Possible Problems

There are a number of reasons some of our students are performing below grade level. I'll discuss each of these on following pages over the next few months. Any input would be welcome.

A (partial list) in no particular order:

Lack of parental involvement.

Demotivated teachers.

Lack of school discipline.

Poor curriculum.

Poor learning environment.

Many good students are transferring to private, charter or home schools leaving the public school with what is left.

Students are not learning to read well, so their learning ability is crippled. The opposite of Learn to Read then Read to learn is also true: Don't learn to read and you cannot read to learn.

The reading materials assigned are not conducive to building good character.

Bullies may be mocking those trying to learn.

Electronic gadgets in the classroom and at home are demanding student's attention.

Teachers overloaded with paper work by state and federal Departments of Education.

Inadequate teacher pay.

Chronic student absenteeism.

Not teaching the basics of our civilization.

Et cetera.

As you consider possible problems, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. One is that some schools do very well presumably with the same curriculum and paperwork load.

I suspect teacher pay is relatively uniform. In larger cities where the cost of living is higher, salaries should reflect that.

Also consider the success of the award winning high school band, the  Band of Blue. The band performs very well, wins awards and is made of some of the same students and parents that are in our school system. If we can have an excellent band, why can we not have excellent academic achievements?