Why I Love Back to School Night

Anyone who thinks that public education is not working should have been at my high school last night. The parking lot was packed, and the halls were crammed with people. Teachers were dressed professionally, and student officers stood in every hallway greeting newcomers and giving directions. Visitors came by the hundreds, some for the first time and some for perhaps the last. It was Back to School Night at my school, and it was an unqualified success.

Like most teachers, I love Back to School Night and eagerly look forward to it every year. It is a tradition in American education unlike any other and one that serves to remind us of all that is right with our schools.

The critics and the naysayers who get their kicks by pointing their fingers at the local high school and blaming teachers for all of our nation's woes would do well to stop their complaining for one evening and attend a Back to School Night at their local elementary, middle, or high school. They might just learn a thing or two about schooling in America.

They would learn, for example, that most teachers take tremendous pride in their work and in the accomplishments of their students. They would see a faculty that works long hours without complaint, preparing lesson plans and grading papers so that their students are challenged every day of the school year.

They would see students who are polite, intelligent, and eager to learn, despite what the media says about them and their generation.

They would see parents, teachers and students working together towards a common goal - i.e. providing the best possible education for every child so that no child is ever left behind.

They would see bulletin boards that are brightly decorated with posters and colored paper, all at the teacher's own personal expense.

They would see principals and assistant principals who set limits, enforce the rules, and try their very best to do what is right for each and every student.

They would see parents who care deeply about the education of their sons and daughters and spend long hours at school events, chaperoning dances, selling refreshments at football games, and volunteering in the classroom.

They would see parents, teachers, and students of every race, color, creed, and national origin coming together on a school night in the name of education instead of staying home watching television or playing computer games.

In short, they would see much of what is right with America's schools.

This is not to suggest that every school is like mine or that some schools do not face tremendous challenges. Not every school has a Back to School Night like ours, but I think that most of them do.

And this is the problem with the whole school reform movement, including President Obama's new Race to the Top initiative to save America's schools. These efforts, well meaning though they may be, focus intensely on what is wrong with our schools while ignoring their successes. For the professional school reformers and most politicians, the educational glass is forever half-empty instead of half-full.

If we truly want to fix what is wrong with some of our schools, we should first recognize what is right with most of them. We should build on our successes in education and accentuate the positive while always acknowledging that there is room for improvement in even the best schools.

Finally, Back to School Night reminds us all - parents, teachers, and students - that we are all in this together. If we truly want to improve education, it will take more - much more - than another trillion dollar bailout from Congress and the administration.

It will require everyone rolling up their sleeves and getting to work to make our schools and classrooms better for our children. This happened last night at my school. It should happen in every school.

That, in the final analysis, is the best and only way for our schools to compete in and win the race to the top.