4/14/2008 11:18:00 AM BUSINESS: Education + Economy
Susan Schriber Orloff
There is a lot of political debate about who should be our next president. And to tell you the truth, all of them are saying nice things about what they are going to do when. But no one is addressing together two interrelated, crucial issues.
Here it is: Education and the economy are intrinsically interwoven. We cannot "fix" the economy unless we address the broken educational system in this country.
We are sending all our manufacturing overseas because it is immediately cheaper. But, we must ask, at what price? As we shift from a manufacturing economy to a service economy, what value added do we place in the world? What makes us unique? Why should others want to trade with us? What tangible things can we sell?
There was a time when those who were not bound for college could find well-paying jobs and attain community respectability, raise a family and participate in "the American Dream." Today, many of these people go on welfare.
The idea that these are jobs "Americans won't take" is hogwash. The CEOs of major corporations have consistently sold the American Dream to the lowest bidder, wherever the bidder may be. Factories are all overseas, making an airline reservation on the phone is often an exercise is grammatical gymnastics, and the edging of this American English-speaking society into a dual-language country is outrageous.
My family came from Eastern Europe, and if they wanted to read a newspaper, they bought one in a language they could read. But if they wanted to buy groceries, they needed to communicate - in English.
It was the collective goal of the "new" Americans to integrate into American life, enriching the fabric of who we are. Today the goal seems to be to come, make money, send it back home and create a country inside America that replicates their own. Many aim to stay under the radar. Many do not know the language and are willing to work for low wages, making profits higher for employers and job opportunities lower for the blue-collar, middle-class American.
The only real melting pot in America is the public school system. And that is in tragic need of repair.
It is here in the schools that we can teach all children to succeed. We can teach them not just facts, but how to think and be independent. We can teach teamwork, respect for differences and basic American values.
We can start by taking a hard look at a jazzy slogan with few resources to fulfill its promise. What is No Child Left Behind doing? Is it leaving no child out of the system of success? Is it teaching to the child in the way he or she can best learn? Is it providing support services such as occupational, speech, physical and assistive technologies readily? Are services being offered in a timely way? Or are many children waiting almost a whole school year?
Has the system of deciding who is eligible for services become so cumbersome that those administering the system, rather than leave no child behind, leave many children out of the educational running for success?
High-stakes testing has rewritten the public school curricula. Teachers' salaries and performance ratings are often dependent on how well their students perform on these tests. So are we teaching creative thinkers who will invent the next lifesaving vaccine, the better computer, the environmentally cleaner car? Or are we teaching kids how to pass a test and make their teacher, principal and school district look good?
I am an occupational therapist working with learning-disabled children. These children are average to above average in cognitive/intelligence, with a "glitch" in one or two areas of learning. They need help, yet they are often denied services, told by their teachers that they could do it if they wanted to and just need to try harder.
I see kids with IQs that astound me become angry, shut down and turn into marginal learners. Denied services because they are not "failing," these kids begin to believe that they cannot succeed, and they give up. Many of these children never finish high school, and if they do, they often cannot find jobs that pay the bills.
If you don't think the educational system is your problem, well, you may not have kids, your kids may be grown, etc., but think of this: Who will be working to pay your Social Security?
Susan N. Schriber Orloff was the 2006-07 Georgia OT of the Year and is the CEO/executive director of Children's Special Services. Contact her at sorloffotr@aol.com or www.childrens-services.com.
