Reflections From a Country Girl

Last time I told you about moving to another part of South Carolina from a community where the education system was not working effectively. 

I want to make sure you understand that they have gotten much better at dealing with educational challenges in that community as time has moved along.  I suspect that the situation that occurred when my son was there would not be repeated today and that, indeed, most of those children in my son’s class may well have gone on to be successful young adults.    For us, we did the right thing. 

Well, the principal called after my son’s first day of school.  She had glowing reports just as he did and I breathed a sigh of relief.  Never mind that I didn’t have a job.  I was pleased that he was taken care of and decided that I would make the most of my free time by volunteering at the school…at least until I found the right place to work.  It was nice to be able to greet him at the door each day, hear about his great 1^st grade experiences with his teacher and the other students.   Yes, it was worth it.

The principal said she was concerned about something though and asked if I was planning on working anytime soon.  She said her counselor had just told her she would be on maternity leave during statewide testing and would I be willing to do that long term sub for her in early spring.  I agreed…and thought what a blessing that was to be able to know I could take a breather, unpack boxes and settle in…AND to know I would be able to work a bit after the holidays when I knew my son would be adjusted well to the new school.

I did just that.  The months went by quickly and I was at the school in no time acting as the substitute counselor during the busy testing season.  The counselor never came back, I interviewed for the job, and was working fulltime that fall.

I had gone from an educational environment where things were rather dismal to one where parents were involved, students were engaged, and teachers and administration looked for changes to grow along with their students. The principal was quite a leader – the very best elementary principal I have ever worked with.  She challenged me as a parent and as a counselor just as she did all the other adults in our educational setting there. 

I couldn’t have asked for anything better.  My son’s educational experience was phenomenal…not perfect…for there were a few weak teachers he grew with in his middle school years. He was in a remarkable educational environment for him to become who he is today.

 

That is what every student deserves in SC.  I have come to find from my last 16 years of work around the state as a counselor, assistant administrator, and grant director & coordinator that education is not created equal from one place to another.

My wish for you today is that you take a long and serious look at what your child is getting at his/her school. Be involved and volunteer.  See what positives there are and identify the challenges.  Be a part of the solution to needs. 

~ Joellen

Next time –  What makes a Good Teacher?

This entry was posted on Monday, September 10th, 2007 at 5:41:am and is filed under Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.