Why Doesn’t the Education System Work Any More?
Letter to the Editor
Accountability, whose is it? Our school district is facing five areas of responsibility to our students and their parents. The area we cannot effectively control is the legislature. While it is out of control, however there are four areas we can have input on: the board of education, the district administration, the teachers and the students.
The board is elected to select the best qualified to run the district, hire teachers and guide the district through its accumulated experience in real world business, teaching models and overseeing operations. If our board doesn’t handle these functions well the whole district suffers.
Our input can be applied by voting in the best possible candidates and attending meetings where agendas of interest are held and speaking out. If our voices are not heard how can we expect to see change?
The district administration holds the responsibility to produce a curriculum that satisfies the Federal, state and local entities. They are responsible for teacher qualifications and upgrading them to stay current. The administration is supposed to be an efficient, on-budget operation that trims all the fat to produce a leaner profile.
The administration also assigns its principals and teachers to the schools where needed, but sometimes thinking that a good middle school administrator might bail out a high school, only find that administrator overwhelmed causing stress and perhaps the loss of a capable administrator.
Teachers hold the unique responsibility of forming our students’ minds and learning habits that will set them for life. In our current economic turmoil teachers are looking over their shoulders to see if they are next to be let go, perhaps at the expense of the “art” of teaching, that is to inspire their students. Teachers are not built-in baby-sitters but are to help build character and self esteem.
The students have their own responsibilities like being on time, doing homework, and focusing on the material being taught, not their neighborhood challenges. They need to learn to respect themselves when no one else does. They also need to know that there are other avenues to careers that don’t need college to start but, only their imaginations.
The responsibility for our students’ education is ultimately in our hands and we should be asking those who direct it, why doesn’t the system work any more?
Jack Yeager
Candidate AUSD
