As a follow up to the last article on education, I thought it was only befitting for me to offer a look into some of the corrosive issues plaguing American classrooms. I hope to offer effective measures to address the rising sense of apathy and frustration plaguing educators and students who embrace the promise of education. Before I proceed, I must warn you that the concepts offered as proposed solutions may strike some as too radical and inconceivable. However, in order to evoke change for the better, sometimes progressive thinking outside of the box is essential. This is how TRUTH is often revealed, regardless of how hard it may be for some to embrace it.

Public schools are the base of academic learning for America’s youth. With this being acknowledged, it is fair to say that these institutions meant to shape the minds and futures of so many should be fiercely protected. Unfortunately, there are too many that do not fully share this sentiment, for if they did, schools would be what they are supposed to be, a refuge for learning. Yes, parents would send children to school for one purpose and one purpose only without accepting anything less than achievement. Students would know that there is no time for things deemed unproductive. Wanton violence, blatant disrespect for teachers, administrators, and fellow students, skipping classes, and refusing to complete assignments would be inconceivable. ALL students would actually try. They would try to understand subjects they find difficult. They would feel a sense of obligation to themselves to seek help when understanding eludes them.

The culture in public schools must change. Students are given too much leniency where discipline and expected behavior are concerned. Too many of them are beyond disinterest in traditional academics which leads to poor performance. When a student reaches a point of apathy and indifference towards traditional academics, it is usually a sign that the student is tied and bound by learning gaps. For one reason or another, the student did not master skills in the grade or grades before his or her current placement. This makes it next to impossible for them to perform at an expected level. Therefore, the pupil performs poorly or may simply refuse to do anything at all. This usually leads to either a withdrawn attitude or a disruptive one. This is where frustration sets in for everyone involved in the classroom. The student is frustrated because he or she often does not possess the skills to perform on level and usually begins to act out. Moreover, the students that are somewhat earnest about their education as well as those who excel often become frustrated with an environment that is less than conducive for strong learning. Also, the teacher becomes exasperated for the learning students due to the situation and the antics of the apathetic student. The main problem here is that there are far too many of these types of students in classrooms across America. Many of them simply languish away until it is time to be socially promoted without having learned much of anything of use or having achieved success. Let us not kid ourselves. Everyone knows that these students are moved on to the next level for multiple reasons. If this were not the case, classrooms would be overflowing (more than now), schools would be overcrowded (again… more than now), and districts would drown in a sea of expenses far too deep to surface from.

Schools are facing budget shortfalls nationally. In Dallas, the school board voted to layoff 1,100 workers. Of that number, 550 were teachers. That was only a year and a half ago. In Fort Bend County, just southwest of Houston, Texas, school board officials sent letters informing district employees of their impending layoff. The district targeted 450 positions. Many districts across the country are dealing with budget busting issues forging many of them to make tough decisions. For instance, more than 100 school districts across 14 states have gone to a four day school week to help combat budget shortfalls according to a Wall Street Journal report. Moreover, many more districts plan to follow suite. This poses logistical headaches where work is concerned for many parents of students who are enrolled in these districts. But what else can be done? President Obama’s administration has pledged to throw 4.3 billion dollars at the national education budget crisis.

However, money alone cannot get to the root of the other things that are ailing schools across this country. There are ways to help insure that schools are run more effectively and efficiently. For those parents who are less than involved in their children’s education, have children that are bent on refusing academic cultivation, and that spend more time suspended from school than in class, perhaps junior high should be the end of the road for a public academic education for the disinterested. Instead of allowing these students to waste away intellectually, afford them the opportunity to attend an institution that will allow them to learn a useful trade of interest. If a student had the opportunity to be apart of an environment that he or she could actually learn and understand a useful skill and get hands on training in, perhaps the student would flourish. Job skills could be acquired that could be put to use by age 16. The pupil is now eligible to enter the job market using the skills attained. With two more years of training and experience, he or she may now be on the way to a lasting career.

The bottom line is this. Many educators will agree that every child can learn if he or she is in the right environment, an environment that is conducive to the learning style and interest of the child. Why not explore the possibilities of removing students who do not perform and are constantly a discipline issue to the point of them wasting the school year away? This would definitely help to scale back the practice of social promotion and graduating students who are not college bound and cannot begin to compete for viable employment for self-sustainability. However, if this truth is too hard to bear, there is still one more alternative to entertain.

The charter school system is no where near the success it could be. If there are those unwilling to move on the aforementioned proposal, suppose we surrender public schools to those who invariably underachieve. Perhaps we allow those who come to school simply to disrupt, disrespect, and find trouble where ever plausible, to remain in public schools. However, those students who are the best and brightest and those who may not be as bright, never the less, TRY the very best they can and take necessary steps to achieve should be placed into a charter school system. This concept is not based on any type of racial, ethnic, or gender biasness but on merit and merit alone. Let the charter school system be a place for parents and students who embrace academic education. You have been informed on the many desperate measures school districts around the country are taking to simply stay afloat fiscally. Where is there room today for apathy, discipline issues, and the like? Tax payers can simply not afford it. Budgets are tight and for the average tax paying family, money is getting harder to come by. It is time to start holding feet to the fire and staring down hard decisions. Perhaps disinterested parents will start to become interested in their children’s education and future and hopefully so will the students.