I was watching a documentary a few days ago about Asian animals. The location was “the steppes.” I no sooner heard that word than I was back in fourth grade geography class and we were studying the “steppes” and the people and places around. I probably have not heard, nor used that word since then.
Geography is not taught in elementary school as a discrete subject anymore. In fact, my age group may be the last students to have a “geography” class. It soon was combined with world history to become social studies and elementary students learned altogether about the places and the people and politics in whatever region. I have no particular feeling about that, as geography was not my favorite subject, anyway, and history at that age is nothing but lots of kings and queens and war after war.
Schools are in the news lately, both locally and nationally. They are failing, and the talking heads are scrambling to figure out why. Most blame COVID, and the year of remote learning. Some blame the students and others the teachers but most agree the system, generally, is the problem.
The students are the same, believe it or not. There is group who will learn no matter what. They come to school and absorb everything without trying, or even realizing. They like being there because, for now, it is their life. Another group is there expecting and wanting to learn. It is not easy for them all, but they pay attention and do their part. In this group are some who need extra help, or special accommodation, but they appreciate it and are willing to go the extra distance to achieve their goal, whatever that is.
And there is the bunch who don’t want to be there. Unfortunately, this is the group who gets two-thirds of teacher time and attention because there is no other option if any kind of order is to be maintained. This is the group who, in my day as a student, would have quit after eighth grade and gone to work for their dad or neighbor until they were old enough to go into the military. They were usually a couple years older than their classmates because of being held back a time or two.
These options are no longer open to the teacher or the student and maybe that’s too bad. Society and the system have decided that no one fails. There is never a loser. Teachers can’t discipline or fail a student for not producing even the minimum amount of work so they coast through school, often labeled trouble maker. Their first foray into the real world is usually a disaster, many landing in jail, or dead.
Sidebar: The students I went to school with who quit after eighth grade became productive citizens. They raised good kids, held good jobs. Some started their own business, Some had successful military careers. There were no more drunks or street bums or deadbeat parents in that group than among the star athletes and teachers’ pets and college grads.
The teachers, generally, are a little younger, less experienced, because after a few years they quit the profession because they aren’t teaching math, or English or social studies, but are writing reports, and attending classes on new woke vocabulary or student indoctrination, or how to tame a parent. Little time is left for hands-on classroom activity. They can get a job in the mainstream that pays more and has less headache. Teachers used to say, “I’m not a rocket scientist. I taught the rocket scientist.” These days they have to say “I showed the rocket scientist his pronouns.” And when they quit, the reason is usually “because I wasn’t teaching anymore.”
Which brings us to the system. COVID was five years ago. A functioning system would have been well on the way to recovery by now. There is a group of fourth graders who weren’t affected by COVID in school who should be testing at grade level but instead are doing well to be reading at beginning levels and maybe can add and subtract. We are graduating seniors reading at fourth grade level and teaching elementary-level math in college.
The system needs to recognize the need and teach to it, and not, on a whim, decide all students need to learn underwater basket-weaving because they may one day be underwater. Techniques may change, and technology assist the process, but the need for “reading, writing and ‘rithmetic” is still paramount. They say they are working on it. We’ll see. And maybe by the time my great-grandkids graduate from high school we can have a conversation about the steppes in northern Asia.
