Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, Cynthia Tucker, wrote this week about the challenges of closing the achievement gap between middle and upper-class children and those children who live in poverty. Operation Shoestring is in the business of closing this gap, so we read her op-ed with interest.
In the essay, Tucker writes, “Educating all of our children, including those from poor and dysfunctional homes, is clearly in the national interest. In a globally competitive market and with nations like China and India emphasizing high-quality education, we simply cannot afford not to educate everybody. And it does no good to point fingers at parents — some of them busy trying to make ends meet, some of them functionally illiterate, some of them simply irresponsible. No child chooses to be born into a home without the obvious advantages. But children from poor households can succeed, as innovative schools around the country have already shown. What do those schools have in common? Teachers and administrators are convinced the children can learn.”
Dr. Martha Alexander, pictured below, is the Deputy Director of Operation Shoestring, and she shares the conviction that all children – regardless of their socio-economic background – can learn if they are properly engaged.
“There really is no mystery to effective teaching,” Martha says. “Effective teachers are those who understand each of their students’ learning styles, who know each child’s basic aptitudes, who build a strong relationship with their students that is based on high-expectations and who have a real mastery of the subject they teach.”
Some of the children we serve each afternoon at Operation Shoestring, unfortunately, do not enjoy this type of teaching. As a result, says Martha, “our job every day is to provide intervention and to bring these children up to the levels we know they can achieve. And time is short. From pre-k to 3rd grade, children are learning to read. From 3rd grade and beyond, children read to learn. If our children don’t have a solid foundation of reading by 3rd grade, we know that they will fall farther and farther behind, they will eventually lose interest in school and – worst of all – will drop out.”
The stakes are high and the news too often grim, but Martha Alexander’s outlook is optimistic. “The research shows that our approach works! We assess every child in our program to determine the best teaching strategy to making that student successful. Once we’ve determined that strategy, we are rigorous – but we make learning fun. Education is the surest way to better the prospects of the children in our neighborhood. My hope is that we can continue to expand our efforts across Jackson.”
By Teaching Children and Inspiring Families, Operation Shoestring Ensures We All Rise Together. This is our tagline and this is what we’re about every school day on Bailey Avenue. Come see us.
Dr. Martha Alexander, Deputy Director