I began covering schools as a young reporter fresh out of graduate school. Now I am an old reporter with enough mileage to retire. After 42 years at this newspaper (and 46 in the news business), I’m writing my last education column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Covering education has been a privilege and the most important work I’ve done. The changes I’ve witnessed — the rise of computers and the internet’s transformation of social and commercial interaction — have been mind-boggling.
The dangers that students face, from school shootings to the pernicious effect of social media, have never been more frightening. At the same time, the students themselves never fail to dazzle me. They navigate a chaotic dangerous world with creativity and humor.
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
I am also impressed with the dedication and enthusiasm of teachers, even when facing ridiculous obstacles. An example: Georgia tied teacher pay to student performance, despite research showing it’s nearly impossible to quantify teacher effectiveness based on student scores.
Teachers also deal with unrealistic demands. We want schools to remedy every social ill, expecting teachers in high poverty areas to improve not only the fortunes of their students but also the entire community. And we assume teachers will accept this monumental task because they have a calling, not because we pay them well or heap respect and status on them. Yet, young people full of hope are still being drawn to the profession.
Speaking of hope, I have little that we can count on the current General Assembly to protect, preserve and promote public education. Over the past few years, lawmakers have contributed to schools being unsafe for all children and unwelcoming to the most vulnerable.
The response of our state leaders to school shootings, including four months ago at Apalachee High School in Barrow County where four people were killed, has focused on solutions that sidestep the main problem: America’s unchecked personal arsenals of guns. Rather than any common sense gun laws, we get more metal detectors, security cameras and lockdown drills.
Lawmakers won’t address the easy access that troubled teens have to lethal weapons including AR-15 style rifles, a weapon created for battlefields and now commonly used in mass shootings including Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas. In 2020, guns became the leading cause of death among children, adolescents and teens, surpassing car crashes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
During the last several legislative sessions, parents of children grappling with gender identity have pleaded with Georgia lawmakers to reconsider transgender bans that poll well with conservative voters but stigmatize and traumatize children.
Parents testified about the bullying their kids already endure and the frightening reality that LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers. Lawmakers just shrugged and continued to introduce anti-LGBTQ+ bills.
A state Senate panel is already holding hearings on a new transgender sports ban, despite any evidence that transgender athletes are jeopardizing the competitive balance in Georgia high school sports. I will never understand how elected officials can callously sacrifice the well-being of children for political gain.
I wish Georgia voters disavowed opportunistic candidates who accuse school librarians of stocking shelves with smut and teachers of promoting anti-American rhetoric. The state needs leaders who prioritize the health and safety of all kids and make decisions based on facts, not on political advantage. Too many legislators today embrace a canned GOP script that demeans public education and discounts its critical role as the centerpiece of our democracy.
Former President Jimmy Carter, who died last week, noted his first public office was as a county school board member. As president, Carter once said, “I remain convinced that education is one of the noblest enterprises a person or a society can undertake.”
I agree. It’s been an honor to write about schools, educators and students for all these years. Thanks for reading.
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