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Source of education problems is complex; Carol Gaido-Schmidt; Beaver County Times; October 5, 2010.
In previous letters, Mrs. Gaido-Schmidt lobbied for more taxes on “the rich”, thought it was great that Rochester got state taxpayer dollars to upgrade its high school football field, complained there was “Not a lack of housing, but an excess,” and promoted a “growth model” for K-12 education.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“I would like to respond to the Sept. 29 editorial ‘Doomed to fail.’
“I am not denying that there are parents who are uninvolved in their children’s education. I don’t think that this is new.
“How much parent involvement was there in the past? Parents were busy even in my day. They did not hover over us or assume responsibility for our learning.”
[RWC] I can only speak for my experience. When I was a kid, my parents took responsibility for my learning. When I didn’t do well, my parents worked with me to improve. For example, arithmetic wasn’t my strength in first grade. As a result, they worked with me on homework and used learning aids like flash cards until I caught on. My parents did the same for my brothers when they encountered problems.
“I am not denying that there are problems in education either, but this passing of blame solves nothing.
“I believe the real problem is a cultural phenomenon that we all must accept responsibility for. Distrust and disdain for learning is everywhere.”
[RWC] I tend to agree with the “Distrust and disdain for learning is everywhere” comment.
“When education is not rewarded by employers, we reinforce that it is not important.”
[RWC] I don’t know what Mrs. Gaido-Schmidt means by this comment. I can only write about my experience, but when I worked 24 years for an evil oil company, Texaco paid 75% of my tuition to get a master’s degree. When my brother got his master’s degree, his evil steel company employer paid 100% of his tuition. I don’t claim every employer does these things. In any case, simply getting more education doesn’t necessarily mean you become a better or more valuable employee.
“When grades or achievements are mocked by peers and kids are embarrassed to read a book, we see that education has become something for children to endure rather than embrace.”
[RWC] Unfortunately, this has been the case for a very long time.
“The answer is not a matter of copying other cultures. A real solution lies in complex social change that will take time. All the stakeholders need to be involved. With any quality improvement project, the first step lies in defining the true problem. Only then can you work towards correcting it.”
[RWC] I don’t agree with the “complex social change” comment. It simply requires parents taking their responsibility seriously and giving them the ability to choose their kids’ schools.
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