Stealing Education

In a perfect world, education would be significantly different. In New Mexico, it isn't the perfect world that is needed, but at least an adequate one.

In 2015, New Mexico had 889 schools and 340,365 students. The state has many rural areas and many schools are over-crowded. This is standard across the US, truly, and isn't what makes New Mexico a failure in education.

According to the 21st annual edition of Quality Counts, New Mexico still ranks 49th among the 50 states, "with an overall score of 66.3 out of 100 points and a grade of D." (edweek, 2016) That is not very telling, however, when the nation overall rates with a grade of C. It is New Mexico where the focus of this piece is directed, due to the the recent revelations that most elementary-aged children leave the third grade without ever being able to read at a third grade level. And, nothing is being done about it.

Currently, only 29% of students are proficient or better in reading (Associated Press, 2017). Not surprisingly, the results are discounted as unreliable by parents and educators, because if one can live life denying a problem exists, they never have to address the problem. This doesn't preclude the fact that children in New Mexico are being allowed to steal a high school diploma, which leads to their being unable to meet the standards required for them to earn a college degree.

According to a New York Times article published in 1995, only 1/3 of seniors in high school can read proficiently and the article states that this was a drop from two years earlier, showing a decline. According to the 2002 Nation's Report Card, New Mexico's average score in fourth grade reading, mathematics, science, and writing are significantly lower than the national public. Looking at the performance trends, it is noted that there has been no significance difference for fourth grade in math, reading, or science over the years of assessment and in eighth grade, as well, except for a significant decrease in reading.

Governor Martinez has tried for years to pass a bill that would prevent teachers from moving children forward to their own detriment from third grade if they cannot read at a third grade level. This is a move that is constantly and consistently fought by Democrats without consideration as to what moving children forward through the school system like cogs through a factory will do to the youth, their future, and New Mexico's future overall.

Many do not debate the truth that a person who cannot read at a third grade level are more likely to drop out of high school. However, the schools will still push children through the public education system with no concern whatsoever to their reading level.

Case in point is a junior high eighth grader, reading at a fourth grade level, passing into high school with an A in Language Arts. Further, during the student's freshman year in high school, without any improvement in reading or writing skills, the youth still obtained an A grade in English. How does the school system help youth without ensuring that youth has the capacity to succeed? The school system grades youth where they are at, rather than assessing needs and setting standards that lead to improvement and challenge the student to accept more in their own learning.

Where New Mexico schools are failing in the mentality that they can allow students to do sub-par work, essentially stealing A grades, and encourage those that are above proficient. The focus lies on the honor students, in other words, keeping them separate in honors classes and challenging them while letting the others fall away.

There is nothing wrong with honors classes. The issue lies in the neglect of the majority of students being given a rushed, inadequate education, given grades they never earned, being allowed to turn in assignments weeks and months beyond the due date for full credit.

This false ideal of education leads to frustration and high drop out rates when a student opts for college. Suddenly, time management has meaning. Suddenly, grades are accurate and have purpose. Suddenly, late assignments are accepted with a significant point loss or not at all. Student find themselves overwhelmed and drop out of college to pursue entry level careers, struggling to meet daily requirements on the job that require following instructions, reading and writing proficiently, and even things as simple as calculating correct change without the support of a cash register or calculator.

Who is to blame for what is occurring in New Mexico schools?

Firstly, it would be the parents, not demanding more for their own children. Surely, the parents know if their children can read at an appropriate level or not. Surely, parents can gauge if their children are comprehending what they're reading. Surely, the parents are looking over the homework of their children, asking about the work, asking about their day, and seeking to help their children improve and succeed.

But, in the day and age of television, computers, and tablets, it is not surprising that families don't take time to discuss their days beyond the superficial, don't seek to check homework or even check in with teachers at a regular interval, weekly even, in order to determine what the current curriculum is and how to best engage their children and encourage educational growth outside of the classroom.

Many school systems have an internet site where parents can monitor the progress of their children every day, in order to see missing assignments or low grades, and then choose their interaction level based on the need. However, even if a child is receiving high grades, that does not determine their true academic level. It is up to a the parents to determine that for themselves and not trust what the grades say.

Secondly, educators need to challenge students and not hand grades out for effort. In a Kindergarten class, one boy sat at one of the many ignored tables and wrote the word "ham" as a response to every single area that required something to be written. This was his daily activity, as the teacher had a table of gifted children at the front of the class with which she engaged, leaving all the other children to struggle and not learn anything.

There is much to be said about having teacher aides in the classrooms to help with the over-filled classes and to allow for children to be invested in, regardless of their IQ level. There is much to be said about taking the time to read what is turned in and truly grade it and not just give a cursory A in response to an assignment being turned in, essentially winning a medal just for showing up.

Thirdly, there is no reason to leave the legislative restrictions and foolishness out of the equation. When educators have their hands tied so profusely, they can't essentially slow down to help some students grasp concepts through adaptive learning. In a rush to ensure that all the necessary learning is crammed into a school year, along with mandatory testing, it is easy to see where failures exist and why. Also, with teaching being one of lowest paid positions requiring a degree, along with social workers, is it any wonder that the desire to invest more time and energy into something already broken is lacking?

What needs to be done?

Parents need to be invested and involved. In this day and age, it can be difficult for working parents to take time off to be in the classroom, but parents need to be present and available in the evenings to engage their children and ensure that they are being given the best education they can be given. Keeping in contact with teachers and, if need be, principals and school board representatives, can help make great strides in breaking the chain of failure that many experience in public education. Parents, I believe, are the key determinant in the success of their children, as different resources and investments can be made to ensure their children grow and strengthen in areas of struggle and in areas of success. Programs can be enrolled in and additional study books can be purchased and worked through as a family. All this support makes significant changes in the reading and math levels of students.

Educators need to advocate for changes and be a voice for their students. They need to document and note areas where corners are being cut and where youth are being given a grave disservice in education. They need to stand for changes and reveal to the community where changes are needed. It is obvious that pay needs to increase, however, with numbers like the ones seen above, why would people be willing to pay educators more? With children being advanced into high school with below third grade reading comprehension, why would people want to pay educators more? Essentially, in order to show the viable and valuable truth about educator pay, those very people need to advocate for changes and show that their desire is truly for students to learn and earn their high school diplomas and prepare for college.

Finally, legislation has to be looked at, precisely and closely reviewed, and changed. New bills, like the one Governor Martinez is proposing, have to be enacted, not to the detriment of children, but in order to ensure that children learn in school, succeed in college, and move on to be the advocates and changemakers of the future.

All the levels, micro, mezzo, and macro, must be addressed. While the parents are the most vital, that engagement will only help their own children, when there are many in the school system that are being neglected and forgotten and sent out into the world with a stolen degree, prepared to fail.

Sources:

New Mexico Earns a D on State Report Card, Ranks 49th in Nation. (2017, March 03). Retrieved October 11, 2017, from http://www.edweek.org/ew/qc/2017/state-highlights/2017/01/04/new-mexico-state-highlights-report-page.htm

Staff, K. W. (2017, July 24). New Mexico student reading scores up, math stagnant. Retrieved October 11, 2017, from http://www.koat.com/article/new-mexico-student-reading-scores-up-math-stagnant/103542

Decline Found in Reading Proficiency of High School Seniors. (1995, April 28). Retrieved October 11, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/28/us/decline-found-in-reading-proficiency-of-high-school-seniors.html

New Mexico Performance Trends. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2017, from https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/profiles/stateprofile/overview/NM?cti=PgTab_OT&chort=2&sub=MAT&sj=NM&fs=Grade&st=MN&year=2015R3&sg=Gender%3A%2BMale%2Bvs.%2BFemale&sgv=Difference&ts=Single%2BYear&tss=2015R3-2015R3&sfj=NP

Mexican, R. N. (2015, October 05). Governor again pushes controversial third-grade reading reform measure. Retrieved October 11, 2017, from http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/education/governor-again-pushes-controversial-third-grade-reading-reform-measure/article_089962df-6b9f-5713-a2f2-776037267e62.html