09/26/97

Please Walk in My Shoes

The United States of America is often referred to as "the melting pot". This is a phrase of  praise for our young country where so many people from different lands, races, ethnic groups, religions, and financial circumstances came together to create new lives for themselves.   After two hundred plus years of struggle and friction, cooperation and triumph, we have created a society where dreams can come true.  Yes, it is still a fact that people with vision and determination can rise to remarkable heights in the U.S. A.  Anyone can succeed here because of the unique social invention by our forefathers which guaranteed every child a free, public education until age sixteen.

Why, then, do we hear so much criticism of our public schools?  Shrill voices cry:  Johnny can't read or write!  Teachers are burned out! Parents aren't home and the kids are in daycare!  Teachers earn too much!  Parents treat us like babysitters, not professionals!  Kids won't listen!  There's no discipline anymore!  They can't speak English! Abolish tenure!  Spend more money!  Read to your kids!  They won't sit still!  As accusations fly, one group blaming another, we all become angrier and further from solutions.  Many thousands of dedicated, resourceful teachers and parents go unrecognized and unappreciated. 

In Colonial times, families knew their childrens' teachers.  They invited them to dinner or to spend the night.  I've heard it said that when you break bread with me, you walk in my shoes.  Yes, please walk in my shoes.  Think in my shoes.  Feel in my shoes.  As you do, the accusations will slowly die on your lips.  As parents or teachers, you will learn that we are more alike than we are different and could be much more successful and powerful if we join forces.  Together we can set aside petty scapegoating and identify the common goals we share for educating our children.  No one feels comfortable attacking others or feeling the sting of the inevitable counterattack.  The attacks are more often signs of frustration than of deep-seated hostility.  How quickly an imaginative, respectful plan of action can clear the air.

Our ancestors created the frontier spirit upon which this country was founded.  Our world may look different now than it did during frontier days, but the needs for community cooperation and interdependence are as strong if not stronger than ever before.  Education must be perceived as a shared trust, vital to our national interests.  Money, language, tenure, daycare, ethnicity, race, and indifference are not the real problems afflicting our schools.  Lack of personal communication and genuine respect are. 

How do you think your child's teacher would respond to an invitation to dinner or to coffee?  What else might parents or teachers do to foster better understanding of each other?  Discuss this with your children. What do they think would improve their schools? 

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.