Cynicism abounds about most public and many private entities today. Public education, in particular, is a convenient target for criticism because most people have had firsthand experience with it.
Lately, the pervasive attacks on public schools have turned uglier and more personal. The media continue to dwell on the shortcomings of public education. Prestigious publications assault and dismiss our current system of educating children and youth in a free society. Political camps build dramatic campaigns around the demise of educational effectiveness and claim to be the anointed saviors of the American dream. Some business leaders assign report card grades of D to our schools and declare that today's workers are the most inept in decades.
This barrage of assaults on public schooling—the work that I do best and believe in most—has failed to make me cynical. If anything, it fuels my soul with a passion to build inner resources to confront seemingly insurmountable challenges. I refuse to become weighed down by fear and indecision.
It is counterproductive to dwell on the factors beyond our immediate control that inhibit school effectiveness. These include school politics, limited funding, changing fads in delivering the curriculum mandated by government officials, the lack of consensus in community expectations, and the assumption that schools are the vehicle to address all societal ills.
Focusing on Our Purpose
We need to focus, instead, on our ultimate purpose: to serve children. I am daily inspired to serve young people in becoming better prepared for successful and meaningful lives in the workplace and the community. While I realize that our journey toward optimal success for every child is far from complete, I have also made a commitment to communicate clearly about the very real accomplishments in our schools.
A journey though hundreds of public schools has reinforced my belief that great accomplishments are occurring in classrooms. Teachers are better prepared, curriculums are more focused, innovative strategies are being implemented, real-life learning experiences are the norm, parents are involved in decision making, and most learning environments are fostering respect and responsibility. These successes rarely garner media attention or dominate the conversation at political rallies.
To test my belief in public education, I conducted a quick, conversational survey at a recent social event attended by accomplished community leaders. I discovered that 99.6 percent of these successful people were educated in public schools. Each person there could name at least one educator who had an impact on their successes. Like me, they are sharing in the benefits of having been educated in the public domain.
Agonizing over the attacks on public schools depletes our energy and erodes our inner life. When we keep our eyes on the prize of serving children and youth, we build the reservoir of inner strength that allows us to face the naysayers in a positive manner.
