Reason #1- Expectations

What is the problem? How hard could it be to find someone to stand in front of a classroom and teach a child to add. It’s the teachers...they just don’t care! It’s the parents...they just aren’t involved! We just don’t have enough money! Like I said the list goes on! I went into education as a political science student looking to find the factor that is causing the erosion of quality education in our country. I was going to find the source and save the world. What I found is that the list is infinite. 

Reason #1- Expectations 

As I walked through the door of the elementary school I was slapped in the face by a grim reality. While we fight for our educational system, no one actually believes in it. Several colleagues had expressed that the education problem is outside of our control. That the children didn't know how to behave and that the outside factors were just to thick for us to cut through.  these kids are just too far behind to catch up...They cant make it so we will lower the threshold to a more "reachable" point. Others say we just cant fix it!  The more we make excuses of why its impossible....the more we lower our standards! Don't be so surprised! In some subconscious sense we have all thought that there was jus no way we could fix it! The results....... low expectations + withering standards= a failing nation.

It's all your fault...

I recently heard a keynote speaker say that even the highest achieving students in our nation are only performing at a proficiency of 50%. In Louisiana, you are considered proficient in reading and math if you score a 55% on the state test (basic skills). Imagine what life would be like if we did everything half way. Yet, somehow its acceptable for our children. So who do we blame? The teachers, administration, funding, poverty, politics, unfair testing...... and the list goes on. For years we have been searching for the answer to this question. However, It wasn’t until 3 weeks ago that I realized that the recipe already exists....