In his straightforward book "Whos' the Teacher Now?', author Tx Trumbo, a career teacher, asks the question "Do We Value Our Children?" His answer is not comforting.
"Most of my students 'care' about doing well in class. They pariticpate and focus in class, in the computer lab, and on each quiz and test. But do we 'care' about them? Our struggles with basic literacy, remediation, absences, language-acquisition, dropouts, and poor test scores are ongoing challenges and a product of our country's culture, which devalues children."
Trumbo goes on to point out that a UNICEF study indicated that the United States is a relatively bood place to be a child, on account of unequal distribution of wealth, poverty, isolation, dysfunctional families, and lonliness.
"we have the longest work days and the fewest vacation days of any industrialized country, the higest number of children who say they are lonely, and a high number of children living in poverty."
The great things about Trumbo's book and his approach is that while he has a highly negative opinion of American culture and its influence on children, he is absolutely convinced that the children themselves somehow survive it all and are good people, worth our attention and energies, which he says they do not get.
Throughout his book Trumbo tells true, heartwarming stories about life and events among his minority kids in an American high school, while soundly and sensibly criticizing the culture in which the school strives.
please scroll down for the other articles in today's issue of The Truthless Reconciler! Thanks!
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