The Failures of the School Systems Pt. 2: "Wait, we actually have to help our children learn?"

     Holy shit, I'm actually posting on this thing for once in over a month and a half. That's what happens when your a chemistry major with a penchant for getting into more things than you have time for. And also yes, I just ended that sentence with a preposition. I know it's bad, but I don't really care about that rule anyways.You know why? Because I wasn't taught that rule until around junior year in high school. That puts it right next to the semicolon, which I've learned more about from the internet than from academia.

     Almost 2 months ago, I wrote a little rant about how the public school system sucks at teaching chemistry. Then, about a week or so ago, I stumbled on this article by Bill Maher (who, by the way, is really amusing as long as you have liberal sensibilities and can look past the sexism) about why the teachers are not the main problem with the American school system. That, combined with a few polls about the current popular (if unnecessarily controversial) scientific topics, children's TV habits, a look at some of the ridiculous things that children are exposed to outside of school, and a chapter about development for my Foundations of Psychology course, has lead me to agree with him. While not all of the blame can be pinned on them, parents are the #1 driving force behind children learning and doing well in school.

     I admit, I was lucky when it came to my academic upraising. When I was about 4 years old, I became interested in being a "dolphin scientist". Later I learned that it was called a marine biologist, but that's besides the point. My parents quickly found out (probably because I told them) and jumped at the opportunity that it presented. For the next 14 years, I was practically inundated with books, newspaper articles, and toys that kept my interest in science. But even more importantly, I was always finding their mouths at my ears, whispering that to be a scientist I need to do well in school so I can get into a good college, as well as often finding their feet at my back, ready to kick me for not keeping up with my school work. While I can understand the need for many families to have both parents working while having relatively young children, I was fortunate enough to have my mother home most of my early childhood, making me do my homework and kicking me off of the Game Cube, computer, and other video game systems that I had (kicking me off of my Game Boy, however, was rarely successful). Also, I'm fairly certain that one of the reasons why my parents yelled at (and often punished) my brother for doing poorly in school was to encourage me not to make the same mistakes. And now I'm sitting here, going to the 80th best school in the nation and looking towards a relatively good future (Don't ask where marine biology went, that's a story in itself).

     The problem is, not every parent does that. In the age of the internet, corporate control, and reality TV, parents are becoming less active in their child's learning. Books are being supplanted by video games and TV, athletics (although I've never been athletic, that is due to medical reasons and I realize the importance of good early-age athletic programs) are being supplanted by crappy franchised sport video games and TV, and good old-fashioned parental interaction is being replaced by, you guessed it, TV. In an age where the television showcases talentless people singing, the rich scum of the earth, and idiots with chalk boards crying about the state of America, the emphasis that is placed on TV vastly overshadows the emphasis placed on books in both modern society and in many homes. Studies have shown that children who grow up reading are more likely to do better in school, yet more and more children are being raised on TV, which has no intellectual additive properties. And yet, when their children do poorly in school, they blame the teachers. Parents blaming other things for their own failings. Sound familiar (*cough* video games *cough*)?

     When you decide to actually have your own child, do them a favor. Limit their TV, build a personal library, and spend some goddamn time with them.

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