(Vol. 1, No. 1 - Fall 1996)

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IDEAS:
Is My Child Getting a Good Education?



By Gerald Fisher

Someone asked me, "How do you know your child is getting a good education in the Long Beach public schools?"

What is a good education? Good grades you can brag about? A lead part in the school play? Nice words from the teacher? Popularity among peers? I realized I couldn't answer the question without first defining what I expected from my daughter's school.

I don't have the perspective of a professional who understands what and when a typical child should learn. I'm a parent who wants his child to bloom as a human being and to find and develop her potential.

At a minimum, I expect the school system to create an environment conducive to learning and teach her what under generally accepted professional norms, she is expected to learn for her grade and intellect.

I expect that she will not only grow academically and intellectually, but socially, spiritually, and personally. I want a place where decency, integrity, humility, and tolerance are taught along with the three R's, and where, at the earliest age, children learn to get along.

Contrary to the politically correct view that these "family values" are to be taught only in the home, I believe it is necessary to teach them in the schools, too. Because there are so many "busy" two-parent and single-parent homes, because there is so much hate and violence on television, because neighborhoods are not always conducive to learning such peaceful messages, there is no certainty children will learn these things at home. They need to be learned or reinforced by real-life experiences at school.

What I see in my daughter tells me she is getting my definition of "a good education." She has embraced important values with an enthusiasm that has clearly come from her teachers, her school, and her learning experiences. While her home and her personality play a role, critical momentum has come from her classroom and school experience.

At school, she was expected to perform to high academic and behavioral standards. Now she knows it's okay to set high standards for herself, and she works hard to reach them because the expectations she met for her teachers are now the expectations she sets -- and meets -- for herself.

In the public school she attends, my daughter has learned something else of great value. She has learned to appreciate the differences between her own white middle-class culture and the Chinese, Thai, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Hmong, Black, Arabic, Filipino, Latino and other cultures (even the culture of the street) that "color" the walls of her learning environment.

The parents of these cultures -- encouraged by the faculty and school -- have also learned they have something special to contribute, and my daughter's learning experience has been richer for their involvement. Her best friends are Cambodian, Filipino, black, and white. Though she is
certainly aware of differences in color and culture, she enjoys these differences and is enriched by learning about them.

My international law firm represents clients in many nations, and we are often challenged to break out of our culturally conditioned mindsets. This critical 21st century skill will come naturally to my daughter and her friends.

How do I know my child is getting a good education? Because I see and hear how much influence her teachers have had in every aspect of her behavioral and intellectual development. That they care enough to challenge her to set high standards for herself tells me she is getting the right start.

My expectation is that as my daughter moves through middle school and high school, her teachers will continue to expect her and her friends to meet high standards -- and will reinforce her understanding of the need to set standards for herself.

When her school days end, here's how I'll know if she has gotten a good education. She will have learned how to learn, how to understand the world around her, how to be tolerant and appreciative of other people. I expect no less from my child's educational experience.

Gerald Fisher practices international law in Long Beach and offers advice and support to the public schools through the Long Beach Community Partnership. His daughter is a fifth grader at Signal Hill Elementary.