Have the Rules Changed?

How did we let some of our schools degenerate to the point of being labeled a



failure? Are our schools failing or have the rules changed? Why can’t our kids


perform at a level that is adequate for them to be successful in acquiring additional


education and a job? How can we as professional educators regain the vision that


we entered the profession with and get excited about the possibilities for our


students? These are all questions we will address in our training and facilitation.
Many would say that the problems we face are societal and that we cannot hope to



impact these kids who are coming from single parent homes and poor


surroundings. Of course this is a slap in the face of every person who has been


raised by a single parent and is doing quite well, or, the person who has overcome


their poverty through education and the application of hard work. Not to say that


the environments that our children come from will not have an impact on their


performance, it can, and in many cases is the driving force behind the failure that


many experience.


The point to be made however, is that what we do as educators can and will make


a difference if it is done correctly and in a fashion that changes the way we do


business. The vision that drives us will determine the outcomes in the long run. It


is a simple vision, “Our students will learn and we will accept nothing less.” How


we approach the education of our children does make a difference. There are


examples all over the country where students from poverty and single parent


homes perform very well academically. The question to be answered is, how do


we accomplish that here in our schools?