An Apple for Jamie Lee Curtis
Reader Comments
Assets
"It's about sending them kind, respectful kids who are interested in doing their best. That alone would conquer many of our problems." Jaime
No where did she mention private music lessons or sports clubs.
It says kind, respectful kids, interested in doing their best. That will go a long way to get them anywhere they want to go. Teachers appreciate these kids and will go a long way to help them.
I hope the writers of the ads will read these.
"America is only as strong as her schools." {article above}
Children are our ONLY natural resource. Nothing can be done with any other kind of resource without them.
Good Parents Make Good Volunteers
I too want my children to be an asset to their school, but I also want to be an asset to my child’s education process. The process of rearing children with character should not stop at home. If you are able, volunteer at your child’s school. Many districts welcome parents as volunteers. There are groups such as PTA that can help you provide meaningful assistance.
Statistically children with involved parents, as well as school districts with positive parental involvement have higher test scores, higher success rates, and higher overall morale.
If you are a successful product of a great education, return the favor by enriching others through volunteering at a school.
It begins at home
My mother was from a foreign country. She made us do our homework before anything else occured after each school day, and on weekends if needed. We had to get jobs as soon as we were able, and still bring home A's with an occassional B barely tolerated. She read the Newspaper everyday and Newsweek (sorry guys) and she made our clothes, and school uniforms. The American born neighbor ladies could not hold a candle to her knowledge of politics and current events.
She would tell us how lucky we were to be in the United States, to have free speech, to be able to vote. She would be ashamed and frightened about the turn of events,against our freedoms occuring today.
All of us kids have advanced degrees. None of the other kids in our neighborhood accomplished that. Most of them made it through High School and a handful graduated college. It was a white middle class neighborhood.
statistics
I am always suspicious of these statistics based on test scores. We educate every child in the U.S. and include students with all kinds of disabilities in those test results. Do other countries all do the same? Are we comparing apples to apples?
Another question: will high math and science test scores really translate to advances in technology? My understanding is that in Singapore, where math scores tend to beat out the rest of the world, their math and science professionals produce far fewer patents those form the U.S. Creativity and an acceptance of failure as part of the process is part of our culture, but not theirs. Should we be emphasizing test scores as much as we have, starting in the last 10 years or so? Is a good score the be all and end all?
I remember reading an article where Bill Gates was bemoaning the diminishing number of students majoring in math. While he talked about needing more math PhDs, he also speculated on how many of his headquarter jobs could be outsourced overseas. Does he think American students don't get it? The explosion of physical education instructors that he bemoans will at least have a field that cannot be outsourced to another country where the expertise can be bought on the cheap!
Accountability begins and ends at home
Sending children to school that will be assets to that school is NOT a luxury. Kind, respectful, and cooperative kids can come from any socioeconomic class as long as they are well taught by their parents. People choose where to raise their children and how to raise them. Unfortunately you don't get to choose your parents. Schools cannot be a substitute for the work of good parenting. Throwing money at the problem alone will not work. In my experience, accountability for a child's behavior and therefore education and begins and ends at home.
Parents are not superhuman
Parents who live in poor gang infested neighborhoods, who don't have jobs that pay a decent salary cannot have the luxury of sending to schools raising kids who would be assets to their schools. They can't afford private music lessons or sports clubs etc.
Unfortunately, we cannot solve the education problem without solving many other interrelated problems, especially when we waste $200 billion a year on military adventures.
Parents are not superhuman
Parents who live in poor gang infested neighborhoods, who don't have jobs that pay a decent salary cannot have the luxury of sending to schools raising kids who would be assets to their schools. They can't afford private music lessons or sports clubs etc.
Unfortunately, we cannot solve the education problem without solving many other interrelated problems, especially when we waste $200 billion a year on military adventures.
Accountability begins at home
While I agree that all public schools are not at the level one should expect in the US, I know from my years in the education field that the performance and drive of individual students is directly related to the expectations of the child's parent or guardian. I also know as a parent myself that I am ultimately responsible for what my child does or does not learn. When my son begins school, he will be an asset to it. How many parents put their kids in school with that in mind? It's not just about what your school district does for you. It's about sending them kind, respectful kids who are interested in doing their best. That alone would conquer many of our problems. From there, we can address issues of how to teach so our kids can think critically and flexibly, gain and use knowledge, and compete in a global economy. But, it's difficult at best to counteract a negative, unloving, or disengaged home. Parents, let's be proactive and help our schools first by raising our kids with love, guidelines, and a love for learning.
