A Failed Child Equals a Failed Community
Often, I reflect on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and its successor Every Student
Succeeds Act (ESSA) and if they truly mean designed with every child in mind. Some
teachers complain and say that no one supports them and understands what they are
facing in the classroom on a daily basis. Parents and persons within the community
often complain that the failures of students enrolled in P-12 rests solely on the teachers.
The blame is collective. We are a failed community of law makers, educators, parents,
ministers, school board members, superintendents and general persons. We all have
failed and continue to fail our children.
My position permits me to watch the beginning of education as I work with
numerous pre-kindergarten teachers throughout the school year. From the first weeks
to the last weeks of school, I observe children as their academic and social-emotional
skills progress. Whether they begin the year knowing zero alphabets and numbers and
leave knowing 10 or whether they come knowing all 26 letters and sounds and leave
pre-kindergarten reading, it is important to note that children grow at different
developmental levels. Thus, I have seen how children enter their first formal
educational experience “behind” and consequently leave “behind.”
Many teachers who are emotionally vested in the children in their classrooms
often provide snacks to children that are hungry mid-morning, work with lunchroom staff
to put breakfast to the side for a late arrival, purchase classroom supplies, pay for
parents to attend field trips and fill in for those parents that cannot afford to take off from
their jobs. In addition, the teachers display visible concern when they meet children that
are having difficulty grasping concepts. During this past spring semester, I recall
several teachers discussing how broken, at fault and lost they felt when it came to the
numerous children enrolled in their classroom that were unable to recognize alphabets,
recite and retain alphabets and sounds as well as numbers. Statements such as ‘what
else can we do,’ or ‘we have done everything we can think of’ were often heard. Often,
these teachers spoke of the lack of concern, interest, and assistance they were able to
gather from parents. After asking, well have you tried to talk to the parents, one teacher
responded “the parents in this community don’t care and the children don’t care.
In addition, a set of teachers stated “we never know who’s going to pick him up
so we can’t prepare anything to send home.” From being picked up by significant
others, cousins, grandparents and family friends, some children do not have the
consistently needed to make significant gains at home with their education. While
discussing several classroom activities that could be implemented to assist individual
children with learning their alphabets and sounds, we also discussed how to involve the
child’s extended family. As hard as some of the teachers worked, there were still
children that left pre-kindergarten knowing few alphabets.
Still, who is to blame for these children leaving pre-kindergarten “behind.” Every
teacher in the next grade tells the teacher below their grade what the children should
know when they get to her classroom. For example, kindergarten teachers often dictate
to pre-kindergarten teachers that children should know all their letters and sounds,
shapes, colors, sight words, etc... prior to entering their classroom. At the same time,
the kindergarten teachers are receiving the same information from the first grade
teachers and so on. However, where does the undue pressure on teachers begin and
with whom does it begin?
Consequently, is it school leaders seeking to attain the best standardized scores
in their district, parents seeking admission for their child into a top private school or
magnet school, law makers who attest that teachers are to blame for failed test scores
or community persons, including those in the business sector, that believe they know
the answer to failed schools through their creation of charter schools. In actuality, does
anyone really care about the students enrolled in P-12 schools or is everyone in it to win
it? Therefore, if we genuinely want to be a community that supports our children then
we would admit that the problem is all of us and collectively we would put aside our
bragging rights and put the needs of the children first.
Melanie M. Frizzell, Ed.D is an Education Specialist that works with pre-kindergarten
teachers. She has worked with undergraduate Early Childhood Education majors and
continues to be a voice for children and teachers of color serving in our nation’s
schools.
GOOD stuff.
"...if we genuinely want to be a community that supports our children then
we would admit that the problem is all of us and collectively we would put aside our
bragging rights and put the needs of the children first."