The Perfect School

The issue of the day is what to do about public schools today?  Do we have "bad schools", or is it something else. Something wrong with the buildings?  Is a bad baseball team about a "bad field" that they play on, or is it about a group of under-performing players that make up a team that plays poorly? Tough questions that demand even tougher solutions. I would bet that any of the old Yankee teams with Ruth and Gehrig, they would have played just as well on any field.  Players on a bad team can change their behavior, make better on-field choices, practice harder, play smarter and improve; becoming a better team...or school? Are we willing to be honest about under-performing students and ask the tough questions about why they under-perform? Are we afraid to ask such questions out of fear of hurt feelings? Do we not hold all students to a higher standard of behavior and performance expectations? Do we allow a continuation of the current problem of all too many who think that school is just a social event? What to do with students who put forth little or no effort, fail to pay attention in class, and/or disrespect the teachers and staff? Do we allow such disruption in the work place?  I would say we don't.
there are certain accepted standards of behavior we demand in the work place that we don't expect or demand in public school. If we don't change the bad behaviors, then we can't expect schools to improve. 10 years ago the U. S. was 21st of the developed nations in Mathematics ability.  In 2020 we are now 32nd. This is a creation of bad behavioir, a lack of attention, and no desire to take school seriously.
We have more technology at our disposal to assist students in making learning more enjoyable and easy to accomplish, yet we often misuse this technology and often do other things than the tasks at hand. Cell Phone in school have become a distraction and their appears to be no consensus as to how to deal with said distractions. Teachers should not be expected to beocme "Game Show Hosts" to entertain.  Thie choice is ours to make.
Are we going to start making students more accountable for THEIR LEARNING, or just keeping doing the same things and expect a different result. We know the answer to that already.  This is about training them to be able to gain better employment, earn more money, and enjoy a more fulfilling life with the family they choose to have. It is not about increasing the minimum wage it is about preparing them for something other than a minimum wage job.