Education Reflection

Here in California, Education is in real trouble!
According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the high school drop-out rate is much higher than previously thought. In 2007 nearly 130,000 students dropped-out of California schools! That means about 25% of our kids are dropping-out!
This astronomical figure is concentrated largely in Southern California, where over-crowding, poverty, drugs and violence are out of control. There's no room for learning in a situation like that!
What's ironic and tragic is that the ethnic group with the highest drop-out rate is Hispanic... in a state that invests alot of money in Spanish Immersion. So, the kids being failed by the system are the ones that already know how to speak Spanish!
I'm sure that the funds used for Spanish Immersion could be of greater benefit to students if it was used to fund a tutoring program. What kids need is more support from adults with more patience.
And WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING ALLOWING EDUCATION FUNDING TO BE CUT, HACKED, CHOPPED AND MINCED? This is one of those things we need some serious uprising over!
I've read many books about education, communication and neurological development. (A Mind at a Time- Dr. Mel Levine, Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World- Stephen Glen and Jane Nelson, Teacher Effectiveness Training - Dr. Thomas Gordon...)
From what I gather, what kids need most from parents and teachers is for us to Listen without Judgement, Let them develop a Love of Learning by not weighing them down with sooo much work and allowing them to Explore Their Interests instead of always being under constant direction... every movement commanded, demanded or imposed on by someone with authority.
You have the recipe for rebellion right there!
There are many things we as educators and parents can do to Lift Our Children UP from this hopeless situation. Another ironic thing is... We Need To Learn More To Help Our Children Learn!!!!
It's easy to want to give-up at this point. But...... we can't. And we have to keep our kids from giving-up before they've even begun.
How? Well, we've been trying to change our kids for along time now with directing, commanding, guilting, shaming, praising, relating, preaching, lecturing, threatening, advising, and so on... maybe we should look more closely at OUR behavior and communication.
We send many messages to our kids that can be destructive even if it's unintentional. Kids believe what we tell them so be gentle please.
As the authorities, we need to stop fumbling all over politics and avoiding our responsibilities... we spend more money spinning our wheels than it would take to effectively prepare our kids.
Infact, To Teach Responsibility... Act Responsibly. To Teach Respect... Act Respectfully. To Teach Conflict Resolution... Resolve Some Conflicts. To Teach Gratitude... Be Grateful. To Teach Perseverance... Persevere...