Welcome Back

By TAD BARTIMUS

The printed card was the only official mail in the teachers' boxes the day they returned to school. Bearing a state seal, the card's first question asked:

"When is the bomb going to explode?"

More questions, presumably in descending order of importance, followed: "Where is the bomb right now?" "Did you place the bomb?" Finally, "Where are you calling from?" Teachers were ordered to put the card under their phone in case of a threat. Thus, the test for terrorism becomes part of the new curriculum.

Lawsuits hang over everybody, rendering true leadership as rare as Rhodes scholars.

Welcome back. The beginning of a new academic year is not supposed to be this way. It should be a time of opportunity, energy, optimism. There should be a sense of renewal shared by all who are engaged in the process of learning. That is true for some. For others, the reality is overcrowded classrooms, shrinking budgets, fewer qualified faculty, too many disobedient, disrespectful and even violent children, a sense of running before a speeding train.

Over-worked, over-wrought mothers and fathers demand that schools instruct their offspring (many of whom do not wish to be there) on life in general, including basic values and rudimentary good manners. Shakespeare, calculus, biology (careful with that frog, the Humane Society is watching!) get lost amid accusation and confrontation. And we won't even THINK about all the automatic weapons left unguarded in home closets.

Those "school days, school days, dear old golden rule days" are gone. Everybody involved in public education is in the trenches; too many are pointing fingers and, too frequently, shouting obscenities. I am married to a teacher, which gives me a distinct point of view. It also makes me a target. Parents vent their frustration at an out-of-control system by blaming the teachers ("not your husband, of course, all those other teachers"). Teachers blame administrators. Administrators blame politicians. Politicians -- shocked, SHOCKED -- in turn blame administrators, who blame teachers... Meanwhile, lawsuits hang over everybody, rendering true leadership as rare as Rhodes scholars.

So how do success stories get that way? I turned to this year's valedictorian as he was leaving for college. The son of middle class working parents, he'd earned thousands of dollars in scholarships through effort and persistence. He said his parents encouraged him, helped him do his homework, were involved in all his activities, "were always there for me." He said some of his teachers were wonderful, some weren't. But that wasn't the point.

"I realized my life was up to me," he said. "I figured I had to do it myself." Could it be that simple? That each student, within the limits of their ability, must be responsible and accountable for his or her own actions? How do we get that message across?

It's important for children to think they're smart. We can start by telling them they are and expect them to perform. Genuine praise creates smiling children ready to learn. The idea is for learning to seem more like fun and less like work. If this is done, there will be no failure to do homework or to study. If I had to pick one homily for the refrigerator, it would be: No whining, No giving up!

Most of all, we need to remember our kids are modeling us.

© Copyright 1998-2000 The Women Syndicate. The content on these pages is the property of The Women Syndicate and may not be used without express permission. Contact friends@tadbartimus.com