Excuse… the act of being pardoned or released from an obligation. This is an act that is all too common in school life. The change I have perceived over the years is the increased amount of parent willingness to accept full responsibility for a child’s failures in expected behaviors and/or tasks.
I actually had one first grade student give his excuse for failing to return something to school with this quip, “My mom made me!” I delved further by saying, “You are telling me she actually kept the required paper from you and wouldn’t let you return it?” His answer: “No, I mean she ‘made’ me…I was born!” So, from his perspective, everything was his mother’s fault!
Teaching students to have responsibility is a very difficult task. Parents want their children to be good citizens, but they often prevent that outcome by offering excuses for the child’s lack of ownership of the problem at hand. In fact, such constantly excused children soon become master manipulators in the same way Eddie Haskell was on the old “Leave It to Beaver” TV series.
I find, however, that I am more perturbed with schools making excuses for not meeting the needs of students…especially the gifted and talented students. Many times I have been visiting schools on business when the topic of my helping get the gifted law passed in Oklahoma by working with then Representative Penny Williams and Senator Bernice Shedrick comes to the forefront. Immediately, I am told all kinds of excuses about why their particular school can’t spend money to help gifted education. I listen patiently (I asked for no such information), even though I am very aware of the Shiny Greyhound- type touring bus(es) provided for the sports teams. Why make excuses? Almost everyone knows that Oklahoma sports are the number one priority and other programs must yield to them. Don’t get me wrong, I love to watch sports and I know valuable team skills are developed through them.
We are suffering a budget shortfall in our state. Educators are screaming about how they must cut budgets to survive. They usually include fine arts in that threat. No one talks of cutting sports expenditures. So, when it comes to a vote of the people for bond money, often the public is told, “We may lose our sports program if this fails.” That is when the people speak, and sports win again!
Lest I cause a great outpouring of negative rebuttals from sports fans, I also take issue with the excuses given by the education establishments for riding a dead horse into the ground. We have known for at least two decades now that human learning requires more than rote memorization of facts. We have learned about circadian rhythms and learning styles as well as the processing done by the brain. Yet, we still find classrooms where every child is on the same page at the same time working at the same pace as everyone else.
In this age of the “J Curve” (I am amazed so few people are aware of even this development), it is becoming increasingly important for excuse-making to stop. Learners must be able to think and process at an alarming rate brought about by the speed of technological breakthroughs. I may be 73 years old, but I am doing my part to help our students accept responsibility for learning and for producing some positive accomplishment in this world of ours!
- Kay