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O'DEA: Modern educators face new challenges
By DENISE O'DEA, Wellsville schools
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Nobody does it better than a school teacher. When it comes to influencing young people in a positive direction, teachers do it better than anyone else, even better than the “American School Teacher of the Past.”
Everyone who knows what’s “wrong with our schools” remembers those good ole’ days when all children were well-behaved, all teachers were dedicated and flawless, and everyone — yes, everyone — learned to read, write and do math with no trouble at all ... and at very little cost to the taxpayer.
All kidding aside, let me give you a little reality from that same past. Here are some statistics about the educational backgrounds of World War II soldiers:
• One in three had less than an eighth grade education.
• One in six had less than a fourth grade education.
• Only 40 percent had completed high school.
Our challenge today as educators is greater than it has been for the educators that have come before. Educators are under closer scrutiny and are held more accountable than any of our predecessors. Couple that with the following information, and you have a real struggle for today’s educator.
• Today’s youth are smarter than ever before. Today’s students average about 14 IQ points higher than their grandparents, and about seven IQ points higher than their parents. Also, the number of students who have IQs of 130 or more (gifted) is about seven times greater today than a generation ago. The number of students above a 145 IQ is 18 times greater than two generations ago.
• Despite the widely publicized and popular opinion than SAT scores are declining, the reality is that since 1965 the average SAT score has declined but only by about five fewer correct answers. The main reason for this decline is because many more students from the bottom 60 percent of the class are now taking the test, thus lowering the average. The United States is a country of opportunity. No matter the educational level or attainment, if a student wishes to take the SAT test, not only do we offer it, we actually encourage them to take it.
• United States schools do not lag behind their foreign counterparts. How can our schools be so bad if so many of our graduates are so good? The U.S. leads the world in researchers in journals of math, medicine, science, physics and space. And, if our schools are so poor, why do so many persons of foreign birth attempt to go to school here rather than in their own country?
Students will respond to the expectations we hold for them. Students in schools with high expectations and challenging curricula learn more than students who are found in undemanding, low-level environments.
The solution to the problems facing our society now, as they have always been, is in the hands of our educators.
But educators do not walk this path alone. If today’s young people do not leave our schools with the right moral values and the necessary academic and technical skills, it is almost too late to make any corrections in the future when they are older.
This will take a concerted effort not only on the part of educators, but also with parents, legislators, and the community as a whole. We all need to do our part.
As the 2007-08 school year approaches the finish line and the sweet sounds of summer are just around the corner, let us not forget that educating our students really is a year-round process. The challenges that face education and educators across the nation do not “go away” for the months of June, July and August.
These challenges will greet us as we enter the 2008-09 school year and will remain on the front burner throughout.
Denise O’Dea is superintendent of Wellsville schools.
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