Where Do We Look for Solutions?

I live in Houston County, Georgia. Georgia is, generally speaking, at the bottom of the barrel in most, if not all, areas of education and the treatment of children as well as the elderly, disabled and disenfranchised. Houston County is among the better counties in the area of education in the State of Georgia, and the Board of Education never fails to remind people. What they conveniently ignore is the fact that it is no great accomplishment to be on top of the bottom.

Our current governor, Roy Barnes, recently took it upon himself to support major changes in our educational system. From the reaction chronicled in the press, it appears he did so without soliciting much input from Georgia educators and citizens. Our State Superintendent of Schools, Linda Schrenko, does not appear to be completely supportive of his plan. Why should she be? It does not seem to have been a collaborative effort. Of course, that’s politics.

One of the things they are talking about doing is adding an academic class to the middle school day. This would reduce the time spent in electives and music programs. While there are many valid arguments on both sides of the electives issues, there is not as much room for disagreement when it comes to music education.

I was a certified teacher and had a graduate degree in Reading and Theatre when I made the jump to computer science. When I mentioned those degrees, the company hiring me asked if I also had a degree in music. It was considered a technical degree and with good reason. There is a great deal of research to support the idea that music improves mathematical and other academic skills, yet music education is in jeopardy in Georgia. They are also talking about adding time to the middle school day. I would suggest that more of the same will result in no improvement in academic achievement.

Here in Houston County they changed the rules regarding student absences. If a student misses more than nine days in an entire year, that student can be failed even if the grades are passing. From 10 to 18 days it is up to the discretion of the principal. Appeals regarding more than 18 absences must be brought before the School Board. This is the first year for this new rule. I can foresee many potential problems. On a personal note, I find it very frightening. Children get sick. They get hurt. Even a doctor's note is not sufficient. It seems to me, as a parent, that the rules are more important than the children. While I know there are students who routinely miss school, I can't believe this type of rule is going to change their failure rate. From what I have observed, those children fail anyway. Why punish those who are doing our best to keep their children healthy and help them in their educational endeavors.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic