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villageI chose this African proverb as the title for this article because I believe it represents the missing link in improving our schools. Much is said these days about what teachers need to do to improve test scores.  Suggestions include a longer day, a longer school year, and elimination of all subjects that are not tested such as art, music etc. in order to have more time for the basics.  Some even believe that more testing is needed to be sure that teachers are actually doing their jobs. All of these suggestions focus entirely on the time that students are in school and interacting with their teachers.  Teachers are only part of the village necessary for improving education.

What can the rest of the village do to help?

1.  Parents can help by reading to their children as well as in front of their children as models.  Set up a time to do homework when there is an adult around.  Set a sensible bedtime so that children are getting enough rest.  Be sure that your child gets breakfast every day.  This may include breakfast at home or at school. Talk to your children about what they did at school that day.  Communicate with the teachers before you see a problem. This can be done via phone, e-mail, or with in school appointments.

2. School Boards can help by making sure that schools have adequate supplies.  When hiring administrators a school board should know what vision that person has for a school and how that vision will be implemented.  A good administrator is the backbone of a school.  If an administrator is not supporting his/her teachers there should be someone above the administrator who can be informed of problems before they affect the functioning of the school.

3. State Legislatures and Governors can help by including in the state budget adequate funding for all schools to be clean, comfortable learning environments with adequate learning tools. State legislatures can support teachers by refraining from placing blame on teachers for every failure in the educational system.  When elected officials demonize teachers it creates a level of disrespect that affects how parents and students relate to teachers.

4. The U.S. Government can help teachers by listening to them when they raise concerns about policy implementation.  During the last two presidencies “reform” has been judged by the results on standardized tests.  This is true for both No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. The tests given, at times, have varied from state to state producing a hodge podge of data.  In other cases, the test given is written by a private company and may not be gender, regionally or ethnically neutral, thus skewing the test results for different populations.  Ideas like Common Core are written and adopted by those who have never been in the classroom.  They are implemented across the nation without any teacher input.  It would benefit everyone if these grand new ideas were tested in small areas of the country with the opportunity for teachers to give first hand information on how they work in a real classroom.

5. Our society needs to make some basic changes in order for all children to succeed.  Hungry children have difficulty learning but we have allowed SNAP benefits to be cut.  Homeless children have difficulty learning because they are not guaranteed a good night’s sleep or a quiet place to do homework.  Abused children have difficulty learning because they live in fear. As a society we must stand up and speak out in order to see that every child has the best chance to succeed in school.

It really does take a village to raise a child.

I am a retired teacher who taught in middle school for 30 years. I have certifications in elementary...

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