Welcome Back to School

As many parents are over the moon that their children are returning to school, there are still many concerns.?As a life learner, I have genuinely noticed the significant changes in schools nowadays versus when I graduated from high school.?

Parents still face significant challenges in ensuring their child receives a proper education.?In 2022, some parents' concerns lay in having the appropriate amount of government funding for education and school needs.?Others that ranked high on the growing list of complaints were as follows:

School Safety Measures

Disciplinary Policies

Technology in Education

Charter Schools and Voucher Programs

Common Core Learning

Standardized Testing

Teacher salaries

One top reason school administrators feel they have failed their students is the fight for better attendance and performance.?Covid-19 was historic and unprecedented, and concerns still run rampant depending upon whom you ask.?There are conspiracy theories and thoughts that the government has plans to eliminate certain races.??

In an article I read, throughout the Los Angeles County school district, attendance is down 43%.?Parents must work now that guidelines and medical safety measures have been established.?Now that the job industry has changed, both parents feel it’s ok to keep the older children at home to look after the younger children and resort to online education.?

You can find the article at https://edsource.org/2023/california-districts-still-see-more-chronic-absenteeism-than-before-pandemic/688787, I must admit that I am a little depressed by those numbers in the report.?However, there are other reasons for my blog.?

I have an associate who is an Elementary School Principal, and he let me in on a secret.?He told me that many of the parents he has spoken with have advised him that they will probably be using the at-home education so their children can be watched by their siblings.??He told me that many of them do not seem to care about their child's attendance, as long as “little Janey or Mikey graduate I’m ok with that!”

He informed me that he had to devise a method to get the kids to attend school and keep them interested in remaining in school.?He advised me that out of his own money, he purchased five play station 5 games, a full console, and everything and made those a prize for the school’s top attendance and the performers. ??

He stated that some parents and even teachers contributed to the idea, and instead of 5 gaming consoles, his school now has 15.?The children must have a stellar attendance record, and their grades must match that.?They cannot just come to school and think that will ensure a chance to win one of the gaming consoles.?I asked one question, although I believe his idea and program are great, and if he has had so much success from that program, then I am happy for him.?

My question to you (him) are you bribing the child to get a good education for a chance to win a gaming console?

He put it to me plain and simple that he felt he needed to change kids' views on school and hopefully swing them back to getting interested in education and not just looking at their phones.?“Social media has affected the kids, Roberta. It’s not like when we were kids.?We didn’t have a choice but to get a good education and possibly move on to higher education.?I must fight to get their attention with social media playing such a key role in many of their lives.?If this is what I have to do to get their attendance better and gain their trust that they need a good education to have a chance at having a better life, then it’s worth the investment.”

The Los Angeles Times ran a great article on how absenteeism affects students and is a part of a bigger issue, I encourage you to read it.?It is very insightful https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-08-10/students-in-california-and-across-the-nation-miss-school-in-record-numbers-study-says

Other countries are teaching their children biochemistry and science or some form of Artificial Intelligence learning, and our students are watching their teachers on the internet (social media), trying to keep their attention on learning.??