Three babies and no high school diploma: “I was supposed to help.”
This piece came to me as a letter to the editor from an elementary school administrator in DeKalb County. I thought it was worth sharing:
By Rouzier Dorce Jr.
I recently attended the high school graduation ceremonies of a young man I mentored while he was in middle school.
Robert had moved out of my community to attend high school in another area because he felt he had a better chance at playing ball. Communications between us dwindled to an occasional email.
When I received Robert’s invitation to his high school graduation, I dropped everything and made the trip. I felt a father’s pride while I helped him fix his tie. When I commented how much like a man he seemed, Robert reminded me that it had been five years since we saw each other.
Robert had trouble reading, and we surmised that his deficiencies might have been responsible for his challenges in middle school. Our weekly meetings helped with his behavior.
However, every time I would venture into the academic arena, Robert would retreat and end up reassuring me that he was passing his classes and that was what mattered. His graduating from high school had me thinking that perhaps things were finally OK.
At a local restaurant, his mother and the mother of his third baby joined us; the young woman brought the 3-month-old with her, and we had a wonderful dinner.
I gave Robert a card, a graduation gift and went on to congratulate him: “Now, Mr. Graduate, what’s the plan? Are you going D1 or D2 ?” His silence indicated to me that we needed to have a private conversation.
Robert confessed that though he got a chance to march, he did not graduate. He passed all his classes, but has not been able to pass three out of the five state exit exams. He added that at least one third of his graduating class was in the same boat and that there were even those who had not really passed their classes who marched.
“Mr. D,” he continued, “My reading problems got worse, the books got bigger, and the subjects more complicated. I learned to do like my coach said, keep my mouth shut and not cause any problems. It worked. I stopped being a concern and got a chance to march. My SAT scores are laughable, and I still have the science, the math and the social studies exams to pass before I can get my high school diploma.”
The trip back afforded me ample time to reflect. I remember Robert saying that his coach felt that, “He gave his high school a legitimate chance at a state title.”
I have gone back over the conversations Robert and I had, and regret not pushing harder. I remember telling him about the couple I met at a restaurant years ago. The young woman, a teacher, was expecting her first child. The husband had just finished his medical residency.
The couple discussed how the wife had been reading to the fetus and had planned to stop working until the baby was in school. I remember Robert commenting, “Wow! What are the chances of this baby becoming a doctor, a lawyer or a teacher?”
His question rang back with a twist. I thought “What are Robert’s chances? What are his three babies’ chances?” Furthermore, this is 2011. We committed not to leave any child behind.
Robert was supposed to be anything he wanted to be, at least all he could be. He can play ball, but will not even be doing that at any school anymore. Robert marched to get an empty folder.
You can pick your tragedy out of this story because it has several. I do not blame anyone in particular for many adults failed Robert, including me. I do think that we ought to do better especially now that we know better. Our public schools need to make a commitment to giving each child a real chance without the smoke and mirrors.
We must commit to, at least, eliminating illiteracy. Children who are not reading at or above grade level should be a grave concern that must be addressed without excuses. Twenty-eight years after “A Nation at Risk” grabbed our collective conscience, some of our children are leaving high school not prepared for much of anything.
God knows, the challenges are numerous. I do feel, however, that eliminating the barriers that we can should be our mandate as a nation. We can start by ensuring that the students who have trouble reading are identified and given the proper attention to make them proficient readers.
Perhaps, we can institute a reading requirement for all new registrations; a short academic diagnosis. Yearly check-ups might even be necessary to assure that no one falls behind. As practitioners, teachers and school administrators should find it unacceptable to have very little knowledge of the students they serve and demand that a full, meaningful academic profile for every student be maintained and used.
Robert is not guiltless. There was plenty that was his responsibility. He could have and should have gotten help for his reading struggles. Lots of people throughout our schools are willing, able and eager to help. He was a child, however, when he started to push back and mask his reading deficiencies.
As painful as it might have been for Robert, retaining him a grade or requiring him to give more time to academics rather than sports would have forced him to face and deal with the problem at an early stage. It would have yielded much better results.
Now, Robert is in life’s automobile race with just a shell of a car. Reading is the academic engine he needed to compete. His public education was supposed to prepare him. He was supposed to have a real chance, and I was supposed to help.
Rouzier Dorce Jr., is an elementary school administrator in DeKalb County.
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199 comments Add your comment
winstonhussein
May 30th, 2011
11:44 am
I guess with his reading problems he couldn’t read the package, it said CONDOMS, they’re worth the money every time.
The Carnivore
May 30th, 2011
11:47 am
If you are looking for someone to blame, why don’t you start with Abraham Lincoln?
Mitzymy
May 30th, 2011
11:50 am
It has been noted by officials that for every child who cannot read by the end of the 3rd grade, a prison bed is added for them. Our grandson had problems reading when he entered 3rd grade and the teacher immediatetly placed him in a reading program after school, 3 days per week. The school furnished transportation home. At the end of this school year his reading improved and he earned a B+ in that subject. That also helped him in other subjects also. This has to be done for every child who is at risk in any area. You can’t progress if you can’t read, it is the most important thing to learn.
RxDawg
May 30th, 2011
11:51 am
“As painful as it might have been for Robert, retaining him a grade or requiring him to give more time to academics rather than sports would have forced him to face and deal with the problem at an early stage. It would have yielded much better results.”
And there you go. Why was this not done? Did I miss something? Do they not hold students back anymore? Let me guess, that would hurt too many feelings right?
Dr. Proud Black Man
May 30th, 2011
11:51 am
@ The Carnivore
“If you are looking for someone to blame, why don’t you start with Abraham Lincoln?”
Ahhhhh… the internet; the last refuge of the cuckolded tea (insert the name that cannot be spoken.)
failed experiment
May 30th, 2011
11:53 am
is it really so hard to trace the failure of public education? when beasts that are only at school for sports are celebrated and worshipped while their poor behavior / lack of academic performance goes unchallenged our system is completely screwed up. i feel no pity at all for this idiot: his babymommas aren’t any better and their children will end up being state-supported and – unless they completely buck the odds – neglected. i’m sick of excusing the behavior of young animals who aren’t at school for a “free appropriate public education.” we just need gladiator academies for these worthless dirtbags and spend time educating those who wish to receive knowledge.
Cindy Lutenbacher
May 30th, 2011
11:53 am
I hope we can learn from Mr. Dorce’s example and see that the problems lie in the hands of many different people, from Robert to parents to teachers to admin to community to… The problems and the solutions belong to ALL of us.
Right now, my only question is this: what am I going to do today and tomorrow and the next…to create solutions and help kids like Robert?
bamaconnie
May 30th, 2011
11:56 am
Too much political correctness is ruining our children. When I was in school in the ’40’s a child was held back for not having passing grades. I was sick for 6 months and was held back for not learning to read in the 2nd grade. My mom sent me to a private religious school for the next year where I learned to read because of fear of the teacher. If we mispronounced a word she would pull our hair. Now lets hear it from all you do gooders***That is so cruel and would not be allowed now. But, that is what is wrong now. Kids are not held responsable and are allowed to play through school. Teachers are not allowed to correct them and the kids are in charge.
I raised 4 kids born to me and 5 adopted and I told everyone that the most important thing they would ever learn in school was HOW TO READ! They all graduated with academic diplomas.
justbrowsing
May 30th, 2011
11:58 am
Real learning and teaching is unacceptable these days. Worksheet packets and watered down assignments are the new order. I guess we should get used to that…
When you consider that those who make students do their work are often villified as “non caring” teachers- is it any wonder that Roberts and Robertas exist and will continue to do so?
In Georgia, if a teacher holds a student accountable- he/she runs the risk of losing their job (What kind of sense does that make?)
so much to do..so little time
May 30th, 2011
11:58 am
SOS….different day, different time, different characters. As usual, the education system always receives the harsh criticism when in fact, it is the individual who is ultimately responsible. We do not hear about these kinds of things until the party is over. The student made a choice that backfired and now all of a sudden it is the fault of the system. I am so sick of the blame game; it makes me nauseated. Had he wanted his diploma folder to actually carry a diploma, he should have orchestrated that himself in concert with his teachers, etc. But no, as usual, education gets blasted again for a statistic. When this country finally decides to cease and desist with the enabling of students and parents, things will change and we will no longer read about such tragic decision making. Yes, I am an educator and I cannot wait to retire to rid myself of the constant enabling, pathetic, unresponsible entity we call parents.
LydiasDad
May 30th, 2011
11:59 am
Kararstead @ 11:29am has the best post on here.
Sandra
May 30th, 2011
12:05 pm
Oh, how I feel the pain. It is a shame but it is so true that the Elementary Schools fail kids. You have kids leaving kindergarten that can’t write their name, don’t know the first 50 sight words, or their numbers and they are passed on to first grade. Then, they become a behavior problem and the teacher never see the parent. The parent will come at the end of the year wanting their child to go to first grade and the principal sends them on. Then, we complain about our children can’t read but the teachers gives them E’s and S’s and passed them on. Then, when he/she gets to the third grade and he still can’t read and he fails the CRCT during the year and the summer, he is still passed on to the fourth grade. This is where the real problem starts to merge. The State of Georgia says, “if a child fails the CRCT in the third and fifth grade they will be Retained” that is a myth and definitely not true because too many of our children has all F’s and D’s, failed the CRCT and their moma come to the appeal and they go on to the fourth or sixth grade. This is what we have in our public schools. Teachers know that students can’t read and shouldn’t be promoted but, they still send them on to the next grade. What happen to the old days when teachers had the right to retained kids and parents didn’t have the right to say, I want my child to go on to the next grade.
Public Schools need a face lift because it is to many kids coming through the doors being passed on because moma come at the 24th hour and say, I want my son to go to the next grade because it is embarrasing. Then, you have those teachers that pass little Johnny or Mary on because they are quit and doesn’t cause any problems in the class room. They need to stop laying teachers off and find a way to pay them and start letting teachers be real and education to become Real because it is a joke now and we all suffer. Too many kids are being passed on and teachers can’t do anything about it but let them go.
The SST process is a big joke in schools. It takes two – fours years for a child to get placed in a program to give them help. It is ridiculous. When a teacher sees a problem with a child and fill out SST paper work it is like the teacher is on trail. They have to fill out papers for two years stating that Johnny can’t read. Then, it takes another year for Johnny to get tested and that if Johnny parents give the consent. Sometimes, Johnny parents come asking for help and it still takes two years to get Johnny the help he/she needs. The entire public school system needs to be revamped.
It should be mandatory a cross the Board that Parents attend Parent Teacher’s Conference if their child is failing. We have too many elementary parents that have never seen a progress report. The teacher calls them weekly and send notes home and they never see them until at the end of the year they will come for Field Day or to Fifth Grade Ceremony and then, find out that Johnny/Mary did not pass the test then, they want to know what can they do because their child can’t be retained. It is sad and “No Child Left Behind was the worst thing for Education and Race to the Top is just putting the Icing on the Cake for Failing our kids.”
Reid
May 30th, 2011
12:09 pm
We do check kids’ skills annually trying to make sure they don’t slip through – it’s called the CRCT, but the bar is so pathetically low that it’s meaningless. I run a franchise learning center, and I try to explain to parents that their kids are struggling, but they don’t believe me half the time. Why should they when their child has all A’s and B’s?
Cindy Lutenbacher
May 30th, 2011
12:13 pm
To those who are making assumptions about race, tax-payer dollars, the future of babies, et cetera…please just stop. We really don’t have many facts here about the situations depicted, so making assumptions really does not speak well for you.
Donna P.
May 30th, 2011
12:14 pm
Robert should have been taught how to read instructions on a condom box. Now the citizens of Georgia and the U.S. have to pay for his three babies.
Eubieful O'sheet
May 30th, 2011
12:14 pm
Tragedy?
Only for the three new little illegitimates this “poor lad” has spawned.
Everyone else – including the three newly minted “single mothers” – in this saga VOLUNTEERED for their life of poverty.
Robert’s mother is, doubtless, also just another of the millions of “single mothers” (liberal political-correctness-speak for “unwed/neverwed mother”) who, when they eagerly identify themselves as such, seem to consider that a status worthy of pride and a condition which, for some reason, entitles them to special consideration for all manner of benefits.
Robert has created three more – and will, doubtless, create many more before he dies (probably in prison, or in the usual “drug deal gone wrong” shootout reported so often in the AJC)
But millions of dollars will be poured down the rathole to support and coddle and care for ALL of these people – when what they really should get is a sharp application of the sole of a boot to their posteriors.
Until society stops viewing them as people who are not, themselves, responsible for creating and causing their problems and, thus, treating them like thy are pets who cannot care for themselves, the “black underclass” will remain just that.
(And yes, nowhere in the article was Robert’s race mentioned. But does anyone who read the “tale of woe” have the slightest doubt about it?)
justbeingme
May 30th, 2011
12:15 pm
This is not shocking or new to me. There are thousands of young people in this same situation and it has been going on since NCLB and before. We have allow this to happen in education for so long, I don’t think anyone has a workable solution and now we have to live with the consequences.
rogeriter
May 30th, 2011
12:16 pm
Another example of parents expecting the government to prepare their children for life when they’ve taken God out of school, won’t let the teachers discipline or retain them and not demanding (or even caring) that their children are not doing their work. Who cares if they have babies? The government will reward them with payments. Who cares if the can read? You don’t need to read to accept welfare…or sell dope.
And please don’t try to make a racial thing of my comments. It’s not about race–it’s about children learning responsibility.
Mom of 3
May 30th, 2011
12:17 pm
Wow! Too overwhelmed to know where to start. This boy that should be a man isn’t going to all of a sudden become responsible. I am sure the next few years will see him produce several more children to put a drain on the rest of us. Responsibility starts in the home! It should not take a village. Don’t have children you cannot or do not want to provide and care for. And stop allowing kids to play sports if they are not producing in the classroom. It is not complicated, people! Oh, and great post so much to do….so little time.
Tina
May 30th, 2011
12:18 pm
Perhaps a picture book on how babies are made would have been more helpful for this young lad. 3 babies, 3 baby mamas..and all before he graduates (or not) from high school. A tragedy within a tragedy.
rogeriter
May 30th, 2011
12:21 pm
I have a friend (white) who has a 40+ year old son who is living with her after getting out of jail 6 months ago. Does he have a job? No, cause he doesn’t have a car! How is he going to get a car without a job? So he lives with and off of her, while she works as she approaches seventy. And she wonders why the son is a no account. It’s always been that way with her.
It’s not his fault! No one will buy him a car?
Tina
May 30th, 2011
12:23 pm
@Big Nick..please go down to any trailer park in south ga and you will see a slew of Beckies…..3,4 and 5 babies. All with different daddies. Getting medicaid, food stamps , WIC and TANF all day long. The pendulum swings both ways, dumb nuts. It’s not a black thing or white thing. It’s just an ignorant thing……so dont get it twisted.
Devil's Advocate
May 30th, 2011
12:34 pm
Oh here we go with the “privatize it” crowd and “animals in school” crowd. No one offering real solutions for society. Here’s a thought on this Memorial Day: America is becoming a shell of its former self the more uneducated and less responsible society becomes.
A low GPA and “bad grades” is not the issue. Many people of prior generations were not good in school. How did this country make it before public schooling became a wide spread offering? Hard work and turning lemons into lemonade, that’s how. In life, you have obstacles and responsibilities. In the “good old days” children were taught by their families and communities about obstacles and responsibilites from an early age. Asking children what they wanted to be when they grow up was an afterthought to preparing children for work around the home. Want to do something more with your life than help mom and dad labor around the property, better study!
Many children today are not being taught how to work in overcoming obstacles and handling their responsibilties. This isn’t even a socioeconomic issue anymore as many kids from the upper middle class have a crap work ethic too. As for the kids who are motivated to do what it takes to graduate, they would succeed no matter what school they attend.
When people say “public schools are failing” exactly what are they talking about? If the public school system continues to produce productive and capable members of society as it has, then how can it be failing in this case of remedial academics? No, this isn’t a public vs private issue, it’s deeper than that and hits closer to home. A parent should see a reading problem before a teacher.
photofinish
May 30th, 2011
12:36 pm
This same problem has always existed … going back at least 5,000 years in the case of Egypt. No government has really ever addressed it directly.
6 strong
May 30th, 2011
12:37 pm
@Big Nick ur name sounds like u live or lived in a trailer home. Ur statement shows how the education systems failed u too. And only because ppl have babies at a young age does not mean that they all get on welfare. Some of these kids parents do step-in and help support their child and some of these young ppl do work. So think before ur dumb A** speak again.
The Carnivore
May 30th, 2011
12:43 pm
6 strong, if you have a Masters in Finance, then what are you doing working for the IRS? You are a part of the problem, not the solution.
This is not a problem with the educational system. This is a problem with the things we have been allowing to take place in society. If we fix that, the educational system will work almost automatically.
PatDowns
May 30th, 2011
12:47 pm
How in the hell could the kid pass the English Language Arts component of the exam, yet, says he can’t read???? This whole story is BS. Congrats, Maureen – your blog hits just keep comin’ with crap like this!
Marty Hortman
May 30th, 2011
12:51 pm
Where is Robert’s Father? Did he grow in a “single parent” home, as is likely for his 3 illegitimate children? Maybe if he and the 3 Mothers had kept their pants on and studied more , chances of a better life for all would be 1000% better. Look to jail and the welfare and food stamp offices to see where this tragedy is headed. Three kids before high school graduation; our society is screwed.
Just Saying It Like It Is
May 30th, 2011
12:51 pm
@Lee in Sandy Springs – how nice you have what appears to be the perfect life; probably the smartest kids to ever be born; and you can afford to look down on those that you consider beneath you and yours. There are children who truly try and for whatever reason, whether traits of autism or whatever, do need extra help. I trust none of yours ever fits into this category because obviously you would consider them unworthy of extra help also?
@Science Teacher – beg to differ with you but from the day school opens each school year the teachers are forced to teach to the tests because of NCLB and the pressure to make AYP. And probably just as well that you think DCSS is a hell hole. In reality I don’t disagree with you in many aspects but all school systems in Georgia are hell holes to the extent NCLB has made them that way. Again, I have been blessed with teachers teaching my children and grandchildren, excellent teachers and over a 40 year period have only run across two who shouldn’t be teaching.
Teacher Reader
May 30th, 2011
12:58 pm
The problem here has so many layers. Why didn’t Robert’s mom see that he had a reading problem and demand help for him? Was she herself labeled special ed and still can’t read, so she didn’t want Robert to have the same label and not enough help to help him through his difficulties? Did she not spend time with him and did not know?
Why has Robert fathered 3 children? Because he is not made to be responsible for any of them. He can’t provide for the children, but the state does, so why should he have to? Why didn’t he keep it in his pants the first time that he fathered a child? Why weren’t the girls on birth control? Why weren’t condoms used either way?
What responsibility does the school system hold for having a child reach 12th grade and is not able to read? Even if Robert’s mom did not want him in special education, the school district should have done more to help this boy with a life skill, reading. What can you do, if you can’t read? How does a child that can’t read make passing grades? (I know the answer. I taught in DCSS and saw that there was little concern for what our kids know, just that they felt good about themselves and that parents were happy regardless.)
I hope that Robert has the gumption to do something about his situation and goes to the local adult literacy center and gets himself some help, so that he can pass the graduation exam. They will also teach him how to read. This will require work on his part, but if he truly wants to break the cycle for his own children, than he must do some of the work and not just blame the system or his parents. He also needs to look at himself.
AlreadySheared
May 30th, 2011
1:04 pm
This problem only has ONE layer.
“Why didn’t Robert’s mom see that he had a reading problem and demand help for him?”
Dad is who? Where? I’ll bet a nickel that Robert’s mom and dad were not married when he was conceived or born – any takers? That’s the only layer, folks.
DCSS Science Teacher
May 30th, 2011
1:14 pm
The most practical thing Robert could have done to improve his future–COULD have, in the sense of lying within his actual capabilities, rather than the capabilities we wish he’d had but nevrer actually displayed–would have been to use protection when he had sex with his girlfriends. Providing comprehensive sex education in high school, especially for students most at risk for unplanned pregnancy, is one step that DCSS could take without hiring any new teachers or spending one extra penny. Oblivious to reality, the new Health GPS instead have eliminated instruction about contraception, STDs, and puberty. Most teachers still teach this material (thank goodness!), but we as a largely-minority district need to bring this information out of the closet. High school kids have sex–but they don’t have to have babies. Let’s join the states with lower teen pregnancy rates and teach our kids how NOT to be parents until they’re truly ready to do so.
Dr. Craig Spinks/Augusta
May 30th, 2011
1:30 pm
Robert is one of many thousands of products of an educracy much more concerned about what we taxpayers don’t know than about what our students do know.
Terri Jones
May 30th, 2011
1:34 pm
Maybe one of the subject to be tested in for graduation is reading, then maybe the focus will change.
I have taughted many Roberts and they all failed my class. I reported these students to the prinicpal
and counselor. If your cannot read, then you cannot write. Other teachers, some Language Arts
passed the same students that I failed – my class was Business Eucation. That is one reason I left
the education field, too many administrators and teachers are robbing our children of their education
by passing them right into crime.
William Casey
May 30th, 2011
1:36 pm
This blog has become an exercise in “wallowing in the problem” and “assigning blame.” Neither is a useful activity.
RxDawg
May 30th, 2011
1:39 pm
Devil’s Advocate
May 30th, 2011
12:34 pm
He wins the blog. The lazy and uneducated are procreating like mad. It’s becoming an exponential problem. America as we knew it will probably die within a 100 years.
Solutions? Other than some pretty drastic complete freedom losing stuff I have no idea. I just keep trying to better myself and everyone else I know.
Robert probably shouldn’t have any more kids until he can feed himself and the ones he already has. By his own choice, or not.
Mr Charlie
May 30th, 2011
1:46 pm
I Have to agree, nothing screams worthless, lazy incompetent and just all around unmotivated than working for the IRS. It is the post office of the 21st century.
Mr Charlie
May 30th, 2011
1:48 pm
You know the problem, I know the Problem, Maureen knows the problem, and even the Proud Dr. knows the problem, and making the teachers union stronger is not going to solve it.
Echo
May 30th, 2011
1:53 pm
Mr. Charlie…no teacher unions in Georgia. Find another “boogey man”.
Mr Charlie
May 30th, 2011
1:56 pm
Echo, so obviously I am right!
northatlantateacher
May 30th, 2011
1:59 pm
PatDowns: Not so fast. I’ve had SPED kids with borderline IQ levels and questionable reading abilities not only pass but come close to exceeding. Truly boggles the mind.
Mr Charlie
May 30th, 2011
1:59 pm
It is problem is obviously the fact that GA does not have a teachers union, because every left winger knows that the better the union, better educated the children are. We all know it is a problem in the educational system, it can’t possibly be the end result when society has been molded to fit any and all cultures as to not hurt feelings, because that we be racist.
Ronny
May 30th, 2011
2:00 pm
I am a teacher. I teach Special Education. I have taught English for them. I am sure that I am not the first to say this, but there are a lot of kids who are in high school who cannot read that well. I have done reading assignments were kids read out loud, and I have heard 1st graders read better. Why are they in high school? Blame the parents first, and then the system. Parents need to take ownership. Many of these kids are considered sellouts if they bring books home. This year, I had a very intelligent black girl ask a question in class. Her black classmates said, “You talk like a white girl.” I hear that statement EVERY year. As for the system, the school system I am in makes it hard for you to fail someone, regardless of how they actually perform. Why? Because if kids pass and move on, their AYP numbers look good. It’s a sad system, but until we address parent education, and we get our congressmen in a classroom to see what ACTUALLY goes on, nothing will change.
Mr Charlie
May 30th, 2011
2:05 pm
Please, someone, explain who saying “acting white” is not racist? Because, I know when I point out behavior as being black, well you know. You think just maybe this double standard is the crux of the cultural issues that create this problem in the the first place.
sadbuttrue
May 30th, 2011
2:16 pm
There are thousands of Roberts in our state schools, Sad, but true. Someone earlier blamed Robert’s problems on teachers because they had not recommended him for extra reading instruction. Someone else wondered why he had not been held back in a grade or two. Federal legislators have created a lose/lose for everyone. Administrators would not dare hold a student back because this would impact their AYP status. Teachers have NO say so in holding a child back if an adminstrators says move him on. Robert must start and finish in four years regardless of whether or not he actually got the education he needed to take care of his children. I agree with someone else when they said Robert should have been held back or failed until he could actually read well enough to understand the tested material. At fault are the parents of children like Robert. He parents should have inquired about why he wasn’t learning to read and why he was passed on to the next grade when he had failing grades. If he did not have failing grades, but did have failing test scores this should also be cause for concern.
failed experiment
May 30th, 2011
2:17 pm
@ cindy: i have to disagree with you. we do not all share responsibility for the choices this young man and his mother (not to mention the 3 babymommas) made. robert knew he had potential as an athlete, but failed both to behave as a responsible student or as a sexually-active adult. i did not choose to make robert’s poor decisions and i’ll be da**ed if you or any other social lib is going to pin his failures on me or any other teacher. i have worked with countless roberts in my 15 years of education and i can tell you that i ALWAYS make it a point to bring educational failings to the child’s attention, his/her parents, and other teachers/administrators. i will not take any blame for the fact that robert is basically going to be making up for mistakes the rest of his life. he would have been better off having never gotten sidetracked by athletic delusions and, instead, use education for what it is meant to do: provide a mental preparation for life. i don’t know why i’m wasting my time writing to you, though, because you and your ilk have derailed education in favor of “woe-is-everyone” social engineering projects.
@already sheared: preach on, brother! i hear you!
sadbuttrue
May 30th, 2011
2:21 pm
Another point raised by a person posting a comment was that teachers should do everything necessary to make sure the child could read. I almost forgot this point, but this is the common blame game played by many. Let me remind you that teachers have families too. Most teachers give their all between the opening and closing bell, but at some point they must go home to take care of their own children. The only way to save a child like Robert would be to remove him from his family and allow him to live with the teacher. Teachers could save lots of children if this were possible, but it is NOT. Teachers are only parents to their own children. They cannot be help accountable for what does or does not take place before and after the bell rings. Robert’s circumstances stem from the choices made by his parents and/or himself.
catlady
May 30th, 2011
2:28 pm
I would challenge those of you who think it is the school’s fault to come to my Title 1 school and see all the remediation help kids like Robert get: EiP (reading and math), RTI small group tiers, needs-based, small classes, small groups, after school tutoring. And there could be another help: quit making excuses. Those who don’t master, don’t promote. Like the Republicans proclaimed, don’t let your lowered expectations hold people back. I admit I had concerns that limiting welfare to a certain number of years would be a failure, but one thing we seemed to see was more folks stepping up to the plate. I am pretty sure if there were mastery requirements, from first grade on, that more parents and their kids would rise to the top, and actually MASTEr basic skills, after they saw that NO ONE was going on who didn’t have those skills. It wouldn’t take but a few years of parents seeing this enforced that they would start helping their kids more. I really think more folks would do better if they had to. Perhaps requiring parenting classes would help those failing- could be required to let a kid have one grade’s free pass.
As to Robert: I hope he develops a marketable skill, and that he is REQUIRED to support those children with every cent he makes. I also favor holding the mama(s?) responsible for supporting their children. (They sure don’t need more time at home with not enough to do!) Every pot on its bottom, as they say. When you have some “skin in the game” you tend to make better choices.
As a nation, we can’t go on giving free passes and making excuses for the poor choices of others.
Mr Charlie
May 30th, 2011
2:29 pm
Can Robert Rap? For some reason, I just bet he rapping skills are off the charts.
wtf
May 30th, 2011
2:33 pm
@ Terri Jones- What is taughted? Did you even read what you wrote? Thank god you left when you did!