Challenges or Rewards?

There is no question that we have made a number of changes in our school the past couple of years with sharing, grading, Capstone, and others.  Actually, we have made quite a few changes the past five years with the goal of improving our schools so that our students were challenged and better prepared for college and the work world.  It was not that many years ago when it was quite common for the senior year to be quite honestly, laughable, in terms of the course load many students took and attitude of “cruising” through the final year before one had to get serious about college or getting a job.  The result of this was a large percentage of students finding themselves unprepared for the rigors of college and basically wasting a year of learning opportunities.  Heck, some seniors were hardly in school due to low graduation requirements, as well as lax standards for attendance, low expectations, and easily abused entitlements like early release.

At no point have I ever thought school should be like the military, though my mind has wandered from time to time about some of the discipline and procedures they use and how that might transfer to a public school!  (Note: I haven’t viewed it as prison either, and laugh when students say that it is!  I have offered to take students to a prison to visit so that they can compare!)  That said, there is an analogy for what I am discussing.  When our troops face the possibility of entering a conflict they are put through the most challenging, excruciating training that their leaders can put them through to prepare them for what lies ahead.  If they did not prepare them in the most demanding way possible, that would be an injustice if not criminal.  Why would it be any different with education?

There is proof that a demanding high school education serves students well when they go on to college.  I have heard it spoken hundreds of times!  “College math was a breeze due to having Mr. Post teach math at Galva-Holstein.”  “Writing classes in college are easy compared to taking comp from Mrs. Kovarik at NFV.”  “I hated Mrs. Bishop at Chariton, but I smoked chemistry in college because I had her in high school.”  “My four years in Ag at Creston with Mr. Zumbach made four years at Iowa State fly by.”  You see, when students are challenged, and when they sometime have to give more and work harder than even they believe they can, it paves the way for success down the road.

I cringe when students complain about a teacher being too tough.  I really cringe when parents say the same thing!  I question the decisions that are made when a student drops a tough course to take an easier one.  Why would you do that?  This will sound like a commercial, but this country prides itself on the Protestant work ethic, and it was through blood, sweat, and tears that it became great!  And yet, we allow students to back away from challenges and complain that a teacher is too demanding.  Why?  Because we want life to be easy and our children happy?  We adults know that life has challenges and there are going to be setbacks far bigger than getting a low grade, or obstacles tougher to overcome than having to rewrite a paper or staying up late to study for a test.  Yet we want to give our kids a paved road to Easy Street.

We have taken steps in the direction we should be headed, and we are being careful about what we do.  Demanding is different than impossible, and tough is not the same as unreasonable.  Teachers have raised their game to meeting increased expectations, and they continue to grow in terms of how best to teach students.  We continue to seek the best ways to support students.  And, we will continue to eliminate the “easy classes” and develop curriculum so that students have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to succeed at the next step in their life.  Perhaps our greatest challenge is motivation and convincing them that they can excel and achieve, but on that end, the job is bigger than what we can do ourselves.  We need parents to join in this as well, and rather than complaining about something being too hard or too much, help your child prioritize things in their life and put maximum effort into those pursuits that will best prepare them to live life and meet the challenges ahead.