You Can't Fulfill A Dream Without A Plan

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." --Nelson Mandela

As I chase one of my own dreams, it wasn't an accident that today I came across education videos on YouTube that talk about some of the most pressing issues in America's public schools. I couldn't have stepped onto the path of becoming a writer without educating myself in a myriad of ways, and that got me thinking about the discussions and lectures I've had with my students over the last nine years. I have said to all of my students, "Dream big," but then I've worked on helping them educate themselves and create a plan, because merely having a dream isn't enough. Our K-12 schools in the United States, however, are in crisis. Realistically, how many of our youth will actually be able to pursue their dreams with the hope of success?

In the documentary "Dream with Me: One Year in America's Public Schools" (www.youtube.com/watch?v=08JnBsQ7PM), a student at the beginning stated, "You need to be educated in order to do anything..." One of his classmates, however, pointed out that, "Overpopulated schools, under-qualified teachers---you're just setting up every one of our kids to fail..." While I agree that those two things are a problem in many places, they're not the only problem and this documentary attempts to unpack a lot of issues facing the Los Angeles Unified School District, (i.e. high drop-out rates, high teacher turn-over, lack of funding, numerous discipline issues, etc.), which are common problems in American schools around the country.

Having taught in three very different districts, Dysart Unified School District in Maricopa County, Arizona, Wayne County School District, in Wayne County North Carolina, and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School District, in Forsyth County North Carolina, I know what I believe relevant issues are in regards to trouble with our Nation's schools, however I wanted to hear what the kids had to say. I've always enjoyed PBS and they conducted research for a special called, "Students Speak out on the Biggest Issues in Education" (www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hsj-GDgOEo)--right up my alley! Here are some of the things the kids had to offer:

"When students don't have the motivation to learn and they don't have the motivation to perform well...then they don't see futures for themselves..." Pika C. from San Antonio, TX

"Whenever they see their parents don't respect the fact that it is necessary to have an education in today's society, they don't place as much importance on it and they don't reach their full potential." --Mackenzie H. from Richwood, WV

"A teacher and schools can try as hard as they can to teach a student, help them learn and progress but if a student doesn't want to learn, they're just not going to learn and there's nothing you really can do to change that." --Mason S. from Fort Mill, SC

"You have lawmakers constantly adding new standards, new benchmarks, new standardized tests, um, curriculum kind of restrictions, teacher mandates without actually visiting their constituents' classrooms." --Riley B. Austin, TX

"The biggest problem in education is lack of motivation in students. I mean, they feel like they're only going to school because they have to and there's not going to be any real reward at the end. If you say you're going to college at the end and get a good job, that's nice to hear but they don't really know that. That's in the future. That's not something they can grab onto. That's not a tangible thing." --Malachi S. Oakland, CA

I was delighted to find that these young people seem to have their finger on the pulse of American education issues, but it's not enough to know what's wrong. One must be willing to formulate and enact real plans towards solving these problems, as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attempted to do in 2008 from the "Dream..." documentary. One of the teachers tells the students, "All your dreams are important but the most important thing is that you believe in your dreams." The most important thing for the rest of us to do, I believe, is to find a way to ensure the path in pursing those dreams is a reality.

This topic is as much at the heart and soul of who I am as following my own dreams, and thankfully, I'm not alone. I want, I need for every child in America to be able to do the same! If we fail at this, we not only crush their dreams, we destroy the "American Dream". As I think about that term...the American Dream...I realize that's not enough. Every child, in every space around the globe should be allowed to have dreams AND a way to attain them--so many problems with that, so many roadblocks in the way, I don't even know where to begin...but I will NOT be deterred. I will not sit idly by and watch children crushed by apathy and indifference, self-interests and agendas, politics, lies and double-speak...I WON'T do it! I don't know what comes next, but I will find the right platform! To be continued...

*Image from clker.com.

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