The Rescue Mission of Public Schools
By Jon Oliver and James Alan Fox
AS THE SCHOOL bell rang announcing another year of classes, some students came
out fighting. A Marshfield High School junior is accused of plotting a Columbine-style
attack. In Boston, a middle school student allegedly brought 50 hollow-tip bullets
to school and hid a revolver near school grounds.
Despite the emphasis in recent years on safety and security, many schools remain
chaotic places where some undisciplined students enjoy free rein. Though trying
their best to respond, teachers and administrators (as well as parents) often
feel overwhelmed. Three-quarters of educators surveyed last spring by Public
Agenda, a New York opinion research organization, said they would be more effective
in teaching if they did not have to spend so much time dealing with misbehavior
and disruption.
More than one-third of teachers reported that they or colleagues have even considered
abandoning the profession because student misbehavior has grown impossible to
handle. Partly, they are ill prepared to be a "cop with chalk." Teacher
training and certification programs tend not to place much importance on methods
for maintaining order in the classroom or how to impart basic social skills
to students.
As we continue to emphasize higher academic standards, we also need to promote
children's social skills. In a world that is rapidly spinning more and more
out of control, we must help youngsters learn to control themselves.
As early as preschool and the elementary grades, students must be taught the
skills needed for survival and success in real life, skills that many fail to
acquire at home. A majority of parents, according to Public Agenda's research,
admit failure in teaching their children discipline at home and see this as
the leading cause of behavior problems in school. Not equipped with the social
skills to deal with bullying, peer pressure, and the toxic youth culture, youngsters
often resort to violence or perhaps join a gang for an alternative form of socialization.
In recent months Bill Cosby has made headlines across the country with no-nonsense
comments about how black youngsters lack the skills to assume personal responsibility
or use self-control in their lives.
While his courageous remarks have raised awareness, the question remains: What
can we do to help American children (not just African-American children) in
today's out-of-control culture?
In light of the Public Agenda's research findings, it is apparent that teaching
social skills must be a priority for public education, arguably as important
as test scores. The challenge is that many teachers were not trained in how
to coach these social skills nor were many parents taught these skills when
they were growing up. Many do not see how important the connection is between
teaching such skills and teaching academics.
In many school districts the emphasis for professional teacher development is
on helping them to elevate their students' test scores. But how can teachers
teach if the children aren't prepared to learn? Children must be taught fundamental
life skills in the same sequential and straightforward way they are taught the
alphabet and the number line.
But what about the parents? Dr. Phil McGraw has recently been touting the importance
of helping parents to raise their children to be safe, healthy, and happy individuals.
It is not just up to the teachers and schools to provide social skills, of course.
Parents must make sure their children are prepared to enter school and society
with skills to survive and succeed.
They should not be afraid to set limits and provide the necessary boundaries
to help children with skills such as self-control.
All adults, both teachers and parents, can concretely and tangibly teach skills
such as self-control, responsibility, and cooperation to children through defining,
discussing, and helping them experience the skills. For example, a teacher or
parent can blow bubbles in front of young children and tell them to use their
self-control to resist the temptation to break them.
A simple activity like this can generalize into not touching a gun, alcohol,
cigarettes, and avoiding a confrontation with a bully. It also gives children
a point of reference for what it feels like to use the skill of self-control.
In this way, they can develop an alternative response to frustration, besides
disruption or worse -- violence.
It is critical that these skills reach all children, especially those whose
blank expressions mask lifetimes of pain. These are the youngsters who have
been bullied, physically abused, or mentally scarred to the point that they
are indeed a danger to themselves and others. These are the children who without
warning might grab a gun and start shooting or otherwise erupt in unforeseen
rage. Like time bombs, we don't know when they'll explode, nor do we know exactly
who they are.
When children internalize skills like self-control, self-confidence, responsibility,
and cooperation at an early age, they are better equipped to cope with the hand
that life has dealt them. Carrying these skills rather than weapons through
middle and high school and on to adulthood, they will be able to break the cycles
of violence in their lives and within our culture. The goal of "no child
left behind" must be more than just an academic exercise.
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Jon Oliver is executive director of the Lesson One Company in Boston and co-author
of "Lesson One: The ABCs of Life." James Alan Fox is the Lipman Family
Professor of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University.
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