So much is written and said about the sorry state of American education, and I often agree with what I hear. But what I don't hear nearly enough is a discussion of the role played by family, and a community's norms and expectations. I've taught for 20 years here in New Hampshire. During that time, I've seen a growing population of students of Indian ancestry. They typically stand out from their peers because almost without exception, they work harder and behave better than their non-Indian peers. At the heart of this difference are the expectations that are instilled in them at home. They are expected to follow school rules and work hard, often very hard. Whenever I received a list of the new class I would invariably hope to see a Patel, or other Indian surname. Have there been exceptions? A few, but the vast majority make the teaching experience so much more pleasurable. My daughter went to public school in a small city, next to the town where I teach. Her school system had a far greater influx of Indian kids. In fact, at my daughter's recent 10th year high school reunion, her AP calculus teacher was present and she said that 100% of her AP calculus students are of Indian descent! What a tectonic shift! And yes, typically the top 10 list of senior graduates are dominated by the Indian kids. Bless their hearts! I know that all students come from many different backgrounds and home experiences, and not everyone is going to achieve to this extent, but parental expectation have to rise, and that means parental behavior on the home front must change. Parents have to be involved from the start. Kids need to be read to and they need to see that reading is a habit that the parents have. TV has to be minimized and social media and phones have to be delayed until possibly even high school. Parents have to be educated as to how to educate their own kids, and that's a heck of a tall order. I often say to my wife that I hope the Indian kids don't assimilate too much into American culture. And it's not just the Indian families who have the right idea, Nigerian and Chinese families also can boast of impressive results. I'm not saying the Tiger Mom route has to be the way forward, but I'll take it over the attitude that education solely falls on the school. This needs to be talked about on a sustained basis. School funding has its place but far more important are a family's high expectations.
Peter T.
