The Real Issue...Love.

First, let me say that I am a mom of two boys whom I love with all of my being.  I would take a bullet or throw myself in front of a moving vehicle for them in a milli-second.  That being said, I am not a stay-at-home-mom.  I am a teacher.  I love my job.  I love my colleagues.  I love my students.  I love getting out of the house.  I have the utmost respect for those who stay at home with their children every day and run their families.  I get a taste of it every summer, and my plate is full this summer with an extended break (4 months due to the passing of a school bond issue *yay*!).  Honestly, this long summer scares me.

I am a big-kid person.  Little kids scare me.  We are on week 2 of our summer break, and I am already bored at home -- let's be real...there is only so much cleaning a person can do, and my house has not been cleaned since Christmas Break.  Therefore, I have spent time on Pinterest, Facebook, and blogs looking for some fun ideas to keep my boys (and myself) entertained.  We go for walks, we play in the back yard, the front yard, we read, we make puzzles, we build train sets (which my youngest son likes to crawl over and destroy as soon as we are finished), we do science experiements.  I have been researching ideas for my boys the same way that I look for new ideas for my students.  You see, elementary and secondary teachers have an unspoken respect for each other and the age-level of students we work with each day - I am terrified in a roomful of kids under 13.  Terrified.  And middle-school teachers, well it just goes without saying that there is a special place in heaven reserved for those who teach 6th-8th graders.  God bless them.  

While researching for ideas to keep us entertained and learning, I keep running across posts on Facebook about the Common Core Standards.  According to the internet, many valid questions are being raised (*insert sarcastic tone before reading these questions*) Did you know that they, the union-thugs and overpaid teachers are "brainwashing our students"?  Did you know that this is "Obama's attempt to re-write history"?  Did you know that we are "dumbing down" curriculum?  Did you know that those same "overpaid teachers" are only supporting this because they want the funding that comes with it to pad their own pockets?  

GET REAL!  How many people who are re-posting this garbage online have ACTUALLY READ THE STANDARDS???  I can tell you the answer:  slim to none.  Why?  Because standards are BORING.  It is much more fun to read politically driven Facebook posts with no research or data to back them up.  For once, teachers and educators helped to create something we are using in schools - not just businessmen and politicians.  The teachers in my district, including myself, have spent years, YEARS, studying these standards.  We began studying them before they were even officially adopted.  These standards are good!  They are solid.  They DO NOT dictate how things are taught.  Most of the controversial practices you read about are district-level initiatives or they are found in poorly written text-books that school boards have approved. 

Heck, the Common Core Standards even give us more freedom to teach great information and actually TEACH it until students have learned it - not just for a test.  They cause students to write, to explain what they've learned in all areas.  Our history department works with our English department so that we use similar terms in research.  I even helped a science teacher grade her research papers - she graded for content, and I graded for MLA.  Why?  Because her students worked much harder once they knew that an "English" teacher was going to check their work.  Students are beginning to understand that a paragraph in band, yes, I said band (our band is writing, too), is the same as it is in English.  The Common Core Standards make students think, and their teachers, we love to see those wheels turn and light bulbs flash on -- it's what we live for.

What really upsets me, however, is not the debate about Common Core, what upsets me is that the real issue in the decline in education goes unspoken -- our children are in need.  What do they need?  They need families.  They need stability.  They need love. 

Why do we see a decline in student learning even though funding is "higher" than ever?  Let me give you a few examples.

Student A:  This student went to a sports competition and then went out to eat with her foster family.  While at this restaurant, she was able to see a sister who she had not seen in years because their family was split apart due to her parents' drug problems.  She has siblings that she has never met.  She does not know if/ when she will see them again.  Luckily, she is with a family that loves her, but what about her siblings?  It's no wonder why she struggles to learn at her full potential.

Student B:  This student has been shipped back and forth between his parents in an ugly-divorce dispute.  Once dad is tired of him, he goes to mom.  Once mom is tired of him, he goes to a friend's house.  What happens when his friend's parents decide they've had enough?  I can only imagine his thoughts, because three of his teachers spent serious time talking about who could give him a safe place to live should this happen.  He is 18, so he is out of options for help from government agencies, but since he is an "adult" he should be able to fend for himself.  It's no wonder why he struggles to learn at his full potential.

Student C:  This student can't stay awake in class.  She is tired -- sleep-through-the-bell-ringing tired.  We work out a deal:  she sleeps in class, she comes in to make up the time (so that I can re-teach her and feed her).  It is at this time that I learn why she is tired; she is her mom's designated driver 2-3 times a week.  Mom goes to the bar, and at 2 a.m. she calls her daughter to pick her up.  No laws are being broken.  The daughter is old enough to drive, and to be home alone.  The mom is re-living her "lost teenage years" because she gave birth to her daughter while she was still in high school.   It's no wonder why her daughter struggles to learn at her full potential.

The decline in America's family -- THIS IS THE REAL ISSUE!  Many of our students (sadly more and more each year) are in need.  They need parents who love them.  Parents who fight for them, yet hold them accountable.  Parents who are their biggest fans.  They need food, safety, and shelter.  We teachers give them what we can, but we can never take the place of parents who put their children's needs before their own.  We worry and pray feverishly for our students over long breaks, especially summer break, because we know many of them will spend months away from the one safe place they know.

Being a parent is by far the toughest thing I have ever done.  I have never been so tired (not even while teaching and completing my master's degree).  There are no "manuals" that come with babies when they leave the hospital.  So, I read.  I learn.  Quite honestly, most days I have no clue what I am doing.  I try my best to be a good mom.  

As a mom, it makes me sad when I see my students in need.  I want them to be successful.  I want them to learn.  I want them to break the cycle. I know that education is the only way that they can break it.   And as I sit and read a story to my son for the 7th time in-a-row (*yawn*), my heart hurts for my students who have never known this type of love and attention, for whatever reason.  Many of my students tell me their parents have NEVER read to them.  Never.  Many of my students are the "parents" in their households.  My students are tough, resilient, inspiring.  

It is time that America quits hiding behind issues like the Common Core and blaming it for the lack of learning in classrooms and the future downfall of our country.  It is time to have some uncomfortable conversations about what our children need.  If you ask a teacher about his/her students in need, you will see real heart-ache.  You will see raw emotion.  You will see love.  We love our students, our "kids", but we are not enough.  Our kids are hungry for a purpose in life.  Our kids need love - then they can learn.