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Do We Expect Too Much of Our Teachers?

I love teachers and think they are the unsung heroes of our generation. Today’s teachers have to compete with MTV, BET, iPods, iTunes, cell phones, text messaging, reduced school budgets, less parental involvement in schools, the No Child Left Behind Act and a host of other concerns.

It is time to give teachers more support by developing a comprehensive educational ownership curriculum. In 2004, our nation spent over $382 billion on education.

Over 99% of these dollars were spent on what adults will do to provide a "learning environment" for students - buildings, books, science labs, teachers, libraries, etc.
Less than 1% was spent teaching students what they must do for their education.

Many teachers, parents, administrators, business leaders and politicians are frustrated with the current system. The key is to significantly change the way students participate in their school experience. We have spent billions of dollars on what adults will do for their children. Let’s change the focus and get students more actively involved in their own education.

Think of positive impact on our nation’s education system if we doubled the student’s portion to two %, and spent those monies on an educational ownership curriculum for all students from 5^th through 12^th grades. Students would learn how to become more active participants in their educational experience.

To be successful the educational curriculum must have the same priority as core subjects like English, math, and science. It is not enough for schools to simply teach a new Federal or state mandated curriculum.

The educational ownership curriculum, consisting of character education, life skills and goal setting, would teach students how to plan and how to take action on their dreams, the importance of eliminating excuses and how to use the goal setting principles in the classroom. Students would learn the importance of volunteering and helping others, and how to replace negative thinking with positive, reaffirming statements.

When students take educational ownership, they take personal responsibility to do something positive to change their lives. The curriculum would be designed to give students a better sense of purpose and to increase academic achievement.

Students would learn that there may be challenges in their path, but that they do not have to become insurmountable roadblocks to a student’s future. With ownership comes dignity and self-respect.

An educational ownership curriculum is the answer to many of today’s school problems. Making character education, life skills and goal setting programs a top priority will pay big dividends for our children. These skills are transferable to a student’s personal life, the workplace, and the future development of their families.

It is time to make educational ownership a priority. We are developing our future leaders. Let’s give them all the tools they need to be successful.

Suggestions for implementation:

Note: Some schools are doing part of this, but the key is getting this curriculum to become equal in priority to core subjects. In all probability that will take governmental action. This is a process and it may take several years, but our children deserve nothing less.

1. Talk to your school administrators and teachers and let them know you want educational ownership to be a priority.

2. Talk to your local school board and PTA group.

3. Hold informational meetings with teachers, parents, administrators. You may run into some resistance. Teachers have their backs against the wall because of the mandated No Child Left behind requirements.

4. Stress with them that initially this will take important class time, but it will ultimately help them reach their goals in the long run.

5. Get your local politicians on board. Send them information, see them personally, write letters, etc.

6. Get your state educational associations involved.

We hope you have found this Teaching Moment helpful. Please visit our website www.TeachingMoments.com for additional easy-to-implement parenting ideas.

10/24/06

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