by Tanilan Prescott

Created on: January 13, 2009

Students should be held accountable for failing! Yes! They should! This issue hits very close to home because I have two teenage boys (one in high school, one in junior high). I hold them accountable for their performance in school; because I cannot learn it for them. Accountability is an area American society has not done the best in. We have become a nation of finger-pointers.

"It's Little Johnny's teacher who can't get him to read."

"Cindy's teacher picks on her all the time, so she can't make the grade in class."

"Tommy won't act right in school, but its just they don't like him."

Those excuses are not preparing our children for the world. We must teach our kids to be responsible for the work they do.

Believe me folks, I hear it all day long! It is everyone else at fault, instead of the the child. We blame the teacher, the environment, society, skin-color, dyslexia, dementia...you name it, we have an excuse why our kid isn't performing well in school. But let me ask this question: Weren't we held accountable for our actions when we were in school? If we acted up in school, or didn't pass, didn't our parents punish us?

Now, I am not saying all kids should be able to make the grade. Learning disabilities are serious. And in order to make sure those students are successful, modifications should be followed that are created for that specific student. There are students who do have an extremely difficult time learning. I understand that. In coordination with the all parties involved, those students should get the help they need. However, I also know, sometimes, there are teachers who are not competent and do cause students to fall behind. But our job, as parents, is to ask questions; to investigate and be a part of our kids education. We cannot sit back and leave our kids education to chance.

When my boys are not doing well in school, I start asking questions. I go to the teacher and ask what my kid seems to be struggling in. I ask my sons what they don't understand. I ask how can I help. And many times, when we all work together, the problem gets resolved. Now, if I go and ask the teacher why my son is not doing good and they tell me, because they haven't turned in their work and/or they are being disruptive during class; it becomes a big problem for my sons. And the situation get rectified in a hurry.

We must stop making excuses for our kids. The world is a tough place. Everyone is responsible for their own actions. We must teach our child to take responsibility for what they do. Education is their path to success. We must make sure we all take ownership of what they do in school.

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