This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 22, 2011 - What we think goes on in our schools is more often the product of myth than of fact. Today's myths include overpaid, undeserving teachers, generally failing high schools, and a generation of students whose superficial cyber-friendships symbolize a population of self-absorbed, disconnected youth.
Politicians, pundits and experts of every stripe seem to delight in perpetuating these myths. In many states, for example, the political rhetoric has indicted teachers and teacher unions for putting their economic concerns before students' educational development.
Members of what has been called the "Me Generation" supposedly lack empathy for others. Pundits attribute such self-centeredness to the proliferation of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. These media are seen as discouraging face-to-face communication and encouraging superficiality and self-absorption.
Some educational reformers claim that a major problem facing secondary education is the mind-numbing routine and lack of challenging courses that structure the typical high school day. This sentiment was captured by Mark Twain's comment, "Never let your schooling interfere with your education!"
American students have been characterized as passive and docile, disinterested in actively participating in their own educational enterprise. They are thought to spend too much time in front of the television or with social media and too little time reading and doing independent studying. With the quickening pace of globalization, Bill Gates, among others, accuses high schools of failing to give students the global perspective they will need to compete in a 21st century economy.
Critics of "No Child Left Behind" contend that the law has encouraged high-stakes testing forcing teachers "to teach to the test," stifling learning that encourages critical thinking and creativity. Finally, some argue that students feel disconnected from their schools and lack a sense of school history, spirit and pride.
If one actually asks high school students about their experience, a different picture of secondary education emerges. Through collaboration between Focus St. Louis' Youth Leadership Program and the E. Desmond Lee Professor in Collaborative Regional Education at Saint Louis University, 160 high school students representing 24 schools in the St. Louis region were trained in participatory action research. Students were charged with gathering stories that illustrated what was right with their schools
What emerged were stories of caring teachers, students who organized events to help the less fortunate in their communities and exciting curricula that ranged from physiology, to auto mechanics, to Japanese.
Students also reported on the many multi-ethnic, multi-lingual opportunities that were available, increasing their appreciation of other cultures: The Asian student who tried out for the African American Step dance team (and made it), and stories of students setting challenging academic goals for themselves belie the myth that students don't strive beyond their comfort zone. Lunch time student poetry readings, radio and TV programs produced by students for broadcast over the schools' media systems, and student art displays suggest that creativity is alive and well in area high schools. If school spirit is an indication of commitment to education and to one's fellow students, then stories of the many rituals connecting today's students with the traditions of the past speak well for our region's academic high school culture.
These stories are truly myth busters. By shattering these myths, the student stories can help change the conversation around education. While things are far from perfect within our high schools, they are also far from the gloom and doom scenarios that dominate our conversations about secondary education in this region. As these stories make clear, there are many more good things that are occurring in our high schools, things that can be built upon and expanded. If you want to understand today's high schools, ask the students!
(For a copy of the full report, contact Dr. James F. Gilsinan, E. Desmond Lee Professor in Collaborative Regional Education at Saint Louis University, at gilsinanjf@slu.edu.)