The writer of this article sent it to me today. It is a testimonial to a teacher who changed his life. As he says, there are millions of stories like this, and they are all true.
Do you have one to tell?
Bret Wooten: The Value Of Public Schools
Several months ago, we heard from a listener after a state legislator talked about the great potential in charter schools. Bret Wooten felt more should be said about the great potential offered by traditional public schools. Here’s his commentary.
I have a degree in industrial electronics, a U.S. patent, had my poetry published, managed thousands of people as the director of a billion dollar company, visited all 50 states and five countries. Now, I am a husband, father and small business owner.
Oh yeah, and I’m dumb.
At least that is the way I thought of myself until third grade. Where Mrs. Nickolas my teacher sat down in front of me and asked me to read a passage to her. I knew I could not read it. So, I hung my head and told her. “I was dumb and could not do it.” Her reaction was a quick hug. Then, she then looked me in the eyes and said, “We are going to fix that.” That year I was diagnosed with dyslexia and placed into a class that helped me learn to deal with this common disability. There is no cure or pill for this, and I am still a slow reader, often finding myself spelling much like the Chick-fil-A cows. However, I have no doubt that my third grade teacher changed my life that day.
When you think about the scale of what public education offers, it is truly amazing and something we should all be proud of. Beyond, the core class’s public schools offer sports of all kinds, music, arts, libraries, clubs, and numerous opportunities for advanced learner. Or the special education programs that millions of children benefit from. But all of these programs are endanger of being minimized or eliminated in Texas.
I have watched politicians and other unqualified people bash the public education system in this country as they ask schools to do more with less.
I never thought I would see the day when our education system would be treated as a pawn in politics and teachers would be faulted for executing the direction of those same politicians. But, the thing that I find most troubling is that some people are cheering them on. Knowing children will pay for their tax cuts through higher class sizes and less effective programs.
Our children are growing up in a globalized world. They are already in an intellectual war with. Countries like China are producing five times the engineering students that the U.S. did this past year. There has never been a time when we as parents can offer so much to our children. We have an intellectual infrastructure that is truly amazing. Think about the access to information an I-pad or smart phone brings to the mix and how items like these can compliment our existing education system. Tools like these get confused as replacements for teacher they should instead be thought of as tools for children to learn and compete on a global market.
Unlike politicians, teachers will be held responsible for these children. Unlike politicians, teachers will have to look children in the eyes every day knowing more could be done. How many kids like me will sit across the table from a teacher like Mrs. Nickolas in the next few years and nothing will happen – simply because of inadequate funding, poor leadership and no accountability at the state level. Because we let that happen.
These kids can be a productive part of society or a burden to it. I feel very fortunate to say I never really needed a hand out. But there was a time, in the third grade, I did need hand up and it was there; reaching out for me. Please, get informed and involved. I am one story; there are millions like me out there right now.
Bret Wooten is a small business owner from Lewisville.
I had four CPS public school teachers to thank for recognizing and nurturing my strengths in English, writing and creativity, in 7th through 10th grades: Miss Fox, Mrs. Langdon, Miss Schwartz and Mrs. Gordon.
Until middle school, I did not think I had any academic strengths. In part, this was because, in 4th grade, when my mom remarried, I gained a step-father who frequently referred to me as “dumb”. He often said that, in his estimation, I was just too stupid to be able to excel at school. He turned out to be an example of how wrong non-educators can be about students and learning.
Thanks to these great CPS teachers, I developed confidence in my abilities, was inspired to broaden my interests, and I graduated with straight A’s from high school and summa cum laude from college. I will be forever indebted to them for rekindling my love of learning, because in spite of my achievements, my step-father never did change his views about my capabilities and always found a way to downplay my academic success. Thank goodness I learned at an opportune time in my development that his opinion didn’t matter as much as the professional judgments of those who are skilled in learning and teaching.
It is amazing how powerful that word “dumb” is. Just reading your story brought those feelings rushing back to me. It is also amazing how a little self-confidence and some great teachers can make such a huge difference. Keep charging ahead. And never forget how you got there.
I sat one of my high school non-readers down one day to talk to him about what I saw. I explained to him that I thought he had dyslexia and explained to him what that meant. He started to cry. Of course, as it came out, he had thought he was dumb. It was such a relief for him to know what was making reading so difficult. He got moved out of my class into a new more basic class not too long after our conversation, but he continued to come back and visit and borrow books from me. I was not recommended for rehire that year; my students did not make “adequate progress.” I wonder how much progress a high school student who is reading at a pre-primer level is supposed to make? How much does the realization that you are not dumb after years of failure count?
WHAT YOU DID MATTERS!! Know that. Trust me I wrote this article you give that kid a chance he will never forget you.