It's Time We Learned Something

   I was never a big fan of school. I started in 1961, back then being four and a half-years-old was all that was required to enter kindergarten, and so I did, with some minor assistance from my Mom. Unbelievably, I can still recall certain moments from that time of my life. The funny thing is, the only memories I can recall at all were in my school setting.

   I remember crying to the teacher because Roger threw sand in my face. I remember hanging up my coat in the proper place, I remember show and tell day and story day. I remember having graham crackers and milk for a snack and then retrieving my roll up rug to lie on for nap time.

    The only memories that I have from that time of my life that did not involve school was when I saw my Dad and Mom cry because a man on television said that someone had shot President Kennedy and killed him.

   So I have reasoned that our memories are in high gear during dramatic and stressful moments; the kind you feel when you are placed in an unfamiliar environment and your mind is challenged to figure out what your situation is all about.

    I remember in grade school enjoying math and spelling, but as I advanced through the grades I found that I was less and less interested in what was being taught, and more and more interested in ways to avoid school at all.

   By the fifth grade I was convinced that school was the most boring activity ever devised. Throughout the rest of my school years I found I would do the minimum required of me in order to get by and by the twelfth grade the only thing I wanted was to leave. Amazingly, once the burden of mandatory schooling was completed, my inner desire for knowledge and understanding exploded.

   I hungered for then and still do to this day to absorb any and all of the wonders of this world. Gathering information, knowledge, and understanding of all that is around me is a huge part of my life and adds a great deal of enjoyment and fulfillment to this existence of mine.

    When I reflect back as to why I was so anti-learning in those early years and yet so pro-learning later on, the main reason I come up with was that I was never really challenged. I obviously was challenged at the beginning, with everything I was experiencing being new to me, but as I got familiar with the routine and the curriculum my interest in what was being offered faded fast.

   No doubt that there are a myriad of reasons for this and I by no means hold myself blameless, but I can't help but think that if the teachers I had would have recognized what was taking place and devised methods that would have motivated that part of me that was now dormant, then perhaps my years of schooling would have been an entirely different experience.

   The reason I am telling this story of my life is to get across an enormously important point that is in need of sharing, that the United States has allowed it's educational system to fall into serious disrepair.

    The first thing we are so lacking in is to pay our teachers much better, these people are required to get college diplomas before entering teaching and are continually furthering there education throughout their careers. They are saddled with the same debts as others who go into various professions but the salaries offered them start and remain much lower in education.

   These are the people we trust to make certain that our children will learn the skills needed for their entire future. In my opinion teachers have never been given the appreciation and rewards they so assuredly deserve for the selfless giving of themselves to others. That being said, there are also people teaching who ought not be doing so, people whose sole purpose is to receive a salary and retire after twenty years of service.

    In order to be an effective and successful teacher a person must have a great desire to see their students succeed in achieving their fullest potential and guide them in their journey to that achievement. We need to weed out the undesirable elements in the teaching profession and replace them with the type of educator whose passion for their craft is only matched by their concern for their students success.

    Whenever there are budget cuts to be done be they local, state or federal, education is always on the list for slashing. That to me is about the most insanely stupid maneuver we could make, if we don't have a well educated population coming up behind us, then the only thing we can expect to see is the further deterioration of this nations abilities to lead the world in all the sciences.

    We also need to stop forcing those who come here from other countries for an education into returning back home when their education is completed, these people have in the past been responsible for some of the best innovations America has ever produced, and given the option of remaining here in the U.S. would more times than not choose to do so.

    If this country is to have any real chance at regaining the momentum it once had, then we need to recognize the incredibly powerful role our educational system plays, and just how important and vital our educators are, and fund them with the needed resources they most certainly deserve. The teaching profession is full of people with integrity and honor and they warrant our deepest respect and our sincerest gratitude.

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