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Imagine how surprised I was recently to learn that my darling 13-year-old daughter can hardly remember the name of the first president of the United States. I was even more surprised to learn that she mistakes states for countries, and countries for states. To make matters worse, her shaky recitation of only eight of the 50 states, and her outright befuddlement about the historical event for which Abraham Lincoln is most celebrated has caused me to question her stellar grades and academic ranking. Don't get me wrong! I am proud when I see her name prominently displayed in the school's lobby among other students whose scholastic achievement merits special recognition. What bothers me, however, is that making the honor roll these days seems more of a perceived honor than a real one. Nothing brought it home to me more than the impromptu history and geography quiz I surprised my daughter with a few nights ago. What started out as a way to pass time on a Saturday night quickly turned into a question-and-answer session aimed at finding out just what my daughter knew about American history, U.S. and world geography. Unfortunately, the more I quizzed her on topics I thought most sixth-graders should know, the more I found out she didn't know. What on Earth is she learning in school? I thought to myself. "She's such a sweet child. I never have any problems out of her. She is a joy to work with," is what most of her teachers scribble in one variation or the other on her report card. There's never any mention of her academic ability, her thirst for knowledge or her mastery of the subject. I can't help but think that in a day and age when controlling unruly students occupies such a large portion of a teacher's workday that maybe my daughter is being graded more on her behavior, than her academic performance. I know the difference. My son, who is several years older, never has nor does he now get such flowery remarks from his teachers. Instead, if you read between the lines (as my wife and I have trained ourselves to do), it's obvious that his teachers abhor his questions and are challenged by his intelligence. Some have even gone so far as to express frustration with his know-it-all attitude. But all of them at some point have made positive comments about his intelligence and academic ability. It's important to point out here that I don't believe my son is any smarter than my daughter. Perhaps a red flag should have gone up when I noticed that her teachers never commented on her ability, but focused more on what a well-behaved child she is. Somewhere along the way, I got so caught up in simply knowing that my darling little girl makes all A's and B's that I let her down. Parents need to be so involved in their children's education that they recognize where youngsters may be lacking way before the teacher does. So, more than anyone I am to blame for how little she knows of the subjects and topics that were once considered educational precepts. Some of the blame also rests on a system of education that seems to place more value on "teaching to test" than on making sure students develop skills that teach them to think critically about complex issues, and to have a substantive knowledge of American and world history. To me, the bottom line is no matter how well my daughter behaves in school, none of that matters if her knowledge is wanting. Kelvin De'Marcus Allen can be reached at mailto:kda@kelvindallen.com
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