Crisis in the Classroom

I have been teaching for almost 20 years and sadly (and now terrifyingly) what I have recognized is that each year the students are progressively more ill-mannered, illiterate and ill-equipped. We babyboomers are trusting our futures to young people who will not be prepared to handle their own adulthood much less make wise and well-informed decisions for us when we're in the home.

Now, there are exceptions and I have had the privilege to teach a good number of them, but they are becoming the minority. The group of teens who are respectful, motivated to do well, and highly responsible is shrinking in size, and we are losing entirely the middle-class group—the strong B-C students who are hard workers but not necessarily destined for college and much better suited for skilled work in the various trades. Today in schools, we have that much smaller group of great kids and all the rest, who are out of control, driven by a sense of entitlement rather than earned success, and out of touch with any sort of moral compass.

Just recently, and not for the first time, "top" students have even been involved in cheating. I have had many students tell me (and most with pride or levity) that they have cheated their way through school from as early as elementary school. They have convinced themselves that it is so critical to be on top (or even just to pass) that playing fair and following rules is just not important; in fact, has no value. The legacy of that, of course, is that even the "good" kids believe the ends justify any means, and we are producing kids who know little or nothing.

Then there is the student who cares so little that as long as they pass a class, they’re satisfied. I’ve tried to explain the concept of what knowing only 70% of anything means—that they wouldn’t want a doctor who only knew 70% of the material performing surgery on them or they wouldn’t want to work in a building where the architect only knew 70% of the material, but they don’t get it.

They believe somehow that just because they exist, they should succeed—a sense of entitlement that is contributing greatly to the demise of the modern student. They want to make six figures, but are not at all interested in investing the time or effort necessary to reach that level of success.

Who is to blame? The parents, of course, are the first target. Many have turned the job of parenting over to $5.00 an hour caregivers with different values and morals, who are not well educated themselves and certainly not as motivated as the parent would be to invest in their child.

Honestly, I don’t really understand having children and turning them over to daycare to raise unless there is absolutely no alternative. What a precious experience missed forever and what a disadvantage to the child.

The result—guilty parents who compensate with over-indulgence, are too tired to expect much and too terrified to discipline, and out of control first graders with mouths like sailors and behavior that is belligerent at best. Have you ever watched Super Nanny? Those are no longer aberrant situations. Imagine 25 of those kids in a classroom. It is no wonder that the quality of education is being impacted.

And what do the parents do when their kids are out of control? They blame the school and expect it to resolve the problem, and perhaps the school could discipline and make a difference when they’re on the elementary level, but all its programs to correct behavior fail when there is no consistency at home.

If we get them acting out in high school, it is really too late to make a difference. Hear this parents! If your child is not a conscientious student who behaves well, they will not succeed in high school, and it may be too late to impact a change for the positive. Their success in high school and later in college, if they make it in, is totally predicated on their training during those critical preschool and elementary school years. If you don’t do it then, you and your child will pay the piper in junior high school and thereafter.

The schools, of course, have to accept responsibility too. Historically, the schools have resisted parenting in lieu of educating, but, because parenting is nonexistent in too many cases, valuable time is now spent teaching students basic manners, respectable dress, time management and a sense of responsibility.

The schools have also relaxed expectations. The effort to “Leave No Child Behind” has resulted in passing kids who can’t read or write a complete sentence, and rather than deal with the problem, we deny the problem exists or put on a band aid and hope we can get them graduated. I was part of a conference with parents and counselors trying to determine college attendance for their student who was really illiterate. I was appalled and astounded that they were not trying to determine how to get this kid skilled in some trade that would result in him becoming a productive member of our society.

Unlike in almost any other country where students earn the right to higher education with hard work, good grades and exemplary behavior, we give our students the notion that they are entitled to a college education whether or not they’ve worked for that opportunity. At some point, we decided in America that working in the trades is not a lofty enough goal or important enough work, so, because there are fewer of them, my plumber earns $100 an hour, a lot more than I do as a teacher or writer, and I have a Master’s Degree.

Not all students are college material and when we send those who are ill-equipped, we impact the quality of everyone’s education. We’ve watered down the education on the high school level to accommodate the masses and now we’re watering down college. America is in trouble because our kids will not be as skilled or as educated as any number of our enemies like Iran or competitors like India and China. Already, American children cannot compete with students globally in math and science. When once we were the number one educational system in the world, we are now 24th. Scary enough for you?

The third area of fault needs to be placed squarely on the shoulders of society as a whole. To what have we reduced ourselves? Nuclear families who have isolated themselves from the love, support, wisdom and encouragement of older generations; the preoccupation with being on one screen or another 24/7. It seems everyone is glued to their televisions, computers and phones like they are appendages.

As a result, kids’ social skills are nonexistent because they can only relate to their families and friends via facebook and texting, and the family is breaking down because they can’t even find time for a family meal (now known to be significant tradition for producing a successful kid.)

Kids are immune to violence because of the movies and games to which they are constantly exposed, and they are promiscuous because of what they see on the television in their own living rooms.

It isn’t just because there is a 50% divorce rate or a 10% unemployment rate. Financial and familial struggles have existed forever. The difference is how we are dealing or not dealing with those struggles.

What to do? Well, I think my next book may be about this topic so stayed tuned for suggestions.