Equity, excellence no conflict

Have you ever had a parent or grandparent tell you stories about how they had to walk five miles uphill both ways to school in the snow? Well, I didn't have it quite that bad but in kindergarten, I still had to walk clear across town in the rain, sleet, or snow without the possibility of a ride to or from school. My biggest fear was making it to my destination without peeing my pants. I learned to time that function rather quickly.

I can describe how each of my teachers, starting in grade school, influenced my childhood. Sadly, when I started school, I'm sure I didn't know my numbers, letters, or colors because my mother thought that was what school was for. So, I think my teacher and I started out on the wrong foot.

I will love my first, second, fourth, and sixth-grade teachers until the end of time as they were all very supportive and role models that inspired me even as an adult.

I'm not sure what the problem was in third grade, but I spent more time on the hall bench than I ever did in class. Naturally, me being me, I tried to make the best of a bad situation and you can imagine how well that went for me. Ha Ha!

My teachers in junior high deserve kudos for starting my interest in the sciences and math as eventually, those were the classes I excelled at. This from a kid that never took a book home to study. My school texts were like new when we handed them in at the end of each year and I still graduated towards the head of my class.

I did have a government teacher that took it upon himself to insult whichever students didn't think they liked his attitude. I know my fellow student football players may have liked him, but I just thought he was nasty. I don't think I learned anything from him except sarcasm.

We also had a teacher that chest-passed a basketball and hit one of my best friends in the face. People wondered why the best athlete in our class didn't want to play basketball and yet there were no repercussions for the broken nose. That kind of stuff happened quite regularly at our school, so when folks say kids have it so much worse these days, I think it’s about the same stuff at different times.

I will also say that I still believe ACT, SAT, and other standardized tests that are designed to gauge where students are in their high school education are important besides just placement in the class. My mother-in-law told me once that she would prefer her kids to be socially acceptable rather than book-smart. I said, "Why can't they be both?" I'm never going to agree that equity is more important than excellence.

Have a good one!