Holland, MI —
States across the country spend much of last year devising education reform strategies in a “Race to the Top” for federal dollars. Congress and the White House are re-examining the No Child Left Behind Act, trying to find new ways to improve educational outcomes and hold schools accountable. The federal government has spent tens of billions of dollars and think tanks and institutes have churned out hundreds of reports in an effort to solve America’s “education crisis.” Yet little progress seems to be made. Student achievement has scarcely improved. Urban school systems continue to be mired in failure. And test scores show American students till trail their counterparts in many foreign countries that have become our economic rivals.
Many parents are dissatisfied with the public education system, but perhaps it is time to look beyond such familiar answers as curriculums, school and teacher accountability and greater parent choice. Parents must recognize that they — not the teachers, not the school boards — are the most important factors in their children’s educational success.
A student whose education gets little or no support at home is not likely to succeed in school, no matter who her teacher is or whether she attends a charter, private or traditional public school. We all know this instinctively, and numerous studies bear it out. Yet we seldom talk about it when we discuss education, either out of political correctness or an unwillingness to acknowledge our own shortcomings.
Schools have children for six hours a day, five days a week, nine months a year. The rest o of the time education is the responsibility of their parents, who must fight what often seems like an uphill battle against a popular culture that values being cool over being smart.
Supporting a child’s education means more than getting him to school on time and attending the parent-teacher conference.
Many parents are dissatisfied with the public education system, but perhaps it is time to look beyond such familiar answers as curriculums, school and teacher accountability and greater parent choice. Parents must recognize that they — not the teachers, not the school boards — are the most important factors in their children’s educational success.
A student whose education gets little or no support at home is not likely to succeed in school, no matter who her teacher is or whether she attends a charter, private or traditional public school. We all know this instinctively, and numerous studies bear it out. Yet we seldom talk about it when we discuss education, either out of political correctness or an unwillingness to acknowledge our own shortcomings.
Schools have children for six hours a day, five days a week, nine months a year. The rest o of the time education is the responsibility of their parents, who must fight what often seems like an uphill battle against a popular culture that values being cool over being smart.
Supporting a child’s education means more than getting him to school on time and attending the parent-teacher conference.
