It was a class of high school seniors in old Port Arthur TJ High, and we were a pretty salty bunch — the “big dogs” on the campus. It took something out of the ordinary to impress us and get our attention. Occasionally a teacher did that. What follows is the essence of one teacher’s remarks, as well as I can remember after 50 years. 

“I know who you are, and I know about you,” she said. “You may think you are fooling everyone — but you aren’t fooling me. I have looked at your scores on the intelligence tests, and I know what you are capable of doing, even though you have not come close to fulfilling your potential.” She stalked about the room, looking at each one of us in turn.

She was neither smiling nor speaking angrily, just calmly telling us the facts. I recall that the room was very quiet. “Now, I’m not going to call your name (a collective sigh of relief! ) since you have obviously decided that mediocrity is where you are comfortable, and you have the right to hide there now and for the rest of your life, if you so choose. I just want you to know that your secret is not all that secure.”

I looked around the class, trying to imagine which kid she meant; there was Jerry, a smart student, probably capable of more than he was doing — but wasn’t that true of many of us? Then there were the girls. Shirley, over there, was very bright, but more interested in her social life than in social studies. Or was she talking to me?

There were essentially two distinct student types: the first type had parents who didn’t mind if the kid made C’s as long as he stayed out of trouble. There was no communication with teachers or the school unless rules were broken and punishment required.

The other type of student had parents who stayed involved in the kid’s education, who made sure that homework was done and projects started early and turned in on time. 

A chance for extra credit? There was no question of whether it would be done. Coming home without books? That raised questions, and the answers were often validated by a call to a teacher. That type student learned how to study early on, and acquired the discipline to tackle both university life and a professional career later on.

That’s how it was, once upon a time. It hasn’t changed. Parental involvement is the key to student success. As clever as that teacher was, with her pep talk about high potential and low performance, she was fighting a losing battle without the aid of the parents.

If you are concerned about the quality of education in this country — and the academic achievement of our children — perhaps it will hearten you to be assured that school districts are building! Now, I’ve personally seen only two construction projects, that of Memorial High School in Port Arthur, between Ninth Avenue and Highway 69, towards Mid-County, and the project in Port Neches near the Port Neches Dairy Queen (no kick-back required, DQ, just get the order right, next time). Doubtless there are more.

I know I make enemies every time I bring this up, but in the interest of our children, and ultimately of you and I, our children and grandchildren, and this fractured society of ours, I feel I must remind you of some of my opinions which I strongly hold and freely give: We are not, on average, turning out a quality product from our public schools. And our educational system will not be healed with new construction, or more highly-paid superintendents. They well may be part of the problem — not part of the solution. A building program looks good on their resume.

I’m not optimistic that we will soon change the way we do education. We have Cable TV, which, almost as a given, must be watched. We have, with a 50 percent-plus divorce rate, many single moms who exhaust themselves trying to earn enough to get by, leaving little energy for involvement in Junior’s schooling. We have cell phones, gangs, drugs on the schoolyard, popular music that glorifies everything wrong with our society, and a government populated by politicians who are much more interested in getting re-elected than in solving any of the aforementioned problems. 

You may remember that I related my experiences when I taught English a few years ago on the campus of a teacher’s college in a city in southern China for two summers. I am not a professional teacher, but I said at the time that it had the essence of a dream-come-true for teachers who love their work: the students were highly motivated, intelligent, very attentive, and extremely respectful toward their teachers (the older the teacher, the more respect — what a novel idea!). 

My remarks about education, I should tell you, are largely informed by that experience. And why not? The children in your household, your classroom, your neighborhood — and indeed this nation of yours and mine — will soon compete in a global marketplace with those smart, highly-motivated children of China and other developing nations. We had better be ready.

Gene Dammon of Port Neches is a contributing writer to the Port Arthur News. His e-mail address is: gene-san@sbcglobal.net.