Rethinking student success

In today’s education, occupational (economic) life is the focus of our attention. We want every child to succeed, and this has come to mean that every child should be pre­pared for college and the sort of work that requires a col­lege education. What of all the children who will become bus and truck drivers, retail sales clerks, appliance repair people, construction workers, materials handlers, heavy equipment operators, railway engineers and conductors, house painters, plumbers, bakers, farm workers, beauti­cians, postal workers, cooks, waiters, hotel clerks, house and office cleaners, auto mechanics and sales people, dog and horse groomers, telephone/ electric line work­ers, prison guards, hospital attendants, grounds keepers, maintenance workers, managers of laundromats and dry cleaning shops, installers of burglar alarms, carpet layers, window washers, steel workers, fishermen, sailors, cater­ers, cashiers, chimney sweeps, roofers, makers of china and glassware, decorators, musicians, florists, entertainers, moving men . . . and what would happen to our society if no one were willing to do this work? Do these people represent failures of schooling, or do we fail them when we lead them to believe that only economic success is suc­cess? Teachers and parents can lose perspective when achievement is narrowly defined. What messages are we sending students when grades, test scores, and academic achievement are the criteria for “success” during their twelve plus years of schooling? Many students who struggle in school thrive in their families, communities, and jobs once they leave school. For some, leav­ing school may be the first time they experience real success and a sense of personal, task- related satisfaction. As we teach them and before they leave us, have we given these “non- achieving” students hope that they will have the tenacity to excel? Confidence that they will find their path? Courage to trust their ability to figure it out? Many students struggle with undiagnosed anomalies that limit their capacity to learn school subjects. For those students whose minds cannot adjust to the “book learning” of schools, do we still communicate that we want the best for them? Do we let them know that they are worthy of our support and encourage­ment for their future? Do we let students know they are valued whether or not they meet our academic expectations?

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