Schools of Thought

IPS Superintendent Dr. Eugene White recently stated that on the whole his schools are failing, mostly at the middle and high school levels. I would agree with that statement. The reasons though are not that of the teachers. More and more often, children of these schools are products of single mothers or raised by other relatives (ie: grandparents, aunts/uncles, etc.)

Dr. White should not be pressuring the teachers, as they're working in excess of fifty hours per week educating, but should be aggressively involving parents in the upbringing of their children. It is not the job of the government, or to a greater extent, the schools, to raise children. Discipline and personal responsibility begins in the home, and children are more wont to imitate their parents' behavior than anyone else. Parents are around their children growing up more than anyone, and it's simply, follow the leader. The problem is that the leader is not leading in the right direction.

Dr. White should be focusing on more innovative plans to get parents and guardians involved, not telling teachers how bad of a job they're doing.