President's Corner

Dear PoliteChild community members and supporters:

I had originally planned a different piece for this month’s “Corner” but just yesterday something came across my desk that caused me to change my plans entirely. The Washington Times printed a story on the newswires originally entitled “Unruly students still trouble U.S. schools,” which was picked up by the Associated Press and run in literally dozens of national newspapers. In it, a study from Public Agenda, a nonpartisan, nonprofit public opinion research and citizen education organization based in New York City, called “Where We Are Now” reported that lack of manners among public school students, demoralized teachers, and uninvolved were of greater concern for most Americans than the legislation for standardized testing and school accountability.

This report pulled together more than 25 surveys done by Public Agenda looking into the general attitudes of teachers, principals, students, and families involved in the K-12 educational system. What became clear is that, while academic standards and regular testing, such as those mandated by the “No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001, may be important, there are many other factors that are hurting students’ academic performance.

Any guesses as to what they found?

• 77% of students say their high school has problems with cursing in the hallways and cafeterias
• 83% of teachers say that parents who do not set limits and create appropriate structure at home for their kids are a serious problem
• 81% of teachers fault parents for not ensuring that their children study hard and behave well
• Over 40% of the teachers say that in their schools, they spend more time trying to keep order in the classroom than they do actually teaching

We’ve long been tracking the raw data coming from research organizations such as Public Agenda, so the general gist of the article came as no surprise. But, this is information so fresh that the ink is still wet on the page. And, it’s the first time there has been a direct link made between social skills and No Child Left Behind.

But what was shocking was the last statistic we listed; the proportion of teachers that are so busy playing conduct police that they can’t focus on what they are trained and expected – now held accountable – to do: teach. And, there is clearly a feeling from teachers that parents are to blame for a great deal of this social upheaval.

While there are certainly families in which reasonable norms of social behavior are not taught, most of us as parents, I believe, do want to raise children that have good social skills and moral characters. Pitting the school system, on whose shoulders the accountability for academic achievement rests, against parents who have the responsibility to teach their kids proper manners isn’t going to solve the problem and does not really contribute to meeting objectives. This is a community-wide problem, not just a public school system problem; a societal issue, not just an educational one. But, one thing is clear from this report: a child’s social skills and level of conduct plays a crucial role in his or her academic success. And, more must be done in schools and homes alike, to ensure that children’s behaviors and character education is appropriate so that are adequately prepared to learn and to interact with others.

For these reasons we at The PoliteChild are excited that we are beginning to be invited into the public school system by providing our program on a school-wide and even district-wide basis. Moreover, we are announcing a new service that will assist schools in securing funding for programs such as ours through No Child Left Behind.

Strong social skills and education in proper conduct are tools that should be available to everyone. There is no child who will not benefit from improved manners and the sense of freedom and self-esteem that comes being socially comfortable. By making this type of education and child-enrichment available to anyone who needs it, we are truly ensuring that no child is left behind.

With kind regards,

Corinne A. Gregory
President and Founder, The PoliteChild

P.S. To read the text from the “Where are We Now?” report, or any of the articles referenced, see our new “No Child Left Behind” resource pages, mentioned below.