In regard to the editorial, "Response to Report:HISD's degree path lagging," that appeared in the Chronicle's June 18th edition, educational leaders and politicians continue to follow an ideology that will render our educational system inert. Just examine these statements in the article and quotes such as, "districts need to set a higher bar than geting students to pass the state mandated TAKS test and focus on students taking more Advanced Placement & other higher-level courses..." and, "...the problem stems from school districts and teachers who are poorly trained." Has all common sense and vision been lost? Can our current highly-educated not see that teachers are not to blame? An agenda of forcing all children from kindergarten to 12th grade to operate as and become Einstein as well as have a love and passion for math and science is unrealistic in a country where American popular culture has more power and influence than the benefits of an education. Currently there is no counter to the existing counter culture of popular culture. Furthermore, teachers face daunting tasks while trying to motivate the young of America to pass standardized tests.
Behavior is number one. Most citizens are clueless about the unimaginable negative behavior of our children that interrupts class time, learning and teacher retention. Teachers don't have an advocate or lobbyists that creates public service announcements that informs society of the interior issues of schools. Instead, teachers are on the public enemy list. This behavior problem that is nation-wide, along with drug use exists regardless of the ethnic makeup and it is being ignored. More attention by state leaders must be on parents and their children. Not teachers.
Secondly, to address the lack of vision, a person that stands in front of a class for 40 or 90 minutes and talks, must be challenged. The state of Texas' Achieve Texas program (www.achievetexas.org)is a step in the right direction. Requiring all high school graduates in the state to leave high school with a diploma and a license or certification in a trade is great. But this approach must be expanded to the elementary and middle school levels. Children should be taught by a teacher/lab technician within an academy program that provides them with an out-of-the-box experience...every year until they graduate from high school. Imagine an engineering program on the elementary level where children are building state-of-the-art bike frames made of light weight materials that the students actually ride! A robotics program, archery, scuba-diving, archaeology, etc.
Put these programs on the elementary level so that intellectualism, science & math returns as something exciting because students are experiencing it hands-on. And make these EXPERIENCES happen every year. The scuba-diving program; hands on training in the fall and an actual trip to the Caribbean where students actually dive! Combine that with an existing aquatics & marine biology curriculum and you have a powerful member of society with an incredible skill set who passes the standardized exam because he or she is used to the content from their start in kindergarten. Finally, America is 29th in science, 24th in math, our graduation rate places us at number 19, and the drop-out rate is the highest it has been since the early 1900's. And to quote a Nov 26, 2008 Mary Faler online article, "The root of the problem appears to be the values of today’s youth; celebrities are popular, MySpace rules discussions, and Weird Al sings about being “White and Nerdy”.
Ted A. Irving, M.A.
Sam Houston State University Alumni Board of Directors
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Houston Fulbright Association
2002 Hightower HS Teacher of the Year
2003 Houston ABSE 2ndary Teacher of the Year
Former NAACP Gloster B. Current Leadership Award Winner
2002 Texas Regional Emmy Award Winner
2006 Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher
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