Education is a huge priority in our house. Neither Steve nor I ever finished college, and even now at 43, Steve is struggling through finally getting his degree. We have had to learn the hard way the life long consequences of foregoing a college education, making us a little more obsessive than some when it comes to pushing our kids to do well in school.
Extra-curricular activities and sports are great, but in our home, they are of little to no real importance in the big scheme of things. Steve grew up playing baseball and football, but rarely picks up a ball even today. I grew up dancing and was on the high school drill team and cheer squad. I still love both, but I'm lucky if I can accomplish a high kick or a push up these days. Our childhood loves have long taken a back seat to the reality of adulthood as we work our 40 hour work week using our brains, not our brawn.
I read an article in the Sunday paper yesterday that talked about school reform and how there has been little progress in student achievement over the course of the last 30 years. Reading and math test scores for 17 yr olds haven't increased enough to even make it worth measuring.
"The most reliable tests are given by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The reading and math tests, graded on a 0-500 scale, measure 9-year-olds, 13-year-olds and 17-year-olds. In 1971, the initial year for the reading test, the average score for 17-year-olds was 285; in 2008, the average score was 286. The math test started in 1973, when 17-year-olds averaged 304; in 2008, the average was 306." Read more: Let's face it: School "reform" can't change students - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/samuelson/ci_15989874#ixzz0ylMRh6cX
To me, this is beyond sad. But then, I got to thinking about it. Is it really the fault of the teachers? Funding? Our government? In my opinion, the answer is a resounding "NO". It's OUR fault. Yes, that's right -- OUR FAULT. I'm speaking as in you and I. You and I, parents of America!
Ask yourself: How many hours a week does your child spend practicing, competing or performing any extra-curricular activities? Does their sport take precedence over school work or family dinners most nights of the week? If your child's teacher raised the bar and expected more from your child academically, would you welcome it? Or complain because it interferes with the dance classes you are paying for?
I had my first ah-ha moment a few years ago when attending a parent-teacher conference for my then 4th grader. "Standards" say that kids should have 10 minutes of homework for every grade, plus their nightly reading and math facts practice. When I found that my 4th grader was spending less than the standard 40 minutes on everything, I couldn't help but question and become concerned, so I asked her teacher, "Is it just me, or do they just not get much homework?" The teacher's response not only astounded me, but sent a twinge of resentment through me at the same time.
"It's a balancing act. I have just as many parents complain that there is too much homework. Kids are so busy these days, its hard to send home the right amount of homework."
The lack of focus on studies is not about budgets, teachers or curriculum. It's about keeping parents happy. Every parent think their kids is going to be the next Carmello Anthony or Dakota Fanning. And while there are some kids that have a wonderfully natural gift for all things famous, we as parents are kidding ourselves and creating an American standard that is making us less than competitive in the academic world.
I'm not innocent in this, by any means. At one point, I had 2 girls playing volleyball and one in gymnastics. We ran around town 2-3 nights a week, eating late dinners and hoping the teachers went easy on practice or game nights. But it took my husbands convictions to make me realize that no matter how great a volleyball player or gymnast my daughters became, our mind is what is going to ultimately sustain us throughout life.
My fellow Gen X parents, it's time to wake up. Our kids are capable of so much more and we're not only short-changing them, we're short-changing an entire emerging generation. These kids are going to grow up thinking that everything will be handed to them and that people make concessions in the real-world to accommodate their "extra-curricular" activities. School work is no longer something kids have to work at to be 4.0 students - case in point: my 7th grade daughter is nearly a straight-A student, and spends a meager 30-45 minutes a night on homework. I don't blame her teachers. I blame the parents who complain when the kids have the appropriate 70 minutes of homework but don't get it done because their kid had a soccer game.
Things in our community have not changed. One daughter still pays volleyball. She has practice 2 nights a week and games on Saturday mornings. Saturday games are fine, although I'm still pretty perturbed at 6:30pm practices in the middle of the week. What ever happened to practice right after school so kids can go home and focus on family and studies afterward? But, we have definitely become more aware. We only allow one activity at a time and C's are completely unacceptable. The way we see it, American standards are not high enough to make a C acceptable, and if you cant pull A's and B's while playing a sport, than maybe you shouldn't be playing a sport.
If you think I'm blowing smoke, I challenge you to do your own homework. Compare your child's school & test scores with those nationwide (you can do this at www.GreatSchools.org) then go to www.broadeducation.org to enlighten yourself about how we're stacking up around the world.
Our kids can do so much better than this. In the words of Tina Chekan, principal at McKeesport Propel School in Pennsylvania, "children will rise and fall to expectations." Is your child rising or falling?
