Will We Meet the Standard?

Had to leave the dandelion to represent the 5 year old approaching a year of new standards. 

Knowing something or somebody isn't the same as knowing about them. More than just information is involved. When you are a knower, you don't simply add to your mental store and go your way otherwise unchanged. To know is to participate in, to become imbued with, for better or worse to be affected by. ---Frederick Buechner        

            Recently I preached Genesis 21:8-21 concerning Hagar the slave woman.  Hagar was Sarah's (Abraham's wife) slave. When Sarah could not have her own child Hagar bore one for her.  When Sarah receives the miracle of a late in life pregnancy and gives birth to her son Isaac--Hagar is sent into the desert.

          What struck me about this scripture was the reality of the "haves and have nots".  Hagar represents every person who ever felt less than, every person oppressed by those who have more and Hagar is every person who may have to access their dreams and success in another way.

          "What makes the desert beautiful", said the Little Prince, is that somewhere it hides a well..." .... The Little Prince added: "But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart".

         The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Hagar is sent to the desert where she is ready to die along with her son.  It is in her desperate moment that God shows her the well of water---their way will be a different way but it will be theirs to claim.

     What does this have to do with ABC and 123---everything.  As our state along with others begins using the Common Core Standards (using 1234 vs. ABCDF to grade progress—does not meet, partially meets, meets and exceeds) I feel it is our responsibility to  recognize the "have nots". 

     

    The "have nots" are the children who live below the poverty level, they are the children born to minorities, they are the children brought here from another country, they are children who have seen death, crime, arrests of parents and they are children who are hungry.  Children living in poverty are at greater risk of homelessness, they often do not have dental care, older children stay home occasionally to watch younger siblings and their well may look very different than the well used by other children.

     It is wonderful to imagine that each child will be given the opportunity to reach their highest potential.  It is our responsibility to make sure our educators are able to teach in a way that promotes success for all students.  But if 3 is the same standard for all students how does the child in special education succeed to those standards?  How does the child who speaks a different language succeed to those standards? 

     Recently I listened to a woman named Donna Beegle---she was raised in West Phoenix in a very poor family, she describes her life as going to work in the fields for the morning to pay for lunch and then going back to pay for dinner.  She received her GED at the age of 26 and has her doctorate.  She is committed to helping the poor receive the education that is there for all people, understanding that cookie cutter education may mean success for some but certainly not all. 

In our own Regional District Unit (RSU2), which is made of four communities, there is a significant difference in the number of children living below the poverty level. The unit ranges from Hallowell at 7.3% to Richmond at 29.9%.  The state average of children living below the poverty level  is 16.7%.  If we look at our neighbors (within 50 miles of Richmond) Lewiston has a child  poverty rate of 37.7% and Cape Elizabeth has a rate of 2%.

     I don't think it is any surprise that Cape Elizabeth received a higher state grade for education than Lewiston.

    This is not an issue just for parents, students and educators--this is a community issue.  It is up to the communities to ask:

-If a 16 year old student is told that they will age out of the school system before they meet the standards will they stay in school?  Would you stay in school?

-Children will be better prepared for college (a good thing!) but will they be prepared for the hands on jobs so many of us depend on?

-Will we be able to celebrate those that made it to the well and then to college without demeaning those who drank from a different well---not everyone wants to go to college.

-Will college expenses change so that our better prepared students can afford to go to school?

-Finally knowledge is more than knowing information---as we increase the standards for our children and youth, will we increase our knowledge by knowing who they really are so that true change can be made?

 *The updated standards, adopted after a public process in 2011 and fully implemented in the 2013-14 school year, emphasize more complex content and concepts and the development of needed real-world skills like problem-solving, collaboration, critical thinking and communication--imperative for Maine students to succeed and our state to thrive. The strengthened standards set a high bar for all Maine students, no matter their school. How Maine educators go about helping students meet and exceed those standards--including curriculum, required reading or school operations--remains entirely a local decision.

maine.gov---Maine Department of Education
Data for poverty percentages came from:  http://www.city-data.com/