Drag to reposition your photo

Angela Chavez

Report this User

Status Update

Angela Chavez

September 5, 2022 5:11 pm

Good day, I am one of the many parents who have concerns about the state of affairs in our school systems. It has long been said that we have had a problem here. Low test scores, inefficient staff/... View MoreGood day, I am one of the many parents who have concerns about the state of affairs in our school systems. It has long been said that we have had a problem here. Low test scores, inefficient staff/resources, teachers complain, the public complains, etc. etc. We all know it's a big undertaking trying to find a reasonable solution. The state of affairs in the schools is not good. Please here me out. I apologize in advance for my long windedness here in, however, I thought you all represented we the people. I am not some MAGA crazy nor am I far left Liberal. At this point I am a who will do the least harm person just lost with what is going on on The Hill like most. I went through our public school system. I have children in the public school system because that's what the average person is stuck with. We do not have money for the private sector. Most of us are not privileged as some would believe. We do the best we can. I say stuck because for many there is no alternative. Most households today MUST retain two incomes, and that is just for the basics. Median mortgage expenses is $1500. Utilities including internet $500. Food for a family of 4 $2000 living in today's prices. We are at just $4000 monthly. This doesn't include medical insurance, clothing, phone service, vehicles and fuel/public transportation, etc. We count on the right to a good education to live up to these expectations, and I fear our children are being left behind when they are in fact expected to be our future. Where to begin, that is the question. I want to start with my experience. I started school in the early 1970s. I am a Hispanic female, only child to a single, teenaged mother. We lived in the outskirts of south Detroit just a few years after the riots. I remember once in 4th grade I learned about discrimination and racial profiling. I decided then and there I would never stand for injustice based on someone's race or social class. Everyone deserves a fair and equal foundation. I wasn't a good student. I had much potential but was not challenged nor engaged in a positive structure to meet my potential until much too late. I have three young men of my own now. One who also completed his journey in the public school system and two more are trying to navigate it. It's challenging to say the least. In my day, we were expected to keep good marks from 1st grade. With today's standards to be quite honest children are only given grades for show until 9th grade. To explain the children are passed forward regardless of their understanding of the knowledge until they reach high school. I know this to be fact as I saw it happen. My eldest child did just that. In 5th grade I realized my son was not grasping the information before him, and felt he was not mature enough to move on to middle school, I suggested holding him back. I am sure I was not the first to make such a suggestion. The principal told me, "We can't do that." I stated why I am his mother and I am asking you to do just that and for good reason. She further explained, "It has been found that holding children behind causes depression." Depression, in a 10 yr old. Ok, yes. Trauma causes depression. Abuse causes depression. Neglect causes depression. Yet all of these things go unnoticed. But, by the standards of our public education in 2005, holding one back because they didn't understand understand the information would cause depression. I was outraged, appalled, and not without complaint completely helpless. He struggled through middle school with much the same attitude because still grades didn't matter. In high school I became aware that by the end of tenth grade my son only had 2 credits, gym. And no notes. No reprimand, can you come talk. I pulled my son from a prominently Caucasian more pretentious school to attend my old district. My district where he had no friends, where he was subject to what he perceived as racial profiling in reverse. My son went one year there. He had a new perspective. He went to alternative ed and graduated with his diploma not ged one year late after being two years behind. Hard knocks did not make him fail, it made him dig deeper to try harder. Looking the other way is what was causing him failure. It has to stop. In my day holding one back put the parents on notice that they needed to pay more attention. It made the child understand that school was a place to be taken seriously. Parents had time to invest in the children. Today it's a place to dump the kids so you can slave away at a job you hate just to keep the basics and the slight resemblance of a family. Too many are falling through the cracks, it puts everything at risk. Every school in the country has the same set of issues believe it or not. Teacher deserve way more than they make for what they are expected. Admin needs to be more in tune with the need of the community as a whole not what it aspires to be. Parents need to be more accountable from the beginning of this journey. All of us need to take responsibility to fix these issues. In this post Covid craziness, we have learned a lot. The whole world took a pause and if you didn't take that time to reflect on the choices we had you missed a great opportunity. People adapted. Between gig economy and new home based business the environment is changing. Many say the virtual school was a total failure. I disagree. I had two different experiences with it. I had a somewhat positive experience with the high schooler with less distractions, while my younger child missed the socialization of the traditional setting. I think this passing over business in the primary level needs to stop. I think parents need to be put on notice early so to change a potential pattern. Make sure our children can read and write clearly. Make sure they can add and subtract before having to decide whether they want to be a he or a she. Middle school needs to be more vocational, more in tune with what potential interest/strengths they have. Engage them as the individuals we expect them to be. Listen to them some have great ideas and some just need an ear and guidance. High school should be a hybrid of virtual and in person learning utilizing a tutor like approach. High school should go at whatever pace is achievable. If a kid completes their work instead of remaining idle they can go forward with classwork computerized. Virtual learning should be an option throughout base on the family's situation. I think more funding needs to go to the primary level for the salaries of teachers and the unending supplies and abilities to let go of need to start history and ideology at this level. Let them be kids. Learn to speak properly. Do arithmetic. Science at a basic level. Health but not sex. If a child starts menstruation is the only reason the public school should have to talk about ones no no zone. Bring back the arts and activities to challenge their bodies and engage their imagination. This part needs to be hands on from everyone. It doesn't last long and if done correctly it can bring such benefits psychologically since that was what brought me to this in the first place. History after around double digits maybe; many kids in this country have a misguided view because of all the smoke. In my opinion, history is all about perspective and with the diversity in this country we will never agree upon what needs to be in the schools and when is the appropriate age to insert it. The same can be said for sexuality, and religion. The American people are nostalgic but their children are navigating an entirely new world. History is what molds one into who they become as a person. What they aspire to, what move one either positive or negative, what you stand for and what you are against. Six year olds don't understand. Enough history is passed down threw legends and stories if anyone cares to talk to our elderly. So instead of forcing upon our children what they should think why not allow them to ask questions and tell the truth when asked. We need to move forward not continuing to constantly look back. Many issues are because of what was based on perspective, children need to be allowed to look at the landscape they are in not the constant tyranny of our pasts. It causes further division. If we are all to be equal we must not continue to teach this hate. I think primary school should be until 4th grade making sure they can read and do math at appropriate levels. 5 & 6th more in-depth view and exploration of interests in science and technology. Middle school more vocational. Bring back drafting to assist in math and encourage engineering. Bring back shop so the kids can be proud of what they produce not just the robotics but everything that is out there. These new cars, woodshop/furniture, HVAC, machine operation and troubleshooting etc.. kids are interested at that age not lost in the screens. If they have something to do with their hand they see results of their work and develop a sense of pride. Geography, astronomy, things to engage the imagination to encourage them to ask questions. If the foundation is laid properly high school kids would have basic problem solving skills. They would be able to strategize and do critical thinking. That is a wonderful place to begin creating a responsible individual. History, biology, all the rest at their own pace not having to wait for everyone else while losing interest. High school / Middle school teachers more as mentoring than drilling information regurgitated for centuries. We don't need to spend so much time studying the past to produce a magnificent future. Funding because it's always about the funding. Find a way to give tax credit to parents in virtual/hybrid learning. We train people to do seriously challenging jobs as adults, our teenagers can learn the same way with assistance where needed. There would be smaller classrooms able to be more hands on with challenged teens. Just guidance for stronger students and kids may also be encouraged to help others as well in an in school setting. If children are nurtured rather than judged they perform a whole lot better. More people have been working from home with higher productivity levels in some situations. These people have a better home/work life balance and have appreciated the ability to again be part of their children's lives. It's far from perfect but could be much better than what we are working with currently. There is another issue that needs to be addressed. The emotional issues that I feel start with the lack of nurturing our children get because parents have to work so hard to make ends meet. Between workplace politics, current events media, trying to maintain a meaningful relationship with your partner, and the daily grind, where do the children get their needs met. They don't. It's long been said psychological issues result from lack of nurturing in a child's formative year. Why then is this part of their lives so neglected? Because the people we count on to help us let us down that's why. Everyone remembers school. We have all navigated it's challenges, but today's challenges are very different. More cultures, more belief systems, more legends and stories of past cause diversity. While no one wants to offend and wants to believe in the possibility of a perfect world, this is just not possible. The world is not perfect and eventually you will be offended. History is not always achievements. History is riddled with failures as well. We glorify certain things that were and still are vile. The basis on which our four father's founded this country on has become a dream. Most of those who actually built this country had far less education and are given far less credit. Instead of trying to sugar coat it for youngsters, wait till they have the view that this is not how we should have ever been but this is what happened. Formative years are for basics. I cannot stress this enough. When they are more mature and have basic values is when, I personally feel, these lessons would be beneficial. After they have seen our diversity and realized we are mostly the same in ways of learning. Reading, writing, arithmetic in our native language. Hand writing, for goodness sake have you read a teens writing lately. Teach this again in the beginning and insert the rest at appropriate levels. If they can't add and subtract, read and write we may as well just give up. They lose self worth and desire to try. We would like to believe our kids are fine, but there is proof later in life that they are not. Look at the rise in school shootings. As I said, I was in school from the 70s into the 80s. There were dead bodies found on my school grounds. Bad things did happen in the schools. Teachers were guilty of atrocities that went unspoken. Bullying was the least of some schools issues. We the people have been struggling while arguing with school about what belongs in or out forever. Our parents, the 70s parents all those feel love hippie babies, and too much Kool aid types who forgot how to think for themselves and just marched the line only to come home to be called all sorts of hateful things after just trying to help people be free so we were told. Moms had to work cause daddy lost his mind. They didn't get the heroes welcome. The hey we moms held it down for you guys building what you needed so you have jobs to come back to. No, we shipped our jobs overseas for a tax credit driving prices up for everyone here in the meantime. The story of how we got here is not one you don't already know. The question is how do we fix it? We moms have stood by and listened to the bureaucrats for long enough. We are fed up and we deserve results. I drove rideshare for a living my good man. Believe me when I say "I speak for a lot of people." I meet 100+ people every week, many fellow moms with many of the same issues. I work from Jackson to Algonac from Flint to Toledo and everywhere, I do mean everywhere, in between for three years. All social classes, all races, age groups, everyone. We the people, sir. I have many conversations. I have always kept an open heart and listened to someone with a different point of view so I may potentially find common ground. I have stories of things you would not believe is being taught while the basics are not on the radar. A gentleman told a story of a 2 yr old being read a story about a child named James and his new dress. This is what we have come to. For 50 years it has gotten better and worse. You all cling to the small wins but none of you have been sitting in our seats really. Once in office, for you all, the landscape changes completely. For we the people it stays the same. Every decision made by Congress to go forward has far more benefits for big business and special interests than it does for we the people. School is no longer school it's programming. Let's be honest.The bills are massive with so much information no one knows what is what and if you say you do you are a speed reader with absolute clarity who could not have gone through our public schools. We need your help. Stop all the greed and make a difference. We gotta get this right, they are our children, they are our future. Every child deserves better in some mannerisms. Mort attention, more time, more respect, more thought before even having them. Oh don't take me there. Thanks to whomever made it to the end of my story. I am hopeful that this doesn't fall on deaf ears. I have many views but less time to make the differences I was meant to. Grant me one, please Fix this

View Less

Rickie

If you had real concerns you'd be a conservative the liberalism it's what ruining the schools wake the fuck up for the sake of the kids

July 1, 2023

Angela Chavez

Why.. your leader is the Hitler type... You may need this advice first

July 2, 2023

Recent Photos

View More Photos