Ann Berget wrote:
> I think "school" is rather more like seeing a doctor and getting a
> prescription for your problem: if you get the Rx filled and take it and do
> the other things the doctor recommends, you are much more likely to recover
> quickly than if you put the Rx in your pocket and simply complain about how
> the doctor didn't cure you.
>
> Some things you simply have to do for yourself. Students and their families,
> not just teachers, must do their fair share of the learning work. Students
> who are not present are not doing their fair share, parents who do not - for
> whatever reason - see that their children attend school regularly prepared to
> learn do not do their fair share. And teachers - however committed, well
> funded, or skilled - are unlikely to overcome such a basic lack of
> cooperation. Everyone has to do his/her fair share to achieve success. That
> includes students and families.
Ok, I can work with this analogy. So school is more like
going to a doctor's office. I would assume, being a
middle class patient, that my doctor would be properly
trained and would have not have been hired
if they were incompetent. I would assume that they
would be familiar with and use the most current and effective
medicines and procedures; and that they would not continue to
use procedures that have been ineffective in the past.
I would assume that I would not have to travel by bus for
more than an hour to see them. I would assume that I would
not be permanently harmed by routine medical procedures.
I would assume that the medical care at the clinic close
to my home would not differ significantly from one in
another neighborhood. I would assume that even if I were
unable to afford private medical care, that I would
still be able to receive proper medical treatment.
I have never claimed that students and families don't have
a role to play in the educational system. But, just
as the government has a legal responsibility to protect
children from physical abuse at the hands of bad
parents, I feel that the schools have a responsibility
to educate students who come from neglectful homes. Young
children are not responsible for the homes that they are born
into. As citizens of this country they have a right
to a quality education regardless of who their parents
are.
Michael Atherton
Prospect Park
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