Why Your Child Isn't Making the Grade is a refreshingly new take on education. Alton James guides the reader through a comprehensive look at various factors that influence education today. In providing his new take on education, he first outlines historical factors that impede educational success today. He then navigates through the world of education and the systemic barriers that continue to be problematic. Lastly, Mr. James delves into the personal lives of people in society by providing riveting anecdotal accounts of experiences on the front lines of education. Yet, he saves his most compelling argument until the end. Brace yourself for the coup de grāce as to why your child isn't making the grade . . .
WHY Your Child Isn't Making the GRADE
By Alton Maxel James IVAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2012 Alton Maxel James IV
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4772-8764-4Contents
My Education Background............................................................ixChapter 1: Denigrated Demographics.................................................1Chapter 2: Social Capita...........................................................l9Chapter 3: Economic Capital........................................................15Chapter 4: Health..................................................................25Chapter 5: Over-Emphasis on Data...................................................31Chapter 6: Emphasis on Classroom and Not Experiential Learning.....................37Chapter 7: No Teacher Support......................................................43Chapter 8: No Accountability for Parents or Students...............................51Chapter 9: No Job or Economic Security for Educators...............................59Chapter 10: The Pain of Micromanagement............................................65Chapter 11: Digital Dummies........................................................71Chapter 12: Different Schools for Different Folks..................................77Chapter 13: Parenting (The Coup de Grāce).....................................83Chapter 14: The Lost Generation of Teachers and Students...........................91
Chapter One
Denigrated Demographics Nuclear Family
One of the most under-analyzed and oversimplified issues in contemporary society is the nature of demographics. The first problem of note in regards to demographics rests in the degradation of the nuclear family. For years, strong marriages and households have been the pillar of American Society. Religious institutions frequently suggest that the "First Church" a child receives is found in the household—from a strong nuclear family. As religious institutions insist on having parents teach the values and morals that are necessary to pursue a healthy faith life, the same devices are needed in order to have children enter school eager and ready to learn. However, with the shifts that we are seeing in divorce rates as well as teen pregnancy, the face of the nuclear family has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Statistics and studies prove time and time again that children benefit from the security of a stable household—a benefit that bodes well in terms of the health of a child: physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Undoubtedly, there is a tragic correlation between the increased rates we continue to see in debilitating health issues in our children today and educational success—health issues like autism, obesity, ADD, ADHD, as well a whole host of other illnesses. Almost every facet of humanity requires a support system to accomplish any monumental task. There is an old adage that says, "It takes a village to raise a child." While this is absolutely true, we also lose sight of the importance of the "First Village" that a child is exposed to in the first place—the home. In an era when the "Fast Life" is glorified through American media and divorces are as commonplace as when one changes his or her shoes, we set up our children to assume they have no support systems. If the adults in a child's life show no consistency, what hope does a child have for stability in his or her own life?
Ultimately, a shift must occur in the psyche of this country if we are to make significant changes with our students. A committed home of two adults must be glorified in our media and our communities to begin to allow strong nuclear families to become a reality once more. Additionally, we must see parents have their children at ages when they have secured a career and a means to raise their children. Although teen pregnancy rates have declined in recent years, a detrimental problem still exists with parents having children "too early," without commitment to one another, and without the physical, emotional, and financial well-being to do so properly. As controversial as the term family planning has become in society, on some level, people need to genuinely find legitimate means to plan the appropriate time in their lives to raise children.
Birth Control
As it relates to family planning, the advent of birth control has created a huge shift in the nature of how society functions. However, by no means am I saying that birth control is a reason for the plight of education today. What I am going to illustrate is how its proliferation in today's world has altered some sects of society in ways that indirectly negatively influence educational outcomes. Firstly, the introduction of birth control came along during the same era as the signing of the G.I. Bill (a bill that created incentives for military vets and "non-traditional" students of the time to enter colleges and universities). This is important to note because of two reasons: one, we saw a shift in the American industry.
This shift in America's industry made the acquisition of jobs contingent upon attaining degrees from higher education institutions. Furthermore, it essentially started the eradication of the middle class. Once people could not rely on high school diplomas to create a meaningful and productive life, the floodgates were opened to increasing the cost of higher education as well as decreasing access to it. When industry moved away from agriculture and manufacturing, we ushered in an era in which only a select few jobs are available to a small minority of qualified individuals. This leads us to our second note of importance. In conjunction with the institution of birth control, a different climate was created in society. Birth control empowered women to take control of family planning in a way that had never been done before. Consequently, women were enabled to enter the workforce more easily and pursue careers in ways that wouldn't be possible without the worry of starting or adding to a family.
Coupled with laws spawning, protecting, and continuing affirmative action, women began their rise in educational attainment in staggering fashion. Given this shift in American households to having two adults working, the cost of living rose dramatically (not that women entering the workforce created this trend) along with the necessity of having a two-parent working household. Despite the greatness in the garnering of rights and educational attainment that has benefited women since this epoch, a definite decline in the nuclear family has ensued (rise in divorce rates, rise in teenage pregnancy [ironically], and the rise of unwed mothers). I'm not suggesting that these factors are a direct result of the rise in rights and educational attainment; however, there is an ironic correlation nonetheless.
Isolation
In retrospectively analyzing the start of America and its cultural progression, a recurring motif of exclusivity arises in its chronology. Although America was supposed to be built on religious freedom, people quickly learned of this "ideal" facade. Very soon, people realized that only Christianity was truly recognized or deemed legitimate. This notion was clear when American settlers felt that they needed to evangelize and save the Native Americans from their "barbarous paganism." Moving further, Americans felt the need to essentially eradicate the Native American population through their own barbarous genocide—a genocide that isolated Americans away from others—an isolation that forced Native Americans to the outskirts of America on reservations or to Canada. Eventually, Americans found a way to isolate themselves from the Chinese, Irish, Jewish, Blacks, and any other minorities that did not fit the "American W.A.S.P. (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant)" image. I highlight this of particular importance because of what this mindset has done to the fabric of American communities.
Specifically, the race riots of the 50s, 60s, and 70s created permanent ghettos and underclass communities. On the other hand, the suburban sprawl during this era contributed to specific racial and ethnic groups being stratified amongst American metropolises. This suburban sprawl left historically disenfranchised communities to their own devices without economic security, access to decently waged jobs, or access to post-secondary institutions. The damage that legal segregation posed to the American economy has been far-reaching and quite detrimental; however, this damage pales in comparison to the destructive force of self-segregation (one that was created due to "White Flight" and the suburban sprawl [the time following the many race riots during the 50s and 60s that spurred vast numbers of White citizens to move from urban centers]). Unfortunately, recent studies have shown that this phenomenon continues to this day with groups choosing to live in communities with certain racial and economic makeups.
Until our communities can become more heterogeneous along the lines of race and class, students will suffer due to the lack of diversity and economic stability to their school funding. Furthermore, racial, cultural, and economic diversity bodes well for the overall safety, management, and economic health of a community. These factors are critical in harboring positive feelings—factors that produce emotionally healthy children that are ready to be productive students.
Concentrated Capitalism
With the aforementioned harmful effects of isolation in society, the economic downfall of society has become exacerbated greatly. It goes without saying that one of the staples of American society rests in the notion of the free enterprise system and capitalism (arguably venture or "vulture" capitalism). Despite the original intention of creating a society that rewards the hardworking, we have now come to a period when "equal-opportunity" is one evil punch line. Our society is now predicated on "Conspicuous Consumption," and what I like to call "Capitalism on Steroids." Phrases like "Keeping up with the Jones" have plagued American communities on epic proportions. With credit card, medical bill, home, and student loan debt at dangerous highs, American families are crippled under the weight of today's capitalistic market. Now more than ever, the projected educational attainment of a child can be predicted based solely on the income of the household. Additionally, the previously mentioned factor of the strength of the nuclear family plays a great deal in the educational success of a child as well.
Due to the fact that households of greater incomes typically live in affluent communities, they have a larger tax base; and consequently, they have more money being allocated to their children's schools. Families of greater wealth have the means to donate time, money, and resources to their children's schools (outside of their tax contributions). Due to the lack of revenue sharing amongst school districts, there will always be school systems that perennially lack the resources to adequately educate their students. In looking back to the notion of our debt driven society, government programs and systems continue to be in the "red" in terms of budgets. Unfortunately, the story is no different when it comes to school systems. However, beyond the ramifications of dwindling dollars to schools, our calamity with concentrated capitalism has greater and more widespread effects than this. Because Americans are suffering from large amounts of debt, American families will be more strapped and strained as a result.
With the overwhelming number of single parent households and the skyrocketed numbers of unemployment, how will families manage to provide a stable household for children to feel secure and primed to learn? With so many Americans being underemployed, how will our children maintain hope for a brighter future for themselves? With a decrease in home ownership as a result of the job and housing markets, success rates for our students look grim. Research and studies have shown that home ownership is a positive factor in children succeeding in their studies. In spite of the fact that American society is predicated on the premise of capitalism, there has to be some point at which equal-opportunity is a reality; and, we must see that economically disenfranchised populations cannot sustain this economy—in all actuality, America as a whole cannot sustain. What is an advanced country that has an overwhelming majority of its members struggling? As Adam Smith once said, "No society can surely be happy of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable." As we say that a happy worker is a productive worker, a happy student is a productive student!
Chapter Two
Social Capital Lack of Access
A glaring problem in the success of our students falls on the grounds of a lack of social capital. Considering the advantages to individuals whom benefit from America's concentrated capitalism, these individuals are privy to a parcel of society that provides privilege and power. It is noted from several sources that the top 1% of earners in America control the vast majority of America's wealth. In a system in which people thrive from overt patronage and nepotism, how can one expect our students to have a feeling of empowerment to better his or her place in society? The notion of being upwardly mobile has been contorted and twisted in the reality of how our economy actually functions. Keeping this in mind, as a society, we must find ways to provide access to social capital. This may sound next to impossible, but think of the implications of having people of all backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses to be privy to privileges held typically to the wealthy.
In understanding how to navigate higher education institutions, professional settings, and influential social settings, all people would be elevated to function in realms that typically only benefit the affluent. As many professionals understand, it is not always about how much education one has received that creates success. In many cases, it boils down to whom one is in association with, networking, and intangibles (such as charisma, cultural knowledge, and proper etiquette). If we are to build an entire nation ready to take on 21st century technological careers that must function in a global economy, we will never reach our full potential if everyone does not have intimate knowledge of different ways of life and access to social capital.
Lack of Exposure
As it stands, similar to issues in access, many of our students lack the baseline exposure needed to capitalize on the access he or she may have. When one looks to our more impoverished or disenfranchised communities, many of the foundations of social capital are missing in these communities. For example, many of our urban cities, or metropolises for that matter, lack history museums, art museums, theaters, music halls, sophisticated libraries, community centers, or community-significant places of worship. These institutions provide people with a level of exposure to many of the things the world has to offer. In order to capitalize on the benefits of social capital, people must be primed and poised to function in such important professional settings. Consider this—many of our professional organizations now hold corporate functions around formal dinner parties and golf outings. These types of venues require the cultural and etiquette knowledge to evenbegintosufficientlyinvolveone'sselfinprofessionalenvironments. Our students are greatly suffering due to the fact that they are not being exposed to different aspects of society that will allow them to make meaningful connections to other subject matters when in school.
It has been empirically illustrated that people retain information at a greater rate when he or she can attach new learning to previous experiences and background knowledge. However, when students lack the exposure to other realms of life, they will be hindered in their ability to create new learning opportunities for themselves. With that being said, I would argue that our nation overlooks our most precious piece of social capital that exists—our language. Language is but the means to meaning and the very vehicle that facilitates communication and disseminates knowledge to the masses. Studies indicate that the number one measure in determining a child's success in school is the number of vocabulary words that one has in his or her personal lexicon. When a child has the knowledge of a great number of words, he or she can make connections in ways that eases the acquisition of newer words. Furthermore, these students usually enter school with a more advanced understanding of syntax and semantics that allows for a more fluid learning experience across all subject matters.
Consider this—most minority students are entering school knowing at least 50% less vocabulary then their Caucasian counterparts. In taking into account decades, if not eons, of segregation, terrorism, poor education, disenfranchisement, as well as a whole host of other social slights, these setbacks have become generational inheritances. Given that we have groups that have created their own vernacular or colloquial rhetoric as counterculture or in-group culture building, it detracts from a student's ability to flourish in an English based curriculum. Furthermore, we have ESL (English as a Second Language) students and first-generation American students now more than ever. If we are to see significant improvements in our educational outcomes, we must provide students early and continuous access to significant social capital throughout their educational careers.
Social Expectations
It seems as if the debate between nature vs. nurture has been happening for forever. The debate calls into question whether or not people are more products of their genes or the environments in which they mature. One thing science has proven is that people definitely are influenced by their environments and the experiences that they undergo. When one looks at the landscape of America and the makeup of different regions, states, and cities, we can see stark variances between differing areas. In delving into their specific nuances, many communities have a history of high rates of unemployment, illiteracy, drug abuse, alcoholism, teen pregnancy, incarceration, homelessness, etc. Considering environments have profound effects on individuals, many young students don't possess the "role models" or environments that encourage educational success. In an era when "Reality T.V." is glorified amongst other media that glamorizes discord and "drama" in society, these mindsets become engrained in our young students.
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Excerpted from WHY Your Child Isn't Making the GRADEby Alton Maxel James IV Copyright © 2012 by Alton Maxel James IV. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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