My entire career has been in locally owned businesses. Except for a brief stint with a regional bank, I’ve toiled 47 years in the community. I have loved St. Joseph.
Still, I’m as distressed as anyone about local poverty, crime, drugs, and social issues. Incidents may be a small percentage, but regular gunplay, car thefts and obvious drug use are very disruptive.
I have a theory, and it plays an outsized role in these challenges. My wife, a retired award-winning school counselor, affirms my theory, although I’m not speaking for her. These are my own thoughts, amplified by decades of observation and study.
It’s nearly impossible to earn a living today without basic skills. Our technology-laden society demands reading, writing, and math for almost any job or activity. The kiosk at McDonald’s and signs on the highway are pure gibberish to a nonreader.
Dan Danford
What about the trades? Not everyone goes to college, and various trades offer nice incomes. Again, though, there’s a necessary amount of literacy for entrance or certification as a welder, plumber, electrician or carpenter. Plus, evolving regulations, products, tools and technologies all require reading and learning.
If you work in an office or factory, you’ll need to read emails, policies, safety notices and tech updates.
Even entertainers or athletes must read. You can’t master a movie script or playbook without reading. The art you create requires paperwork and records, plus simple knowledge of copyright and technology rules. There will be contracts and guidelines and regulations.
Here’s my theory:
Students who leave or graduate without skills face daunting life options. People turn to drugs and crime when they can’t make a living.
We know this. Almost everyone has some experience with education. Most of us can read and write, and – if you are reading this – probably enjoy some measure of life success.
But here is where things turned. Today, most students in our public schools cannot read at grade level. They are behind where they should be, based on age. Math scores are even worse. There are some 10,000 students in the St. Joseph Public Schools and at least 6,500 of them are behind.
Believe me, I see the challenges. My mother and wife were teachers, and I co-chaired the School District Foundation for several years. I know that many teachers work hard, and that the job is tough.
I’ve heard all the institutional explanations: poverty-level family incomes, parents who don’t care, poor discipline, lack of taxes.
Administrators have attempted many programs and interventions. Some helped a bit; others are still evolving. In the meantime, thousands of students are struggling.
And we need them to learn.
It’s not helpful to say, “well, parents need to step up.” It’s not enough to say that we tried, or we are trying. It’s not relevant that other schools struggle, too.
These are our children. We need them to learn. They cannot thrive if they cannot read. Period.
It used to be different. I spent every Monday evening of the 1960s visiting the library’s Bookmobile at 25th and Frederick Avenue. Miss Gale Logan became a friend, and I earned a reading award each summer. So did my sister and many of our friends.
That is not the world we live in today.
Today’s complex world needs vastly better outcomes. I’m passionate about this: we need them to learn.
