80% Approval

My mom is a teacher and have so much respect for her. I have been in her classroom and seen her students, and she has to put up with so much. This is the first year she comes home and tells me that her students are just awful and she just wants to quit, or at least go to another school. My mom is an amazing teacher. I have seen her take a third grader who came in reading at a kindergarten level, and the child leaves third grade reading at a fourth grade level. She is very good at what she does.
The education system in this country is horrible, and it is nice to know our President is making Reform a priority. I believe that his idea to create more charter schools is an awesome idea. And I definitely believe No Child Left Behind has been more detrimental than helpful to children. And it's good to know he wants to change No Child Left Behind.
So, this 80% approval in the title refers to how much I approve of what Obama and the Secretary of Education want to do. But I do see some problems.
First, there is too much responsibility on the teacher to improve a child's education and none on the child themselves. There are children that just do not want to learn; I've seen them in my mom's classroom. And the administration seems to be lacking in that reality. A teacher shouldn't be held totally responsible if a child is failing. When I was growing up, doing my homework and making sure my grades were good were my responsibility. I was responsible for getting my education. Of course my parents were supportive and encouraging, but if I wasn't doing well, they didn't go bless out the teacher; they punished me.
I also think we need to get out of this whole standardized test thing. Children are not standard. They learn and express their knowledge differently, and these tests don't take that into consideration. My mom spends most of her time teaching her children how to pass the damn state tests versus teaching them what third graders need to know. I didn't have these stupid tests and I did pretty damn well. Some children are like my mom. My mom is extremely intelligent, but she is horrible at taking standardized tests. She said she would get very nervous and anxious, and not do as well as she could. The administration isn't taking into account that some of these children may just be bad at taking standardized tests. I say, take the emphasis off tests and emphasize learning. I understand you have to assess how well a school is doing, but shouldn't a student's grades be enough?
Also, schools don't have enough resources. I was very lucky to have been able to go to John Carroll where I had many resources available. But not all students are that lucky. Also, teachers don't get paid enough. There are some great people out there who may be wonderful teachers, but choose not to be because the pay is so poor. (It's crazy that we pay teachers, police officers, nurses, and firefighters less than we pay athletes and actors. I think that is ridiculous. I watch Nurse Jackie and Jackie said something very interesting during one of the episodes. She said that the doctors are there to diagnose; the nurses are there to take care of the patients.)
I think that elementary school should be like middle and high school. My mom is expected to teach social studies, science, reading, spelling, and math. I think that is insane. The reason college and high school structures work is because the teachers are experts in their field. So why not have one teacher teach social studies, one reading and spelling, one math, and one science. An expert in a field would perhaps be better at communicating the information related to that field. When you get a Ph.D, you have to take an oral exam so on some level, you have to know how to communicate the information. Now, not all college professors are great, but they do know what the hell they are talking about.
Lastly, my mom spends too much of her time disciplining in her classroom. We underestimate these children. They may not be extremely book smart, but their street smarts are incredible. They are too smart for their own good. How they act in school is simply a reflection of how they act at home, and children are no longer afraid of their parents or teachers. They are no longer afraid of punishment. I was terrified to do something bad because I knew my mom and dad would be upset, and I would be punished. These children know neither their parents or teachers can do anything to them in terms of discipline. If a teacher even yells too loud, the student can go complain and that teacher could get reprimanded. These parents know their children can call the police and call their discipline, abuse. The children know no one can touch them. So they act a fool in school. I say bring back corporal punishment. I know the ACLU would have a fit at that statement, but something needs to be done. These children have no incentive to behave, so let not getting their butt kicked be an incentive.
I'd also like the Obama administration to be careful in how much they get involved in the classroom. My mom is frustrated by the amount of politics she has to deal with on a daily basis. It simply interferes with her teaching. I do not want my mom to become even more distracted by ridiculous tests and standards that keep her from actually teaching.
Education Reform is very important to me but reform has to be approached from all angles. There has to be more parental involvement and students need to be held responsible for their behavior. Teachers need to be allowed to discipline, and so do parents. Making teachers take three science and math classes is not going to improve the system. And putting special needs children in the same class as children who learn "normally" doesn't help either. Just like our children need to have a well-rounded education, reform also needs to be well-rounded.