An Associated Press-Stanford University study on education found that 68 percent of adults believe that parents deserve heavy blame for what’s wrong with the U.S. education system – more than school administrators, the government or teachers unions. Only 35 percent of those surveyed agree that teachers deserve a great deal of blame. Females were more likely to blame parents than men were. (72% to 61%.) The women cited a lack of student discipline and low expectations for students as the problems.
That message did not reach Sharlonda Buckman, CEO of the Detroit Parent Network who told 400 Detroit parents, “Somebody needs to pay for this (low student performance). Somebody needs to go to jail, and it shouldn’t be the kids.”
According to the Detroit News, 69 percent of fourth-graders scored below the basic level in math, and 77 percent of eighth graders scored below the basic level as well.
While parents are overwhelmed with the demands of work and raising children, many of the children entering schools have not been adequately prepared for school. They have not been taught the letters in the alphabet or the numbers from 1-10. While educators have a responsibility – it is a shared responsibility. Expecting educators to do it all is insane. Teachers cannot be held responsible to bring up children. Nor can they be held responsible if parents do not monitor childrens’ TV watching, doing homework, teen pregnancy.