Smile for Our Children and Schools
"America is riding through one of those periods of political cynicism and demagoguery that afflict us from time to time, and public schools are a target, because a lot of politicians have taken tax reduction as their prime value, and schools cost money."
That's from an interview with Garrison Keillor that I read in a Minnesota education magazine. Keillor, a nationally known humorist, author, musician and creator of public radio's "A Prairie Home Companion," provides an uplifting pat on the back for teachers and public schools.
Some of our public school teachers are feeling very demoralized because of the barrage of attacks from state capitols and Washington. Keillor says "...the other shoe hasn't dropped, and teachers shouldn't lose heart. Americans aren't going to accept that our society be ripped apart at the seams by the right wing. The kid trudging off on a fall morning to wait for the school bus is precious to us. Whatever teachers do for that kid is never wasted. What teachers should do is teach. If you're demoralized, teaching will restore your spirits."
How true. Teaching can restore your spirits. Watching a child finally grasp a concept, think through a problem or help a fellow classmate is exhilarating. Seeing the excitement and pride on that child's face is wonderful. It's why teachers teach.
But the attacks on our public schools hurt. They hurt our communities, parents, children and our teachers. I'm not talking about constructive criticism-criticism that can lead to positive change and solutions-but rather an all out assault by people whose purpose is simply to promote some ideological or political point of view by tearing down our public schools.
Keillor reminds us that our public schools are absolutely crucial to this society. "The core of the American credo is that each American child has the opportunity to become his or her own person. You won't be mercilessly shunted aside because you have the wrong accent or because your parents are poor or because you go to the wrong church; you will have the chance to move forward and claim the future and exercise your innate talents and be the best you can be.
"This is fundamental in a democratic society, and it all takes place in the public schools. And if we don't believe in it anymore, then we truly don't deserve to be in America. This is a generous country, with a generous view of mankind. God has blessed this country immeasurably, and God requires a certain generosity from those to whom He has given so much. Our society expresses that through public education, among other things."
In his storytelling, Keillor always says the children in his not-so-fictional town of "Lake Wobegon" are "above average." Is that true, are they all above average? "We say they are, and we keep saying it, because we know how tough it can be to be a child, how discouraged kids become, how ashamed of failure, how sensitive to adult opinion. We need to keep encouraging them and smiling at them, and 'all the children are above average' is simply a way of smiling," Keillor said.
Not only are Nebraska's children 'above average' but so too are Nebraska's public schools. And both could use a 'smile' from each and every one of us.
