FIXING OUR SCHOOLS FOR DUMMIES- VII

SAFE AND SECURE SCHOOLS

In the United States like many other countries students by law must attend school. Students cannot legally drop out until they complete the high school academic year in which they turned 16. Unfortunately, more and more of our students drop out of high school. It is a baffling situation because successful completion of high school and actually graduating is the minimum necessary in this country for future success. One cannot even join the military without completing high school or getting one's GED and the military limits the number of GED applicants it will accept. GED stands for General Educational Development and it is viewed as an equivalent document to a high school diploma.

There are countless reasons for students to drop out of high school. These reasons might include: family problems, socio-economic issues, poor grades, substance abuse, behavior problems and a failure to recognize the value of an education. Recently another factor may be accountable for not only students dropping out of high school; but even the increasingly poor attendance of more and more elementary and junior high school students. That factor is school safety. Violence both in and around our schools is increasing. The killings at Columbine was the wake-up call and there seems to be more and more incidences of students fighting, stabbing and shooting one another in and around schools across the country.

If attending school is compulsory then it is school system's responsibility to see that students are safe and secure in a situation where their attendance is mandatory. One can only wonder if the truancy on the elementary level and the accelerating dropout rate in high schools are the results of the increasing incidences of school violence. The school environment is fast changing and unfortunately those responsible for administering our schools are out of step. While school boards argue over the political correctness of social studies books and site administrators focus on gum chewing and clothing styles, other more serious problems need attention. Educators seem to be packed in a slow moving school bus in the commuter lane while students are speeding along in the fast lane.

I viewed a presentation recently in which the speaker offered that by the time kids get to school their brains have been rewired to be digital because they have spent so much time with digital activities, http://www.wimp.com/secretpowers/. Unfortunately the school environment is analog in that students are expected to focus on lectures, books, paper assignments and tests. In the classroom students cannot use the pause or delete key. Obviously, some will not be able to handle this foreign and unfamiliar situation. Lacking self-control, poor behavior is inevitable.



During my years of teaching I encountered poorly behaved students who enjoyed their attempts to be disruptive in the classroom. Ironically these same students rarely missed a day of school. Some actually bragged that they came to school not to learn but to socialize, hassle their fellow students, annoy teachers and see how much they could get away with. It is long past the time when the vast majority of students who attend regularly, participate in class, do their assignments and stay out of trouble once again become the focus of attention. This taken for granted, unappreciated and basically ignored student population needs to become the main attraction and receive top billing. The misfits, trouble makers, occasional attendees, novice gang members, and all those who just don't give a damn about their education need to be dealt with in a manner and location that does not detract from those students who appreciate and want an education.

Our schools are not an extension of the juvenile justice system or the mental health system. For too long the schools and their staffs have been used as the untrained extensions of the courts, law enforcement, health services and on occasion neglectful parents. The business of education is education. Current conditions make it difficult enough for schools to fulfill their primary responsibility without having to be burdened by all of society's other problems. When schools once again focus on those who want to learn and allow teachers to teach without being part time cops, social workers, mental health professionals and truant officers a more safe environment will be established and school violence will no doubt decrease. This is not rocket science just plain old common sense ... something that seems to be in short supply.

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