The Goal is Student Success

Two decades ago, I was working in a school detention room. The problems of student behavior have not improved since then, because lots of people can't handle the truth. Now, as a substitute teacher, I see students of all ages and all races and ethnicities. Not every group is the same. We like to say we embrace different cultures, until an inconvenient issue arises. Then it is blamed on the system. The reporting is altered. And subsequently, year after year, students go through a system that is afraid to change for the better, because someone might be offended. I would rather see all of my students succeed. Even those who prefer to act out, rather than standout. Of course, there is some overlap, but in general, my more recent immigrant, Somali students, are well-behaved. And yesterday, I had a couple of them help me to teach math. But, many of my African American students, disrupt learning, are defiant, and don't want to participate in class. If we can isolate the reasons for these differences, instead of second guessing the teachers, we might be able to help a lot of students to succeed in school and be prepared for college, careers and financial independence. That is the goal, isn't it