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
wtf
May 30th, 2011
2:44 pm
Who in the he11 earns a masters in finance and works @ the IRS? Do you have low self esteem?
RxDawg
May 30th, 2011
2:50 pm
“As a nation, we can’t go on giving free passes and making excuses for the poor choices of others.”
A-freakin-men
A Conservative Voice
May 30th, 2011
2:50 pm
@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.
Terri, have you ever considered the fact that maybe you were the problem?
Sad state of education
May 30th, 2011
2:51 pm
Once again, no one mentioned parent accountability. Why are teachers expected to be the cure for society’s problems? Parents and children themselves must take responsibility for their actions. I sympathize with Robert, but I also feel for teachers. Expected to solve all of the world’s problems for a very nominal fee.
Sad state of education
May 30th, 2011
2:56 pm
Maureen, please monitor your blogs. Your readers are a bunch of pathetic bigots who spew racial hatred.
Dr. John Trotter
May 30th, 2011
2:58 pm
@Maureen: My Memorial Day response to this heart-wrenching story about Robert is probably too long to pass through the AJC’s Mr. Filter. So, here is a link…
http://georgiateachersspeakout.wordpress.com/
Just Saying It Like It Is
May 30th, 2011
3:03 pm
So many mean spirited people posting on this site. Turning it into a racial thing when it is not called for. Yes, I am white but I have compassion for people. So many of you lack compassion and humbleness and forget that not everyone has had the opportunities you have had and your children have. Years ago it was against the law to teach a black person to read or write or anything else. And for you small minded bigoted people – there is no such thing as a bastard child simply because each child born into the world does have a biological mother and a biological father. The bastards are the ones who choose not to take care of their child – not the child. And for all you holier than thou people – you don’t know what is down the road in your future with your own kids and/or grandkids. You may be smart in the head but in reality you are nothing more than selfish, bigoted jackasses.
Native Atlantan
May 30th, 2011
3:10 pm
Not to burst any one’s racist bubble but I was raised in a 2-parent household in Dekalb county years ago. My mother stayed at home and raised 6 children while my father worked ungodly hours running his own business. We were as middle-class as they come but my parents didn’t read to me; they didn’t ask about homework; the didn’t offer to help; and they didn’t instill the desire to learn at all. Luckily, I actually graduated from high school and college while working full time from age 18. Currently I’m a white-collar executive at a major technology company wanting for nothing…nothing at all. Sometimes it’s up to the individual to make his way and successes. But to address the topic – how in the world does someone who cannot read or can barely read, pass ANY classes? Appears the entire education community failed Robert from grade 1.
Devil's Advocate
May 30th, 2011
3:19 pm
Dr. Trotter,
Great response. Proves that a student can earn a diploma, get accepted to college, and play football. Many here don’t seem to think it is possible.
J’boro!
Devil's Advocate
May 30th, 2011
3:20 pm
Native Atlantan,
You obvioulsy picked up the work ethic of your parents from early observation. All of life’s lessons are not verbal. Your experience somewhat proves my post on page 2. Your environment was one of hard work, responsibility, and dedication to providing for the family. Grades are secondary, your family was about being productive and so you became productive probably because subconsciously you felt that it was simply the thing to do in life.
taxpayer
May 30th, 2011
3:47 pm
“Three babies and no high school diploma”
Neither Mr. D, nor the school system, nor society failed this young man. He apparently just lacks the cognitive capacity to absorb education @ the high school level. There are many Roberts.
What’s worse his three kids will most likely follow daddy’s career path. Each will spawn more little future welfare recipients, and on and on.
Scott Allen
May 30th, 2011
4:17 pm
Hold back students who can’t read. Don’t advance students to the next grade when they fail easy high-stakes tests like the CRCT. Don’t let students walk in a graduation ceremony unless they pass the GHSGT. Problems solved.
Oh, sorry, I forgot that most administrators don’t have the guts to do the right thing, or even support the teachers who do. Please, prove me wrong.
I think our public schools are the biggest example of mismanagement in history.
Dr. John Trotter
May 30th, 2011
4:40 pm
@ Dr. Craig Spinks: I don’t know if Mr. Dorce is a member of MACE or not. I don’t keep a membership list at my home. If he is not a member, he needs to join. That goes for all teachers in Georgia. This is the truth, not a cheap plug. The school systems are simply not afraid of the other groups. Heck, the administrators are members of these groups. MACE is “crazy,” and they know that we are. If you mess with a MACE member, they know that MACE will devour the administrator. This only makes sense, right? What else is a union for, if not to fight for its members?
The Carnivore
May 30th, 2011
5:17 pm
To Sad State of Education and others: As a society, we constantly lie to ourselves instead of confronting some harsh truths. If we are going to keep the public school system afloat, we need to make some radical changes in our assumptions and our methods. We have taken it for granted that everyone can learn and earn a high school diploma. But it isn’t true – some people do not have that ability. Forcing them down a path of failure only hurts everyone in the long run.
Why can’t we change our system to adapt to reality? Giving illiterate people a diploma is a slap in the face to everyone who earned it, and puts them in a position in which they succeeded today, only to be set up for greater failure later. Why can’t we identify people for whom the traditional path of education isn’t a good fit, and offer them an alternative early on, say at the age of thirteen or fourteen? Not all jobs are being outsourced – there is great demand for skilled workers doing local projects. If we could think outside the box and turn out legions of skilled workers by the time they are eighteen, we would have a win-win scenario. Kids off the streets doing something productive, earning money, benefitting society, with lower crime figures to boot.
It isn’t racist to say this – it is sensible. It is more racist to pretend that everyone has equal abilities and jam everyone down the same path. Yet this is what we have done for fifty years, with horrific results. Our public school systems are going downhill despite a massive influx of public money. Maybe if we finally confront reality for once, we can achieve better outcomes for all our kids.
oldtimer
May 30th, 2011
5:41 pm
Failed Experiment….Amem! In 32 years of teaching I have seen many Roberts…Parents and administrators do not want to hear it. Teachers are wrong period! We have doomed these kids with low expectations.
Catlady…too true about changing the culture. In my county for three years we had an unpopular superintendant who insisted in order to be promoted you had to pass Reading, Language Arts, and Math. It took one year to have remediation classes full.
Here in Nashville they began a charter school that had an extra three weeks in a low achiving neighborhood. 95% free lunch etc. The PARENTS complained it wasn’t FAIR to make the kids go longer. When finally, the school system relented and began a FREE optional extended day almost no chilren attended. It was fianally cancelled. The school is now run by the feds for continuous failure..Who failed? the school? the teachers? the PARENTS???
Devil's Advocate
May 30th, 2011
5:54 pm
The Carnivore
So no white kids fail to earn diplomas or father children or get pregnant while in school? What does race have to do with it?
RJ
May 30th, 2011
6:02 pm
Where does it say that this kid is black?
Archie@Arkham Asylum
May 30th, 2011
6:28 pm
“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!” -Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Proud Black Man
May 30th, 2011
6:49 pm
I see that the usual racist cowards and bigots are here.
Reality Bites
May 30th, 2011
6:52 pm
Dont worry Black Community…the 40 percent I pay off the top of my hard earned wages will care for your kids……
Reality Check
May 30th, 2011
7:20 pm
We cannot make people use birth control or good sense, but the rest of society should take away ALL financial incentives for teens having babies. I know the support systems in place are to help out in a bad situation, but I think the support system has actually made the problem worse. If a teen makes a really bad choice under the supervision of his/her parents, then they should reap the consequences, not the rest of society. If families had to bear the burden of unwed mothers and their children, maybe they would take a little more interest in supervision. Having a baby as a teen should financially, and otherwise, further limit a teen’s options. For some, having a baby now, gives them the option of moving out and having a small income they did not have before. This could be an incentive for some. What we are currently doing is NOT WORKING!!
d
May 30th, 2011
7:29 pm
Mr. Dorce is an administrator, and unfortunately, Dr. Trotter’s organization doesn’t allow administrators in. I will say this much (and remember, I am a classroom teachers), our mid-level administrators (especially the competent ones) are the most at risk for being at the short end of the stick if it comes to some sort of conflict with the central office. Teachers have fair dismissal rights (once they have taught for 3 years in a system) and central office is hard to touch, but the assistant principals and principals in our schools
Ok, in response to the article….. I’ve taught a number of students in similar situations. I will say there has to be a concerted effort on the part of all stakeholders. I had a few students who have yet to pass all sections of the GHSGT and those who walked received their certificate of attendance. I have offered the students the opportunity to stay in touch with me via email and I would tutor them online in preparation for the retest in July. I haven’t seen anything from any of them yet (and I have checked my school email daily). I have offered tutorials – even extra credit for students to attend tutorials (but I’ve seen very few actually show up). I was told by Don McChesney how absolutely vital parent conference nights are, yet few parents show up (and those who do are usually the parents of students who already have an A or B). Maybe that’s why those students have an A or B……. I don’t know who failed Robert in this story, but there’s nothing I want more as a teacher than to be free of the NCLB shackles so that I can take the time to help students like him.
catlady
May 30th, 2011
7:31 pm
Y’know, I was just thinking about those who advocate teachers being paid based on student achievement, such as Robert’s. I would like to propose we include THIS information in our “Class Keys” or whatever we settle on:
For each teacher of “Robert” EACH year:
-Copies of requests for conferences with parent, and result of request. Notes about discussion, if any, and parental input into why Robert isn’t achieving, and what is or isn’t going on at home.
-Notes on telephone calls to parent, and result (phone conference, no answer, phone disconnected no call back etc) and notes to parents
-Absences and tardies of student
-List of infractions and attempts to guide student behavior and results
-List of homework not turned in
-Information about student time spent in sports (practices, games, etc)
-Family makeup (single parent, homeless, raised by family, jail, number of siblings and parental achievement)
-Brushes with juvenile authorities
-Student sleeping in class
-Visits to school nurse
-Visits to home by school social workers
If we want to FAIRLY identify teachers who “aren’t doing their job”—which should be teaching a willing student–perhaps we need this information in addition to test scores and grades. In my 38 years of teaching, I have found that many of these characteristics are held in common for children like Robert seems to be.
I suspect if we looked at Robert’s record like this, we might see a similar pattern that might contribute significantly to his lack of a diploma.
Dr. Craig Spinks/Augusta
May 30th, 2011
7:32 pm
Maureen,
Have you heard anything from the SW DeKalb teacher who provided such insightful comments on your blog a couple of months ago?
Please keep him and Mr. Dorce on your radar.
Dr. Proud Black Man
May 30th, 2011
7:35 pm
@ Reality Bites
Bite me.
Dr. Craig Spinks/Augusta
May 30th, 2011
7:40 pm
Please remember that the root word from which “civilization” is derived is “civil.”
catlady
May 30th, 2011
7:53 pm
Dr. Spinks: Not sure he cares.
TeacherMom4
May 30th, 2011
8:00 pm
I’ve sat through several SST retention meetings for students who failed either the 3rd or 5th grade CRCT. I advocated retention in 2 cases, but my administrators chose to promote. I had no choice in the matter. The step father of the 3rd grader came to the child’s 4th grade teacher at mid-year and told her that promoting him was the worst decision they ever made. It was ego promotion, nothing more. For those of you who blame the teacher, in my experience–actual and that of my peers–it is usually admin that wants to promote, regardless of skill. The only retentions I’ve seen are when the parents don’t come to the meeting and admin is ticked off about it.
I really think more needs to be done at the k-1 level. If kids still haven’t mastered letter/sound relationships and basic sight words, they have no business moving on to grade levels where they must comprehend what they read. When the process of reading is laborious and not enjoyable, kids stop trying. But nobody wants to retain them when it would really help the most. The theory is that the test will “catch” them. Unfortunately, even when it does, it doesn’t. And so it goes…
Dekalb Oldtimer
May 30th, 2011
8:08 pm
Native Atlantan: people who continually assign blame to parents, READ HIS/HER POST.
Up until the last 20 or so years the number of PARENTS who would have been considered “INVOLVED” in their kids’ education was negligible. Somewhere around the time of Dr. Spock, we became a “child centered” society and that’s when things began to go down hill. Ask anyone older than 40 how “involved” their parents were in their school life. SURPRISESURPRISE!!!!
Mr Charlie
May 30th, 2011
9:36 pm
Dr Ignorant Man….Your here, so what you say at 6:49 rings true.
ABC
May 30th, 2011
9:54 pm
Dekalb Old Timer: you make an EXCELLENT point. I can’t remember my parents being even remotely involved in the school at the level that I am expected to be (and I am of course..lest I be accused of not being an “involved parent”)
Maybe we should make a distinction: it’s not so much parent involvement as parent expectation! For me, getting As in school was not an option, it was a REQUIREMENT. My parents did not ask me every night if I did my homework; it was EXPECTED. Because I knew dang well that if there EVER was a note from the teacher saying I hadn’t been doing my job in school there would be he11 to pay!
Maybe that’s more of the problem? Maybe we shouldn’t be requiring involvement as much as we should be requiring that parents expectations from the student are up to standards.
Dr. Proud Black Man
May 30th, 2011
9:59 pm
@ boy charlie
“I find it interesting that a man who calls himself Dr Proud Black man does not have the capability to debate, but instead name call.”
but earlier
“Can Robert Rap? For some reason, I just bet he rapping skills are off the charts.”
Wussified racist. You cowardly bigots just love you some internet don’t you sissy?
the prof
May 30th, 2011
9:59 pm
Nope, those “Dr” degrees came from Argosy…..hahahahahahahah…..Argosy……..
Mr Charlie
May 30th, 2011
10:09 pm
@ Proud, why does examining the culture and values of the black community, when discussing the problems that disproportionally effect the black community, make one a racist? Again, you terrified to debate, it is easier to call names and label people you don’t even know. Your really not very smart, are you? Fact is, black peer pressure keeps black children from getting and education, if the culture was one to get the best education regardless of the roadblocks, blacks would score like Asians on standardized testing, and the Atlanta school board would not need to cheat and become a laughing stock to the rest of the country….But yea, I am the boogie man, I am he the problem. Sure.
Mr Charlie
May 30th, 2011
10:15 pm
Fact is, Robert might be a great rapper, because the culture seems to value rapping more than getting an education. Robert might one day make a billion dollars rapping like 50 cent and laugh at all us one day, or maybe make the NBA or NFL, that is what the culture promotes. Just watch about 15 minutes of BET. However, we all know that for every rapper and pro athlete, there are 100,000 Roberts who will probably end up living a life of poverty, or in jail. Why can’t anyone talk about this obvious problem. But of course, it is the teachers problem,
Dr. Proud Black Man
May 30th, 2011
10:31 pm
Was Robert’s race even mentioned in the article?
Dr. Proud Black Man
May 30th, 2011
10:36 pm
What does this culture promote boy charlie?
http://tinyurl.com/3vo997r
or this one?
http://tinyurl.com/3gwc7dr
Dr. Proud Black Man
May 30th, 2011
10:38 pm
@ the prof
Glad to see you back! How did that NAMBLA conference go?
Dr. John Trotter
May 30th, 2011
10:40 pm
@ d: You are so right. It is very difficult to be creative and reach “at risk” kids when you have to teach in a straightjacket. More and more NCLB, more and more RTTT foolishness, more and more tests, and more and more “values-added evaluations” won’t do a thing for these — or any — kids. They just don’t get it.
Mr Charlie
May 30th, 2011
10:48 pm
No, they never say Robert race, nor do I ever disclose my race…..So how is making assumptions based on stereotypes?
Dekalb Oldtimer
May 30th, 2011
10:48 pm
@ABC …I have made that point on this blog ad infinitum!!
Parent involvement is NOT required and it is debatable that it is even desirable. It all has to do with Parental EXPECTATIONs…and as one of my colleagues used to say, “HOME TRAINING”.
Get real, people. You cannot force a parent who is working 2 or 3 jobs to come to “meetings” and conferences at school. You cannot force them to do anything. We can criticize ’til H-11 freezes and still get nowhere.
The school administration must find successful ways to deal with unacceptable behavior [expulsion?? Alternative schools...? Zero tolerance??}
AND, most important, with unacceptable achievement levels.
Let's see, surely some of these "doctor" geniuses with all these PHD's who are running the metro schools can come up with something !! I can remember early in my teaching career when grades were not inflated, when students who failed repeated the grade .
That, of course, was before those running the systems, with the the assistance of the"parental involvement" bandwagoners and self esteem enablers decided to perpetrate a Herculean Hoax on America's children. [The details of this hoax have been posted over and over on this blog and elsewhere.]
Oh and OMT:
. I never saw, met nor heard from the parents of most of my Asian students .What’s more, most of these students rarely saw their parents durning the week as they were working restaurant jobs….sometimes 2 or 3 of them. High achievers all.
Mr Charlie
May 30th, 2011
10:51 pm
And for your poor attempt to prove a point, I do not claim any affiliation to the examples you bring up, nor do I make excuses for them. I will not blame the system, or the teachers when their children grow up and do not learn to read.
Did they not teach the word disproportionate the college where you got your degree? And again, you deflect the facts by pulling up a random news. There is a reason why Asians score highest on standardized tests, and blacks score the lowest. If I were to maintain that the reason is a physical difference, that would make me a racists. I do not believe that, I believe the failure of blacks to excel in education is purely cultural. It is a culture that values athletics and music, and unfortunately, there are not enough jobs in those fields to support the entire black population.
Dr. Proud Black Man
May 30th, 2011
11:18 pm
“Did they not teach the word disproportionate the college where you got your degree?”
Did they teach you to construct a simple sentence at the tech school you obviously dropped out of?
former collegiate athlete
May 31st, 2011
2:58 am
This young man’s coaches really let him down.
ScienceTeacher671
May 31st, 2011
6:18 am
I’m disappointed in how this has devolved into a racist slugfest, because this article illustrates what is arguably the most important issue in Georgia education today. Too many students, of both genders and all races, are being passed to the next level without the skills to succeed at that level.
It’s NOT all the fault of the parents – many of them have been deceived by the GaDOE’s scoring system for the CRCT, which says that students who are well below grade level are “proficient” and students who are barely at grade level “exceed”.
When students miss passing the CRCT by only a few points, parents truly do not realize how very far behind their children are – but then they wonder why those students can’t pass their high school courses, EOCTs, and GHSGTs.
And committee promotion doesn’t help at all. It just passes the problem to a different set of teachers. Some years as many as 1/3 of my 9th graders have been committee promoted, and promised all sorts of remediation that isn’t even available at the high school level. These students do not have the basic skills to do high school level work. They just don’t.
teacher&mom
May 31st, 2011
6:47 am
@ST671: Excellent post @ 6:18.
I would add that passing an EOCT or GHSGT doesn’t indicate true learning has taken place. Too many students have mastered the “art” of standardized testing. I’ve had one too many students tell me that you don’t REALLY have to know the material to pass the test….you just use your common sense. I’ve read a few EOCT’s and GHSGT,out of my subject area, to special education students and I agree with that assessment. If you can think “logically”, then you’ll probably pass the test.
Robert probably qualified for services but slipped through the cracks. His high school should have put him on a 504 plan at the very least. I have to wonder if his high school is saturated with students just like him. It is much easier to identify a student with academic difficulties when they are the exception. It isn’t as easy when the entire room is filled with Roberts.
Dunwoody Mom
May 31st, 2011
8:04 am
So, Maureen, when is somebody going to “blow open” this nonsense in Hall County? It’s an agregious and deliberate attempt to assure schools make AYP – surely there is something illegal here.
A Conservative Voice
May 31st, 2011
8:19 am
@Dr. Proud Black Man
May 30th, 2011
6:49 pm
I see that the usual racist cowards and bigots are here.
No fair DPBM, you be looking in da mirror again.
Shar
May 31st, 2011
8:38 am
Start with the low hanging fruit. Fire, without pension, any person in an educational setting who tells a struggling student to keep their mouth shut about their difficulties. Taxpayers should not be paying one red cent for an “educator” who actively handicaps students. Better still, fire that coach and suspend athletics for five years.
Tim
May 31st, 2011
8:45 am
First of all Robert needs to get a vasectomy.