I think that at least one adult needs to hold a vision of school effort as worthwhile. 'Waiting for Superman' implies that the achievement gap can dissapear in charter schools where there are systems in place to teach in ways that work AND systems in place to get rid of teachers who aren't able or willing to hold that vision of success.
Of course to get into a charter school a parent has to have above average drive and willingness to go through a process that isn't gaurenteed. That takes lots of self-management. I cried for the kids who didn't have their numbers called in that movie.
I think that a lot of parents actually sabotage their children's school success - in a sort of 'don't get your hopes up' way, or in a frank distaste for school. We aren't the only ones who start to shake when we put our kids on the bus for school, or when we walk through those low ceilinged hallways. Lots of people have negative impressions of school for a whole variety of reasons, and that gets communicated to students.
Then there is the whole bunch of folks who don't want school to be hard because they are afraid that hard work might lead to low self-esteem. Don't they see that the only real self-esteem is build from tackling challenges that the child initially judges to be hard?
I've seen kcab's point in action as well.
But does it matter if some children have more "smarts" if they don't use them? As long as there is a minimum amount of smarts, I think hard work trumps more smarts every time.
I agree with CFK on this one - adding that various endeavors have different minimums.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I heard this coming out of my DS's mouth. Apparently in his view, he was working hard! Scary, but still I was happy to hear that at least for moments at a time, he holds this view.
Love and More Love,
Grinity
