Edclicking Keyword Cloud
By Dr. Harry Tennant
Sunday, January 29, 2012 Education Ride 365: Attacking The Very Foundation Of Successful Education On Day 19 I left Bonita Springs bound for St. Cloud FL. I didn't travel straight there, though. Instead, I rode "Alligator Alley" across southern Florida to Pembroke Pines FL, my home in 6th and 7th grade. Just over 30 years ago, we were the first owners of the home pictured below...and it is no better for the years. After a brief visit, I headed straight north on Highway 27/441 through over a hundred miles of swamps, cane fields, and dairy farms en route to Art and Marla's house in St. Cloud FL.  When I arrived at their home, the three of us discussed the state of schools today. They voiced a sentiment I've heard so many times over the years...including during most every stop on this trip. There is now a widespread perception that young people no longer respect their teachers...and this is at the heart of many of our problems in schools today. More troubling is the widespread perception that they get this disrespect, in part, from their parents. I recently came across this representation on Facebook of the trend I witnessed too many times during my years in the trenches:
 Art shared how, when he was a child, his dad told him: 'If you have a problem with a teacher, I'll go up there to the school and address it. However, if I find out that you are part of the problem, you'll be sorry I ever went up there.' Consequently, said Art, he tended to tow the line at school and sure didn't go home whining about the teacher. He was much more afraid of his dad than he was of any adult up at the school. CNN recently reported on this sea change with an article by the fantastic Ron Clark that you can access by clicking here. It encourages parents to:
I will explore this theme much more in future posts. What can be more foundational to a young person's growth than the role of the parent in setting boundaries and expectations that support the village helping to raise their child?  I spent Day 20 talking to folks around Orlando FL about this topic---among others central to continuous improvement in education---before returning to Art and Marla's home for a second night stay. My day of discussions in Orlando only further confirmed in my mind that we have trended toward unhealthy disrespect of educators...and Americans know it. The morning of Day 21 I pulled out heading back to the eastern coast of Florida. Thanks so much to Art and Marla for a pleasant and productive stay in St. Cloud! Riding stats--- Day 19: 327 miles traveled, 6 hours and 1 minute of moving time, 5 hours and 17 minutes of stopped time, 54.3 miles per hour moving average, 28.9 overall average, and a max speed of 84.7 miles per hour. Day 20: 63.78 miles traveled, 2 hours and 24 minutes of moving time, 6 hours and 31 minutes of stopped time, 26.4 miles per hour average moving time, 7.1 overall average, and a max speed of 77.1 miles per hour. Posted at 1:51 PM Keywords: Cycle Of Education , EdClick , Education Ride 365 , Day_19 , Day_20 1 Comments |
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Harry Tennant said... Parental involvement is often advocated as an important component for improving student performance. But the comments in this post indicate that parental involvement can be a detriment if their goals don't align with the goals of the school. If we look across an entire school, does a policy of increasing parental involvement in education help or hinder educators doing their jobs? Tuesday, January 31, 2012 3:30 PM |