How Public Schools Are Failing Our Kids
I recently read this article about the problems public schools face, and while I agree with the majority of the points the author outlines, I took issue with one point:
http://EzineArticles.com/?Life-Skills—How-Public-Schools-Are-Failing-Our-Kids&id=9765525
As a result of the problems public schools face, the responsibility for teaching life skills has shifted to parents.
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I recently read this article about the problems public schools face, and while I agree with the majority of the points the author outlines, I took issue with one point:
As a result of the problems public schools face, the responsibility for teaching life skills has shifted to parents.
about the problems public schools face, and while I agree with the majority of the points the author outlines, I took issue with one point:
As a result of the problems public schools face, the responsibility for teaching life skills has shifted to parents.
By Stu Schaefer
Having worked with public schools for the last several years, I noticed several shocking trends that severely inhibit kids and leave them unprepared for life beyond school. These trends include unreasonable student to councilor ratios, and a deteriorating academic curriculum – both of which cause a lack of life skills training for students.
As a result of the problems public schools face, the responsibility for teaching life skills has shifted to parents. This article will examine the severity of the problems kids face, while offering a simple solution for parents.
Student to Counselor Ratio
It’s no secret that public schools fight for funding and have suffered recent and ongoing budget cuts that impact their programs and ability to educate students.
One such impact is the student to counselor ratio. The current student to counselor ratio is 471:1. According to American School Counselor Association, that’s nearly double the recommended 250:1 ratio.
Given this ratio, it’s simply impossible for any counselor to work with kids enough to help develop life skills, mental acuity, or emotional stability. Now more than ever, the burden falls on parents and other outside resources to help students build these necessary skills.
Deteriorating Academic Curriculum
Similarly, as a result of budget constraints, schools have been forced to cut their academic programs. A few years ago, I attended the annual parent-teacher conference for my 7th grader. It’s the same school I had attended just 18 years prior.
I was shocked when the teachers informed me they don’t require students to take notes anymore. When I showed my disapproval, the teacher responded by saying, “Students don’t know how to take notes, so we’ve decided to simply given them handouts instead.”
My response was simply, “How will students ever learn to take notes if you’ve stopped requiring them to take notes?”
She didn’t know.
In addition to requiring less from students, schools have also cut the number of classes students take in high school. My local high school recently announced that seniors in their school can only take six credit hours. That translates into three classes per semester with two off periods per day – mandatory.
Lack of Life skills
The challenges schools face have directly impacted students. In a recent survey by Youth Truth , over 55% of students report they are unprepared for life after high school.
Similarly, a survey conducted for the website “Stage of Life” found that about 66% of teens are afraid of life beyond high school for lack of preparation.
https://www.stageoflife.com/StageHighSchool/WhatDoTeensFear.aspx
What’s more, according to CNN, 75% of high school students engage in serious cheating – without even knowing they’re cheating. This includes sharing answers with one another and plagiarizing.
These statistics are an important indicator of just how ill prepared high school students and teenagers are for life beyond high school. Kids struggle with even the most fundamental life skills including:
How to save and budget money
How to Communicate when they have a problem
How to take notes
How to study
How to manage time
How to deal with adversity
The Solution – Mentors
One of the ways parents can help their children develop the skills lacking in schools is to help their kids find mentors.
Mentors are people that have the real-life experiences and can offer kids both the knowledge and insights that schools don’t. A mentor can be anyone that has already achieved a result that you and your kid want to achieve. This could be a college graduate, an entrepreneur, a pastor, or any other number of people. What’s important is that they can teach your child great skills and your child likes them and even looks up to them.
Additionally, many kids listen more closely to mentors because they aren’t a teacher or parent. As a result, kids are more receptive and the mentor’s message becomes more impactful and lasting.
Based on these challenges, we’ve put together an online community called Prepare My Kid.
This is a resource to directly teach kids the lessons they need in a very convenient and entertaining way. It’s a form of an online mentor that kids and parents can use to make sure they are prepared for life beyond high school.
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