Climbing the ladder of competitiveness through education

President Obama

Last week (February 19) President Barack Obama, speaking outside of Portland, Oregon at Intel, stressed the importance of a quality education and global competitiveness. He talked about science and math, and a 10 year plan to achieve his goal.

“Over the next ten years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education beyond high school, many requiring proficiency in math and science. And yet today we’ve fallen behind in math, science, and graduation rates. As a result, companies like Intel struggle to hire American workers with the skills that fit their needs.

"If we want to win the global competition for new jobs and industries, we’ve got to win the global competition to educate our people. We’ve got to have the best trained, best skilled workforce in the world. That’s how we’ll ensure that the next Intel, the next Google, or the next Microsoft is created in America, and hires American workers,” President Obama said.

If America is to climb back to the top of the education ladder, a quality, well-rounded education is key. Facebook, Texting and Twittering are social instrument; no skills are required to use them. 

The public school system is failing students with the help of enabling parents and the Internet. President Obama is endeavoring to rebuild--not the physical structures--but the minds within the classrooms, starting with weeding out poor teachers, principals and superintendents. He understands the significance and weight of a global education.

Former Chancellor of DC Public Schools, Michelle Rhee, caught triple hell from teachers and the union when she attempted to clean up D. C.’s stagnant schools. Students were failing. She fired ineffective teachers and staff. She had the backing of Mayor Adrian Fenty, who lost an election to Vincent Gray in November. Gray was not willing to work with Rhee.

I agree that the unionization of teachers has stifled creativity, competition and excellence in the classroom. Not saying that unions are bad, but it’s blindingly clear that unions are on the wrong side of education. The union’s responsibility and allegiance is one dimensional. It's devoted to protecting poor teachers who commit fraud in classrooms five days a week. A school system that graduates incompetent students is criminal. Just as bad are parents who focus more on extracurricular activities and the socialization of their children.

An ABC News 20/20 documentary titled Stupid in America: How We Cheat Our Kids with John Stossel--was an indicting report on the public school system in America. He said in conclusion: “Competition inspires people to do what we didn't think we could do. If people got to choose their kids' school, education options would be endless.

“There could soon be technology schools, science schools, virtual schools where you learn at home on your computer, sports schools, music schools, schools that go all year, schools with uniforms, schools that open early and keep kids later, and, who knows what else. If there were competition, all kinds of new ideas would bloom".

Unfortunately, the redlining of students depends on the kind of education they earn. For thousands of kids deficient schools are all they have. They are trapped behind the eight ball. They will never get a chance to run the table of educational opportunities like White kids who attend quality schools with quality teachers.

The eight ball trap leads to failure, and that leads to hopelessness and that leads to disaster and that leads to . . . You fill in the blank.

In-school corporal punishment is an extremely bad idea

Wait a holy crap filled minute! You mean there are parents who want their children paddled at school? I do not keep up with the corporal punishment trends, so I plead stupidity. I assumed that all public schools in the U.S. had banned paddling. Suffice it to say I was somewhat surprised when I read that “nostalgic” parents in Temple, Texas wants the return of paddling. They believe a couple of whacks on a student’s backside will force them to act respectfully in the classroom.

When I attended elementary school, I witnessed several of my classmates getting whipped with a strap. Fortunately, none of us girls fell victim to the strap. One afternoon we watched in horror as our homeroom teacher whipped a male student so long, we were scared for him. I ran home and told my mother what happened. The next day she went to the school to talk to the teacher, warning her to never whip me. She told my teacher if there was a problem with me in the classroom, she should send home a note. She would do the punishing. The boy’s mother never came to the school. We felt so sorry for him.

The teacher and her sister, who taught at the near-by high school, was also known for punishing students by whipping them with a strap. Their favorite statement to misbehaving students was: “I will knock you into the middle of another week.” Both of the sisters were top heavy and unattractive.

Maybe my young eyes were fooling me, but I saw anger in the whacks landing on my classmate's behind. He did not always complete his homework; many times he was the class clown. But the punishment we witnessed was uncalled for. We did not call it paddling. We called it whipping, a half notch away from a beating. We did not know the technical term was “corporal punishment.”

The US Supreme Court declared in 1977 that paddling was lawful in schools. Thirty states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico were included in that number. Ohio outlawed the practice in 2009. In 2002, almost 1.4 of all corporal punishment took place in Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama. It should be noted that Black males were most likely to get paddled as opposed to females and White males.

Today when parents spank or hit their own children they are asking for trouble. The law labels them child abusers, and they are hauled off to jail and fined. The time they spend in jail depends on the kids’ story of alleged abuse. Kids have been told to call 9-1-1 if they are hit, whipped or beat by their parents. I have heard kids threaten to call the police if they cannot have their way. This kiddy style blackmail has consequences for parents and children, many of whom are teenagers. They do not want to be disciplined or told what to do. Children can curse and hit parents with no consequences to suffer. The law is more on the kids' side than upholding the parents right to discipline their youngsters.

Temple, Texas parents are asking for a huge problem they may not be prepared to accept. They want schools to take over the responsibility of raising and disciplining their children and educating them at the same time. Paddling a student in 2010 can present a dangerous situation for the person who does the paddling. Students do not take kindly to getting hit by their parents, let a teacher. They may associate paddling with disrespect. Of course, incessant teasing will follow the paddling. This can cause anger in the student to swell, manifesting itself in a dangerous, deadly way. This is especially true if the student seeks revenge against the teacher. Angry students do not think in terms of cause and effect and consequences.

Problems that I have with a teacher or principal 

administering corporal punishment are:

(A) Who trained this person to paddle a student?

(B) What will cause the paddler to increase, or decrease the paddling?

(C) What if the paddler is angry, taking the anger out on a student?

(D) Will someone be in the room with the paddler and the student? Or will it be done in the privacy of the principal's office?

(E) How quickly will the students' parents be notified of the paddling?

(F) What behavior will require corporal punishment?

(G) Will a female paddle a female student?

(H) Will a male paddle a male student?

(I) What about psychologists claiming that hitting makes a child violent? Does that assessment only apply to parents hitting their kid?

And lastly, the most dreaded subject no one wants to discuss: Race.

(A) Will White parents be unhappy if their kid is paddled by a Black teacher or principal?

(B) Will Black parents be equally unhappy if a White teacher or principal paddles their child?

(C) Will corporal punishment be administered evenly, with neither Black, White, Hispanic or other students getting paddled the most?

The same parents who requested that the school paddle their kid will be the first parents to file a lawsuit if their child complains about getting hit too hard. Paddling is a bad idea. It should be completely outlawed in the school system. Respect should be taught in the home. Discipline should be practiced in the home. Schools are for teaching. Teachers cannot teach and be parents to unruly children who refuse to control their behavior.

Back to the basics in the classroom

When I was a student many years ago, teachers were allowed to teach, and students knew why they attended school: to learn. We were not seat warmers and trouble makers. Sure there were kids who did not want to sit all day and learn. They were disruptive and sassed teachers just to see how much they could get away with without taking a trip to the principal's office where they were quickly dealt with.

If a student was absent from school the parent knew the next day or same day. Teachers were not afraid of students. Parents did not threaten teachers. The majority of parents wanted to know what their child or children were doing in school.

In the classroom we were taught the components of a complete sentence; how to read a sentence correctly, understanding the reason for punctuation and how to use it; how to write essays with a beginning, middle and end. My English teachers from elementary school, all the way through high school, were drill sergeants in dresses and heels. 

We read out loud in class, never to ourselves. Proper PE dress was a requirement. Getting on the gym floor wearing regular clothes instead of blue shorts, white blouse, white tennis and white socks meant a zero grade. Participation was another requirement. No sitting on the sideline. No excuses were acceptable. Math, socials studies, history and other subjects were taught just as vigorously. Not all of the teachers were ideal for the classroom, but students did manage to learn in their classes. Classroom progress was expected, and teachers were expected to deliver.

We were not taught to pass a test. We regularly took exams and quizzes, covering subjects we had been taught in prior weeks and months. I experienced this kind of teaching from elementary to high school. Remembering my teachers and their "take no prisoners" attitude followed me to the classroom every day. As a substitute teacher, I was not familiar with the lax style of teaching I see in the classrooms today.

I witnessed first hand how lax teachers, students, and principals have become. I had teachers leave instructions telling me I should not expect too much from certain students. I was shocked to see blackboards used for display. When I was a student the blackboard played an important role in the classroom.

I saw teachers sleeping in class. Students took charge, doing what they wanted. In some high schools boys played cards or dice, girls groomed each other's hair, makeup and painted their nails. My sense of appropriate classroom decorum did not allow for that waste of time. Though I witnessed a lot of disturbing behavior. I also learned that students wanted to be challenged. When I challenged them academically, demanding respect in the classroom, they responded positively.

That is what the schools have to get back to: teaching and challenging students. But first, take-no-prisoners initiatives have to be put in place to weed out ineffective teachers and principals. New hires should be asked: “Are you willing to dedicate yourself to teaching and being effective? Do you want to this job because of the pay and benefits, or to make a difference?” I think the questions are important. Interviewees can lie but the lie or truth will manifest itself.

I remember a newly hired teacher taking a leave of absence to have surgery soon after her insurance kicked in. As it turned out, she was a poor teacher, who had lots of absences. The principal was not happy with her, but she could not fire her. She only took the teaching job so that she could get the surgery that she couldn't pay for out of pocket.

Teachers should be evaluated every six months, rather than yearly. Poor evaluations should lead to termination, or a severe warning to improve their skills. Union protection for poorly equipped teachers and principals have to stop for the sake of the students.

In addition to setting strict rules for teachers and students, parents have to do their share, given they are the key to their kid's learning and behavior at school. Parents must participate in their kid's education, making sure they are completing homework, demanding to see report cards, requesting periodic meetings with teachers.

Ultimately, students are responsible for their own education and behavior in the classroom. Students want structure and guidance. Many of them perform much better when they are taught at home to do their best. Home rewards and encouragement are extremely important. This would be an idea situation, but all too many students come from dysfunctional homes where the parent or parents have little to no interest in their education.

Unfortunately, the school system is forced to be parent, nurse who dispenses medications, counselor, adviser and disciplinarian. Many schools have become extensions of those dysfunctional homes. One solution does not fit all, but getting back to the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, parent participation and a dedication to teaching is a good start.