Random Thoughts On High School Back-To-School Night

Last night we went to back-to-school night at my daughter's high school. Our sons all went to an all-boys Catholic high school, but for various reasons, she is going to the local public school. The difference was dramatic and as I sat there listening to the teachers, several things occurred to me. Here's a sampling, in no particular order.

• Participation was low. At the Catholic school, about 90-95% of the parents attended. At the public school, it was 10-20%.
• Most of her teachers have completely punted on homework. They don't give any. At all.
• Some graded on attempting to solve problems rather than giving the correct answer. Note: at the Catholic school, there was very, very little partial credit given.
• There was no feeling that the students or the parents were expected to provide anything other than a warm body to sit in a chair.
• You would graduate imagining that someone will pay you for trying to do your job and you won't be expected to improve yourself on your own.
• The literature and social studies syllabi seemed thoroughly leftist.
• There is one auto shop class and a few art classes. Other than that, no trades are taught.
• The English teacher talked almost entirely about helping the kids pass the high school proficiency tests required to graduate.
• In general, it seemed as though the education system has surrendered. They're not even trying to succeed any more, at least not in any real sense. Instead, they have defined success down until it's all about getting the kids a diploma or GED.
• Minimum wage is screwing these kids. From what I saw, many of the "graduates" will be worth far less than minimum wage plus mandated benefits plus the costs of government-mandated corporate support systems. I could only imagine what kind of workers the school is producing. No wonder so many of them end up unemployed.
• Since the school expects almost nothing, the parents have to pick up the slack. It made me glad I've been forcing her to do well at soccer. It is the habit of working hard to be good at something that matters.

Backing up to a societal level, I felt that I could see the rot of deficit spending all around me. There was no sense of urgency at all. The system was producing graduates ill-suited for either college or the trades while the State has long since run out of tax money and taxable workers. In the midst of their own financial starvation, the teachers were producing a workforce unable to compete or even understand that competition existed.

It was nowhere evident that the teachers connected a lack of employable graduates with their own personal welfare.

I don't know, maybe I'm just being overly dark.