Just my 2 cents

Issues affecting me and my community

Olga Little

Olga Little
Location
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Birthday
August 11
Title
educator/babysitter/mother/warden/nurse/counselor
Company
Chicago Public Schools
Bio
I am a high school English educator; however on most days I feel like an underpaid babysitter. I do like teaching (when I am able to do so) and would love to get additional degrees; nevertheless, I don't want to spend thousands of dollars on degrees and still be unhappy with a flawed system.

MY RECENT POSTS

FEBRUARY 8, 2009 5:19PM

It all goes back to education.

Rate: 4 Flag

I don't like to beat a dead horse, but in order for this country to have any kind of sustainability, we must put education at the top of our list.  Education is the foundation for life and without it, we will be lost and continue to lag behind other countries.

I believe many people in America have bought into the fallacy that the educational system is working, but it isn't.  Most of the schools are not truly educating our children, they are just pushing them out into the world unprepared for life.  If we want our country to be one that functions, we need to focus on the future generations.  We can not begin to talk about sustainability, until the educational system is corrected. 

I believe there are many children in America who have the answers to most if not all of our problems as a nation but they will never be discovered because these children aren't being challenged to rise to the occassion.  If America would put our energy into the children, we won't have to figure out how we can have sustainable mobility, the children would do it for us.

Author tags:

lexus contest

Your tags:

TIP:

Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Recipient's email address:
Personal message (optional):

Your email address:

Comments

Type your comment below:
Well said. I would take it a step further and also say that youth in our poorest neighborhoods receive the worst education. There is no emphasis on higher education, and many are pushed out to get there GED or programs that only offer a modified diploma. It is a shame that the richest country in the world (even given the current economy) is not the highest educated.
While the U.S. school system has numerous challenges, I'd like to add that parents must start investing in their children instead of investing in material things to placate them. Furthermore, too many young parents aren't prepared for living so how can they prepare their kids? It's a no brainer that if we prioritized academics in the same fashion we prioritize athletics, we'd hit an educational home run.
@spikelopez: I found out that some schools are giving students what's called a 'certificate of completion'. From my understanding, these children are unable to ever receive a GED. They are usually given out to students who have little to no credits but have reached the age limit to get pushed out of public school.
@suede: you are absolutely correct about parents placating their children with material things. I often look around the school at this time of year (income tax) and notice the number of students who come to school with new clothes and shoes and fancy cell phones. The sad part to all of this is many of my students don't think anything is wrong with behavior (goes back to the parents) and they don't think they are a part of the lower class because they have designer duds. I hope and pray America wakes up and smells the cocoa beans before it's too late.
Agree 100%. Our education system in broken and we are falling behind the rest of the world every day. I truly hope our new president can make a difference.
Ditto to what everyone else said. We have to fix this somehow -- what is it going to take?