Time is standing still and I really don't like it.

The Newshour reported (and has been reporting) on graduation rates in America and focuses on various schools throughout the nation.  Tonight the focus was on a school that had been featured in Time magazine as a dropout zone.  So, naturally, there are many on hand who have something to say.  I am concerned that we are focusing on the wrong stuff.

How do schools improve their standing?  They focus on graduation rates.  One reason students don't graduate is because they don't do work.  Sure, they may come from crappy homes, but the bottom line is that if you don't do work, you can't improve.  However, administrators look good when they raise the graduation rate.  How do they do that????  By forcing or bullying teachers to pass students.

The result?  Students who pass but don't possess the necessary skills to do well in the market.  Are we really serving ourselves?  Are we really serving the taxpayers?

I know some talented teachers who are losing jobs because they don't want to be a part of the nonsense.  Some administrators decide that if you have a lot of kids failing your class, you must not be doing your job.  From where I'm standing, that's not the full story.  From a personal standpoint, I know that I am not the most organized teacher under the sun.  I also know that I could have done a better job this year.  Still, I also know that my students spend their day with a teacher who actually cares if they learn.  And if the best they can do is a C that works for me.  Sadly, many of my students even struggle for a C.  They cannot spell; they cannot organize thoughts; they cannot read fluently nor can they understand complex ideas; they cannot follow oral directions; they do not read written directions.  However, I must pass them for showing up to school.  I want to leave teaching because this is really bothering me.  Many teachers who keep their jobs have bought into the system and don't try anymore.  That's not okay with me and it shouldn't be okay with the American people either.

Maybe, as Julia's professor once said, American public education will no longer be here in 50 years.  Sobering thoughts indeed.