Letter to the Editor NavarrePress

Santa Rosa County Schools…EXCEL?

Not in my book, your book, nor in the books our kids never crack open during the school year. In my 15 years in Florida I've been in three Counties. As a case study, I have three out of five children that have received little or no "teaching" through the years. They have been allowed to be "left-behind", mentally impotent in an environment where they expound the virtues of "no child left behind". The other two have been trained to successfully test well. Regardless of the wonderful numbers shared in my NavarrePress of June 24, 2005, the school system we have created is failing to replenish the stores of future great thinkers, tested into extinction

I know of too many parents who, with children having difficulties, are systematically ignored, the schools concentrating their efforts on the schools' overall scores.

In my struggle to work with my own kids, I even became a substitute-teacher. I did this in an attempt to gather the information I needed to come to what I hope is an educated conclusion. Well, I think I've got a bead on the source of our problems.

"Our kids are being trained, not taught".

Administrators, Counselors and ultimately teachers, I have had contact with over the years, are not teaching our kids the skills needed to have an understanding of today's world in order to be active participants in the world of their future. The material they are introduced to over their school career does little to stimulate minds in the process of withering. I stand as a witness to the atrophy. Our children are being trained for "the test", to practice to take "the test", and to WEB-test for "the test".

We are Hispanic. My wife and I are well educated, -or educated well enough. We're hard working and engaged in the lives of our children. From school activities, to band, to sport programs. We are NOT on the dole, meaning we're not on "the welfare". And contrary to general belief, not all Hispanics are illegal alien residents. My wife and I are Naturalized citizens of these United States and I even served my Country as an Active Duty Military Member during the Vietnam Conflict Era . We are also, tax-paying citizens and well informed registered voters of Santa Rosa County.

With the assistance of our school system our five children have tested well, but not well enough. They complete their assignments, but not often. According to report they are a joy to have in class, but not often. Our observations indicate that they are self-aware, but not often. And they are always practicing for "the test"; much too often.

When I mentioned earlier that they are not being taught, what I meant was that with all the focus on "the test", they are actually being programmed just for "the test". Everything else over the years has been sacrificed, honed down to a point that the entire school year is spent preparing for "the test". Scores are what's important to our Counties' school system in their desperate attempts to maintain funding, and their only hope, of any possibility to increased funding.

Should any school slip in "ranking" their funding is placed in jeopardy. Therefore, children are treated as a "product", the means to an end, these young minds channeled into processes and classrooms manned by glorified "corporate" trainers, in their newly legislated, reduce size classrooms. (I voted yes)

These "assembly-lines", the new model of elementary education, are now prepared to concentrate the days' efforts on students that will produce an increase in profits by being marketed to the State as well programmed to successfully be tested, and not well taught thinkers that will test well. We are failing our children, ourselves and ultimately the very "villages" it takes to help raise our children.