A Waste of Time

Now that the 2008 Summer Olympics are over, I cannot help but reflect on what it actually takes to be an Olympic contender. For sure, one must train in his/her respective sporting event and compete with others for a spot on the team, but what does such training entail? I watched in amazement as Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in Beijing, surpassing Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals won in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. I am sure that both Phelps and Spitz made swimming their top priority, putting in endless hours of practice in their quest to be the best in the world of swimming. Phelps and Spitz proved that they were the best swimmers by competing with and defeating others from around the globe in Olympic competition. Imagine how the glory of Phelps and/or Spitz would have been derailed had they come in 18^th during the Olympic trials or last in their respective events… Would they have won any medals, the least of all gold? Would they have graced the covers of the numerous magazines on which they have appeared?

As Americans, we laud ourselves as being the best of the best. We are the number one world power. We have the greatest system of government, the greatest military known to man. We boast a heterogeneous society, unmatched by any other nation. We provide our children with the best we have to offer, and we see them as the brightest and the best in the world. In actuality, it can be said that Americans view themselves as the elite of the world, better than any other nation on the planet: "the land of the free and the home of the brave." Unfortunately, according to a study done by UNICEF in 2005, the United States ranks 18 out of 24 among other nations. Imagine if education were an Olympic event… The United States would not be able to compete in the Olympics, let alone win a medal. This may come as a surprise to some, but for college administrators, it is a sad known fact.

Today, many colleges and universities find themselves having to offer developmental English and Math courses because students are entering college without the basic skills required to succeed and/or compete on a collegiate level. Some colleges have been forced to add to their curriculum "success strategies" courses in efforts to teach students the skills necessary to succeed in college. However, such courses do nothing to address the real reason students do not succeed in college. At the risk of offending some, the reason students do not succeed in college is that, unlike Phelps and Spitz, school is not their top priority.

I have seen countless students enter college classrooms without books, pen, and paper. Students treat their syllabi as though it is a rabid dog: rarely do any of them read it. To add insult to injury, most enter the classroom without having read the required reading, which makes discussing the assignment impossible. Students expect their instructor to tell them everything they need to know to pass the class successfully, yet they sit in their seats as though education is a spectator sport, rarely, if ever, asking questions. They think research can be done by merely surfing the Internet for information. They have no idea how to get around in a physical library, and some have no idea where the local library is in their communities. Attendance at the school's library is virtually nil until the end of the semester when papers are due. Then, there is a mad rush to research, draft, write, edit, revise, and proofread a paper to submit for grading. For sure, this process does not work, especially when one is working with a deficit, but it is widely practiced, and those who practice it expect great results.

As an educator, I can tell you that I have heard every excuse known to man as why students come to class unprepared. Students today rarely, if ever, submit assignments on time and are quick to miss an exam due to some unforeseen emergency, such as the celebration of their birthdays or the illness of their pets. Yet, students who exhibit such blatant disregard for their education believe they are entitled to an "A" or a "B." If they should fail to receive the grade they so desire, they instantly and emphatically complain to the dean about the instructor, as though it is the instructor's fault that they turned in inadequate work for assessing the grade they eventually earned. What is frightening is at times the dean sides with the student, not because the student is right but because today's student is viewed as a customer. What is funny is that even if they are customers they cannot see that such behavior in school not only wastes their time but their money, as well.

What do these actions say about education in America? Well, military recruiters can tell you better than anyone can the impact of our failure to address, in a serious manner, our failed education system. Consistently, military groups have had to lower the required minimum scores on the ASVAB test in order to find "qualified" individuals to enter the military. It is the equivalent of lowering the qualifying time for competing on the Olympic swim team in order to find those qualified to send to the Olympics.

College, at one time, was a proving ground, a place where one goes to exchange ideas and develop new ones. College used to be a place where one could freely voice his/her substantiated opinion and exercise critical thinking skills. College was once a place where one either sank or swam, and it was his/her responsibility to do whatever it took to grasp the concepts presented in class, to include reading the required text. Of course, there were, and continues to be, resources available to students who struggled with certain courses, but today's student has little time to seek out such resources. Their time is divided among friends, family, and work. Interestingly enough, today's students believe they are the only generation who has ever had to deal with such issues while attending school, and for this they should receive some form of sympathy. Grades should be based upon their efforts, not the results they produce.

Ask Phelps what he would have gotten had he put forth the half-hearted effort in his swimming that many students put into their course work… I am sure we would have never heard of him had he, but because he gave his all, Phelps emerged as a gold medal winner, breaking many of Spitz's long held records. If students do not begin to take their education seriously, I fear, we as Americans, will be sent home, left out of gold medal and global completion.