Students are becoming lazy. They don’t want to work. They don’t want to worry about learning. They will worry about that later. Whether this is a societal issue or a nutritional issue–I don’t know.

I have taught school for twenty-six years and I can honestly say I work harder now than I did when I started. In fact, every teacher around me works hard. Why? Teachers are the ultimate learners. Most teachers I know just love to learn. We want to instill that love of learning in our students. I teach junior high and I go to school each morning for those students who still want to learn. When their eyes light up with curiosity, my day is made.

In Ohio, kids spend 180 days a year in school–less than eight hours a day–and that’s if they have perfect attendance. More than 80% of their lives is spent OUTSIDE of school. The time spent outside of school is coloring their judgement of what they want to do. Television, internet, parents, and friends, all have more influence on these kids than their schools do.

You can turnaround, restart, close or transform as many schools as you want to, but I bet my dwindling retirement package that it won’t solve the problem.

Students are becoming lazy. They don’t want to work. They don’t want to worry about learning. They will worry about that later. Whether this is a societal issue or a nutritional issue–I don’t know.

I have taught school for twenty-six years and I can honestly say I work harder now than I did when I started. In fact, every teacher around me works hard. Why? Teachers are the ultimate learners. Most teachers I know just love to learn. We want to instill that love of learning in our students. I teach junior high and I go to school each morning for those students who still want to learn. When their eyes light up with curiosity, my day is made.

In Ohio, kids spend 180 days a year in school–less than eight hours a day–and that’s if they have perfect attendance. More than 80% of their lives is spent OUTSIDE of school. The time spent outside of school is coloring their judgement of what they want to do. Television, internet, parents, and friends, all have more influence on these kids than their schools do.

You can turnaround, restart, close or transform as many schools as you want to, but I bet my dwindling retirement package that it won’t solve the problem.

I agree essentially with this, but we need to examine our own values and perceptions about ‘academic’ classes which we see as hard classes with high expectations, and trade and technical classes which by contrast and placement in polarity with the former are seen as less demanding, easier, and therefore for the less ‘smart’ students. Also, notice how we say ‘career’ for academically based work, and ‘jobs’ for those who come through the trade and vocational schools. We say education for the former and training for the latter. Schools, counselors, parents … we all perpetuate this mindset. Little wonder that kids see trade/vocational schools as lower rung, and a sign of failure to go to college.

And yet, the knowledge economy requires not a very different integration of the academic and technical areas of life. Nations that are ahead of the curve like Singapore, the Scandinavian nations who are leaders of innovation have found ways to decrease the polarity between traditional college courses and these so-called vocational courses.

If we can re-think how we see college and the alternatives to traditional college, maybe we will see better how to adequately prepare students to succeed in high school so that they go on to the path in further education that is congruent with their talents and passions.

I agree essentially with this, but we need to examine our own values and perceptions about ‘academic’ classes which we see as hard classes with high expectations, and trade and technical classes which by contrast and placement in polarity with the former are seen as less demanding, easier, and therefore for the less ‘smart’ students. Also, notice how we say ‘career’ for academically based work, and ‘jobs’ for those who come through the trade and vocational schools. We say education for the former and training for the latter. Schools, counselors, parents … we all perpetuate this mindset. Little wonder that kids see trade/vocational schools as lower rung, and a sign of failure to go to college.

And yet, the knowledge economy requires not a very different integration of the academic and technical areas of life. Nations that are ahead of the curve like Singapore, the Scandinavian nations who are leaders of innovation have found ways to decrease the polarity between traditional college courses and these so-called vocational courses.

If we can re-think how we see college and the alternatives to traditional college, maybe we will see better how to adequately prepare students to succeed in high school so that they go on to the path in further education that is congruent with their talents and passions.