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Stanford University Poll Blames Parents for State of School System

By Kirsten West Savali on Dec 13th 2010 2:46PM
Filed under: News, Race and Civil Rights

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Stanford University Poll


Parents struggling with a downward spiraling economy, subpar housing conditions, mediocre healthcare and abysmal unemployment rates are to blame for the low test scores and poor graduation rates prevalent in public schools.At least these are the findings of a poll Stanford University conducted jointly with the Associated Press. According to the poll, 68 percent of adults believe parents deserve "heavy blame" for the deplorable state of the United States school system more than school administrators, government or teachers' unions.

Thirty-five percent of respondents believe that teachers deserve a great deal or a lot of the blame, while 72 percent of Mothers versus 61 percent of Fathers say parents are at fault. Conservatives were more likely than moderates or liberals to blame parents.

With emphasis placed on test scores, discipline and high standards or expectations, those polled believe that parents should shoulder the responsibility for the failure of a school system once at the forefront of technology and innovation.

"Nobody is too busy to raise a child for a successful future," said Wilfred Luise Vincent, 65, of Coppell, Texas. Vincent worked early or late shifts for Delta Airlines during most of his career, so his two daughters would have a parent at home after school.

Now he's retired and home after school to help guide his granddaughter while his daughter works.

"The problems children and their parents deal with inside and outside of school every day are growing," says Julie Woestehoff, executive director of Parents United for Responsible Education, a Chicago advocacy group.

"Children are tired, they're hungry and they need someone to help with their homework. Some kids face violence at home or in their neighborhood. Some parents are trying so hard to keep a roof over their family that they can't help with school."

Conversely, less than half of those polled expressed concern about getting and keeping good teachers.

And this is when I begin to question the sanity of the poll participants.

Most said education in their local public schools is excellent or good, and doing a good job preparing students for college, the work force and life as an adult. Yet, 67 percent also believe the United States is falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to education.

Those are some of the most contradictory, illogical findings I've ever had the displeasure of reading. If the school system is "excellent," why has the United States position of preeminence as it pertains to technology and inventions been consistently diminishing, falling behind such emerging powerhouses as Singapore and Sweden in global competitiveness?

I am 100 percent in agreement that some parents aren't doing enough to ensure that their children are emotionally, physically and psychologically prepared to succeed in school. Children are having too many children, too fast, and not understanding that they are ultimately responsible for that child's success or failure.

There are no excuses for the apathetic attitudes many parents exhibit concerning their children's education.

But what this "poll" does not address is the racially biased elephant in the room.

Researcher Amy Golba once said, "The neglect for the educational needs of children in urban schools threatens the economic well-being of the nation. Unless the inequalities in education between suburban and urban schools are diminished, the schools and their students will always be victims of the divisions of race and class. All of these students say the 'Pledge of Allegiance' to the same flag each morning in their classrooms repeating the words '...one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.' Children experience the irony of these words that they speak each day that they come to school."

Today, African Americans, Hispanics and children living in poverty regardless of ethnicity dominate 23 of the nation's 25 largest urban school systems. With low incentives for educators, state funding going predominately to wealthier districts and the flight of the middle class to suburban schools, public schools in urban areas are often ignored and given the minimal necessities required to meet state standards.

One in 10 kindergarten and first-grade students misses a month of school every year, which can put them behind their classmates for years, according to Attendance Counts, an advocacy group. What is not mentioned is that 81 percent of students in urban schools have absenteeism issues in contrast to the 35 percent in suburban schools.

By ninth grade, missing 20 percent of school is a better predictor of a student dropping out than test scores are, said Attendance Counts Director Hedy Chang. In the poll, 41 percent said students not spending enough time in school is a serious problem.

While this is a disheartening statistic, what is even more disturbing is that adults who either have no interest or understanding of the issues brutalizing urban communities (i.e., drugs, theft and violence, which have infiltrated our school systems) believe that our educators and administrators are doing an "excellent" job, and it is only our parents who are failing.

There are teachers who are doing an exceptional job, playing Mother and Father to children left to fend for themselves, and I salute them. The education of our children, though, has always been, and will always, be a collaborative effort.

And while parents are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of their children, underlying historical, political and economical factors cannot be minimized if true equality is ever to be attained in our public school systems.






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