Public Schools Are a Failure

Just so we know, there is no big, scary monster under our bed! It’s all in our head!


There is also no such thing as “the public school system”! Nope, instead, there are MANY people in different communities, with different thoughts, differing areas of expertise, different problems, different ideals, all working in a vortex that many enjoy calling the public school system. Those same people also enjoy GRADING the public school system, which we should be reminded does NOT exist.

Now, I have worked for 13 years in a small community, which has little opportunity for employment. Yes, I work in a...dare I say...public school system? Nope, I work in a community of educators, some who need more prodding than others, some who are fantastically passionate, some who are under-appreciated, and some who need encouragement. And, yes, we may call it a public school system, if we must, but please let us hang our feet over the edge of the bed.

P.S. It won’t bite! But it is hungry!

It’s hungry because it doesn’t enjoy eating what we are feeding it. It doesn’t like negative talk, downgrading rules, tons of legalese, or laziness. It does enjoy straight talk, positive affirmation, competent leaders, passionate leaders, and a pat on the back. (It also enjoys decision-makers who understand the kids and what they deal with in life.)

You see, because the place I work has a free and reduced lunch rate of 80%.

Did you know?

In low-income neighborhoods, children start kindergarten 60 percent behind their peers from affluent communities, leaving them unprepared when it’s time to start school. When children start school behind, they are more likely to stay behind for the rest of their lives, and this gap only widens over time. (jstart.org)

Did you also know that the grading system used in the state of Mississippi does NOT consider the poverty rate of each school district? (Sounds like comparing apples to oranges, which by the way “monster” doesn’t like!)

Of course we knew all that! However, we enjoy overlooking that because it is easier to point to the affluent community and notice how well “their students are doing”. But, are they? Compared to kids in the same home situation as them, are they successful? It is much easier to point a finger at the monster under the bed than take him out, dust him off, and ask him what he needs. It is much easier to assume that those kids are smarter because they are richer! It is much easier to assume that those educators--though they may have received the same education, live in the same area--are simply better at the smart school. It is also easier to assume that poor kids can’t learn or that the people working at the poor school aren’t doing something right...It may be easier, but is it true?

At my 80% poverty school, the elementary school was graded as a “D” school, but the high school was rated a “B”. So the longer the kids are in the “system”, the more intervention they receive, the better testers they become—or did some of those under-achieving students drop out? Or does the school actually close the gap the longer it has the kids?

Interestingly enough, the grading system doesn’t give honorable mentions either. For instance, the elementary that was graded a “D”, missed the “C” by only .074 points! (A heartbreak for the staff, who by the way, get to think everyday—I work in a D school...blah...blah...blah) Unless they have a great leader who pushes them past their GRADE and reminds them that while some students scored near perfect, others still need them to engage!

The middle school, which was graded a “C”, missed being a “B” by 1 point! They actually had an increase in their score by 20 points from the year before! The district...well, its score increased by 8 points!

Alas, the monster was asked to stay under the bed...so everyone could run from it and the town crier could announce “The Public Schools Are a Failure!” My question is...are they? And I wonder about self-fulfilling prophecies?

I also wonder if the system should—instead of doling out grades—show how each school was rated based on poverty level, i.e. how did the students from homes who had parents with college degrees score in each district? How did students who live in homes with an income of $50,000 score in each district? How did those living in government-funded housing score? And so on...I do wonder.

As a final note, one kid’s teacher gave a little prize for the kids who had completed their homework every night since school started. Out of 21 students, 3 students received the award. Which kids do you think (on average) will score higher on that test? I wonder...

I also wonder if we have hope? No, I do not wonder that at all. I know we have hope. Otherwise, we should all give up and go home. Our hope isn’t in being afraid of the “monster”, of calling him a “monster”, but of loving “monster” and believing in “monster”. Because, after all, “monster” is a green-eyed kid, one tooth loose, hair sticking up on his head, who just pulled off his mask...”Wanna play?”