The Sorry State of the American Education System

Once again I have found myself to be utterly disgusted with the education system in this country. It begins with the utter contempt that I hold towards those who have voluntarily chosen to work in this field, whether in administration or teaching positions.

Let me explain. Both in Oregon and now Albuquerque I have found myself sitting across the desk from individuals who do not want to invest even the smallest bit of time and effort in assisting a student who is not academically gifted. My son is not stupid nor is he a discipline problem but he does struggle in school and as a result of being exposed to apathetic staff and educators during his first two years of high school he is now in a position where he is failing his classes.

In Oregon the standard response from the schools was to place the burden and the blame upon my son and myself, making us the one's completely responsible for the situation. Granted, I am all about taking personal responsibility when it is called for but as a parent I expect some effort from the public school system when it comes to educating my child. But instead you are faced with dealing with people who only have time for the "gifted" students. If a student is struggling it becomes a game of hot potato trying to pass off the kid to someone else.

Today at Albuquerque High School I found myself in the same situation as in Oregon. When the counselor saw my son's transcripts and his poor grades he did not even offer me a seat in his office. The first thing he did was show us the door, literally. Well, he did give me a printout of charter schools in the area who work with at-risk kids but he couldn't even spare the time to assist me in deciding what school to seek out.

Bottom line, if you choose to work with children in the public schools you better damn well be willing to help all the kids, not just the gifted ones who don't take a lot of effort. You people disgust me.

Tagged For: Education * Schools