how to teach it”. With the new purposed math plans, my son will still FAIL despite working as hard as he can. “Millions” spent for training and textbooks…..another joke. He hasn’t had a textbook in THREE YEARS! Despite the fact that I was a Honor’s Graduate (yes, in 1974), I can’t help him. I can get the right answers, but “that’s not the way the teacher does it!” Let’s teach these kids in a way that makes them successful in everyday life. Not every student in Georgia wants to be or can be an engineer. Stop punishing the majority for the benefit of the elite!
V for Vendetta
February 25th, 2011
9:27 am
chuck,
And what problem would my well-behaved polite children have without going to church? Just wondering what it is they are missing because I sure as heck can’t put a finger on it.
Just A Teacher
February 25th, 2011
9:32 am
I think the whole point of the letter was to remind everyone who is at risk here. There are students attending public schools every day who deserve a solid education, and they are not going to get another chance. This is it for them, and the author is very clear that they are not having their needs met. We’ve got to take care of the kids today if we want them to take care of us tomorrow! Read “A Student’s Response” and tell me that they don’t know what is going on and who gives a damn about them.
j4a
February 25th, 2011
5:22 pm
How dare you tell children that because their families are poor that they will not overcome poverty themselves ? How dare you tell children that their educational entities have let them down by holding children to lowered standards because they want to receive a paycheck?
Do you realize that the most successful people ( in every specialty, such as literary, scientist, inventors, presidents…) through out human history came from very meager means? It is of my opinion that you believe that only the rich are of superior mind. Give me a break.
I have a completely opposite view from yourself, I am an optimist.
I abhor pessimist who spout doom and gloom and sway our children with their negative attitudes. All the wealth in the world can’t buy you common sense, morals, ethics, good parenting skills, or good teacher skills. Enough of the negativity already, OK? I am shocked at those on here that buy into this negative, pessimist point of view. I am old school and believe in encouragement and positive thinking. Who are you? Can you please state your real identity? Don’t hide behind a written pessimistic opinion. i want to know who you are. Really!
MrLiberty
February 25th, 2011
6:45 pm
The only people letting children down are their parents. Not only do they actually believe that a government run school system will actually provide a quality education for them, but then they have the nerve to imprison them there for 12 years rather than taking the parental responsiblity for their education they should be.
If this person wants to personally appologize, go for it. I certainly have no appologies for my efforts to promote the end of government run education and the reestablishment of a truly competitive free market in education.
This is an US versus THEM argument. Those who pay and receive nothing are being STOLEN from and the rest who support the status quo are either doing the stealing, voting for the stealing, or benefitting directly from the theft.
There is plenty of blame to go aroud, but it all centers on the failure of americans to support the ONLY system that has ever delivered quality goods and services – the Free Market. Americans should be ashamed of their abandonment of this great mechanism of social progress.
just saying
February 25th, 2011
8:01 pm
High school is such a militant experience these days– however I would not blame the teachers for this. Just how I, as a student, had a certain level of apathy due to what I went through during my life in those four years, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE being an underpaid, under-appreciated teacher who is terrified every day that they may be laid off, does not have the proper technology, supplies, and resources to provide an engaging, interesting learning environment. If anything, I have utmost respect for public school teachers and I empathize with them from the student perspective. I would see teachers cry in high school because they could not contain their frustration with the k-12 systems in Georgia. All they want to do is see us succeed, but I don’t blame them for not being extremely vocal about the educational crisis, but they NEED TO BE. THE STUDENT BODY AND THE FACULTY, ALONG WITH THE HARD WORKING STAFF ARE ALL FIGHTING THE SAME WAR ON EDUCATION! It would be wonderful to see these three forces combine, I wish I knew what to say to make teachers in the public school systems feel comfortable enough to voice their opinions and tell their stories, and no longer fear claiming their own statements.
Top School
February 25th, 2011
8:44 pm
The “Dirty Hands” in this cesspool of corruption are deep rooted throughout the APS Administration. Those on the NORTHSIDE are not immune to the bully tactics used to hustle their vigilante style of management. These “sick administrators” are brainstorming with the Northside connected behind closed doors to plot the next cover-up. And… now the truth has surfaced.
http://www.TopPublicSchoolCorruptionAtlanta.com
Top School
February 26th, 2011
7:07 pm
Currently, APS Administration and the APS Board have “lost their legitimacy to lead”
This weekly freak show needs to end.
http://www.TopPublicSchoolCorruptionAtlanta.com
northatlantateacher
February 27th, 2011
12:48 pm
Cobb Teacher 2: “I’ve always felt that if I do my best every day, keep the lines of communication open with parents, and and focus on teaching instead of all the outside garbage, things will work out.”
Ditto.
Ytiptop
February 28th, 2011
10:43 am
@David Sims
Are you a bonafide member of Club KKK or are you just visiting? My bet is bonafide member. I bet you really believe your crap. So sad, so sad, so sad!!!!
Jovan D. Miles
February 28th, 2011
4:07 pm
The apology is timely and necessary…but also missing something.
Public education is a mess because all of the stakeholders fight, name call, and forget that the point of the entire enterprise is to produce men and women capable of independent thought and critical analyses of the things that matter…to them.
We spend too much time, energy, talent, and financial resources on trying to fit square pegs into round holes. The people who run the system (myself included) are complicit in its failure. We don’t pay attention to students needs, wants, and/or interests when planning lessons and creating curriculum. Today, just like 30 years ago, too many kids are bored in school….but their boredom shouldn’t let them off the hook. It didn’t let any of us off the hook during our formative years.
I work in APS and most of the students I encounter are fully capable of rising to the challenge set before them with little extra assistance and those who need extra have it at their disposal. Many APS school have before school tutorial, after school tutorial, Saturday School, multiple opportunities to make up work, classes built in to the school day that offer extra assistance in all core subjects if the student is struggling…but the kids are savvy…and lazy..
They pay attention to the news.They know that America’s culture has shifted toward being adversarial toward classroom teachers. They know classroom teachers are the current popular whipping boys for politicians and the media. They know that if the kids fail then the teacher will be blamed no matter the cause of the failure.
I’ve had students tell me directly that it was my job to tell him the answers if he couldn’t figure something out. He didn’t want to be pushed. He didn’t want to be forced to think through a problem on his own. He wanted the easy way out. That young man and others like him have abdicated their responsibility to be equal partners in their own learning.
I agree with Fled in that Parents, Teachers, Admins, and Politicians should shoulder some of the blame for the failures of our system…but we’re letting our kids off the hook too easily as well.
The failure is collective and so too is the responsibility of fixing the problem. Everyone has to shoulder their load or else all of the letter writing, blog posting, and grand standing is a waste of time.