I can’t believe I am writing a back-to-school letter to you in July. That’s because I can’t believe you are starting a new school year in July. Somehow, that doesn’t seem right. Back in the good ol’ days – which look better and better as I get older and older – school always began right after Labor Day.
Even today, I dread the thought of Labor Day because it reminds me of the years of having to get up early, put on shoes, socks, and freshly ironed clothes, and trek off to school. Once there, I waited for recess to come, then wondered how long ‘til lunch, and after that, I wondered if the school day would ever end so I could get home and take off my shoes and socks.
And, of course, there was homework. Always the homework, which greatly interfered with more important pursuits like playing ball or riding my bike.
In spite of this, Miss Dent and Miss Bolton, and Jimmie Lou Hopgood, among others, managed to corral my wandering mind and taught me how to read and write, add and subtract, spell multi-syllable words, and absorb a fair amount of history.
That is what schoolteachers do. They did it back in my time and you do it today.
The difference between those days and now, in my opinion, is two-fold.
First, for the most part, parents in my generation came out of rural settings where education was not a priority. Plowing, planting, and harvesting were. They wanted their children to get the education they had been denied.
Second, the teaching profession was held in high regard by society. I have a friend who says that while the U.S. Constitution may say we are innocent until proven guilty, it didn’t work that way when we were in school. If the schoolteacher said you were guilty, chances are your parents accepted that verdict, much to your discomfort.
What’s happened to parental support since those days, I’m not sure.
Perhaps you know. I do think you would agree that where parents are involved in a positive way in their child’s educational development, the results are positive. The problem is that too often parental involvement is not about a child’s progress but about political and social issues.
We’ve all seen the pictures of parents screaming and waving signs at each other over things like masks in the schoolroom during the COVID-19 pandemic.
How is that a positive influence on any child’s behavior?
Now you are caught in the crossfire between competing political philosophies on the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In my not-so-humble opinion, those discussions belong in the home. You should not be held responsible for what parents should be doing. However, no matter what you do regarding that subject – or what politicians and special-interest groups force upon you – it won’t please a lot of people.
And then we will get the predictable blather about “failing public schools” – which is not your fault. It is the fault of society.
If there is a failure here, it is mine for not doing a better job of getting it into people’s heads that public schools are a microcosm of society.
My son – who is one of you, by the way – has told me many times that you can’t shut the schoolhouse door on society’s problems. If a child is hungry, abused, has apathetic parents or no parents at all, is transient, can’t speak English, or is a gang member, it doesn’t matter.
You are supposed to educate them. Rather than address these problems directly, the solution for many politicians is to give tax breaks to parents (mostly white, well-to-do Republicans, though we don’t know that for sure since the information is not publicly available despite involving our tax dollars) who send their kids to private schools that don’t have to abide by the same rules you do.
And if the child doesn’t play by their rules, they are sent back to … guess where? Right! And you have no choice but to take them back.
But you are willing to accept the slings and arrows because we both know you will have a positive and lasting impact on some child’s life. I suspect everyone reading this today can name a schoolteacher who made a difference in their own life. Again, that is what teachers do. Yours is a noble profession. And I thank you for doing it.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at dick@dickyarbrough.com or P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139