"Good Schools Can Happen"

Today my Gratitude to Parade Magazine for challenging me to write this Blog. I have quoted several sections from the article which profiles education in our Country. My quotes are printed in red.

The Picture above is very similiar to the one room county school that I attended way back in the dark ages. We also had the path, one for the boys and one for the girls. The one difference was that the school I attended had limestone rock walls.

Experts agree that quality public schools share the following characteristics:

1. High expectations for every student
2. Parent and community support
3. A rigorous curriculum and fair assessments
4. Sufficient resources to help all students achieve
5. Safe, healthy and supportive learning environments
6. Schools and classrooms equipped for teaching and learning
7. Qualified teachers in every clasrom
8. Strong school leadership

Unfortunately we here in Bibb County have an Elected School Board where only three of the eight members allow citizen, voter or even parent access via E-Mail through the Board of Education Web Site. I would suggest that the five who desire only phone and/or letter contact may be avoiding contact via a dynamic and also effective communication system: E-Mail. As I compute the percentage of School Board Members who allow E-Mail access I obtain 37.5 percent every time. We all know that 37.5 is a failing grade. What a Shame!!!!

Thus it is quite difficult to achieve all eight of these characteristics here in Bibb County. I am also confident that all eight of these characteristics must be achieved if we are to ever have educational excellence in the Bibb County, Georgia School System.

The referenced Parade article also identified what we as concerned citizens must also accomplish to "Help Give Kids Good Schools." There are three major items:

1. Learn the facts about public schools in your community.
2. Vote for issues that make a positive difference for public education.
3. Act by letting elected officials and others know that quality public education is a top priority on Election Day and every day.

As a concerned citizen there are several things I would encourage you to do, even if you do not live in Bibb County, Georgia:

• Demand accountability from your elected School Board. After all, you voted them into office.
• Volunteer at your local school, or even some other school in your immediate area. You do not need to have children attending the school you volunteer at. You only must be willing to work with Children. I know for a fact that I am well rewarded by the attitude of the students at the schools I function as a Volunteer Reader. Of course you must grant permission to the School Administration to perform a background check on you before you can be accepted as a volunteer. You must be vetted for all the correct reasons. Unfortunately we have those in our society who are not appropriate for exposure to our Children.
• Support the Children and Youth we encounter in our daily routine. I always ascertain which school the Bag Person attends when I do my marketing. I then wish them well in their educational endeavors. I am confident that our Young People appreciate this type encounter.
• As a Society we need to develope a culture where we appreciate Academic Excellence at the same level that we appreciate and also expend our resources on when we recognize our Youth Sports Activities and the individuals that participate in these endeavors. When will we have the opportunity to view a "Academic Excellence in our Schools" on Television on a certain night of the Week. I do realize that Georgia Public Television awards a Scholar of the Week award for the individuals who also excell in "Sports." But I do believe that we can do more.
• Be aware that a Great Education requires Money. However, I would be quick to point out here that simply throwing money into education will not always achieve the desired results. Research and review of Systems with far superior results than we enjoy here locally in Bibb County or even the State of Georgia has verified that educational excellence can be achieved with less expenditure of funds per student. In short, we must expect and also demand great performance for each dollar expended!!!!
• We must also recognize the fact that the five school systems profiled in the Parade magazine turned poor performance into educational excellence when they achieved the above listed eight characteristics of Good Schools.

I did not write this post to exceute a vendata against the Bibb School System. Nor did I write this with a desire to boast about myself. However, I think it is appropriate to share some facts from my own life so that you are aware of the reasons I am an advocate for educational excellence. During my six years at the one one room country school, much like the school pictured at the start of this blog, I had the opportunity to lay the ground work for future educational excellence. This was a one room school with eight scholars from two different families. Although we were small I sincerely believe that our Teacher had but one goal, which was to educate us so that we could be valued citizens and also prepare us for a productive life.

I do know that this ground work allowed me to achieve a score of 98 during each of my High School years on what we called the "Iowa State Test." I believe these test are now known as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS). I would also point out that when I enlisted in the United States Navy in 1961 that I achieved a score of 98 on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT), which certainly validates my High School test scores. The AFQT was, and is still used to assigned enlistees to the plethora of specialized schools to meet the skilled manpower requirements of our U. S. Military. Additionally, any enlistee needs to achieve a certain score just to be eligible to serve in the U. S. Military.

I am also aware that at no time was I ever taught the test!!! We were educated so that we could be valued citizens in a productive United States of America. At this point I would like to also state that I know for a fact that in my time in the U. S. Navy and later as a laborer in the local work force that all peoples had the same goals and desires for their Children. I have never met a person who desired a mediocre education for their Children. Which brings me back to the first characteristic on the list I quoted above: "High expectations for every student."

I also believe that the Children educated in the United States of America that were my peers in the 1940s and the 1950s were victims of this "High expectations" mantra. All of our Youth should be so Blessed today.

Yes, I wish that this were true today. Yet I believe, just as the Parade article pointed out with the five individual school system success stories that achieving educational excellence today is possible. Achieving educational excellence today is doable.

Yes!!!!! We Can Do It!!!!!