A Back-To-School Message from Michigan's Superintendent
The Opening of School Still Brings Mixed Emotions 
Tom Watkins

The anticipation, fear, exhilaration and excitement, all were building up in me like a kettle about to blow.

I remember the feeling well. The push and pull that "the day" was quickly approaching choked me like a size 15 shirt around my size 16 neck. I wanted the day to get here, and yet I feared it would arrive - kind of like Mom saying "your Dad wants to see you, young man, NOW!"

What evoked such a flood of conflicting emotions? Well, the first day of school after the long summer vacation, of course! And I met the anticipation of a new beginning with many questions. What teachers would I get? Would my buddy, Kirby, be in my class? Will Rhonda be my lab partner again? I remember my friends and I wanting school to end and summer vacation to begin. As late July approached, we longed for the routine of school and to see each other again. Now, as a parent, I pray for summer vacation to end and for my teenagers to return to school.

Why, in the 21st century, we still operate on an agrarian calendar is a subject for another column.

Today, the broader policy issues confronting public education evoke a different set of emotions. After 90 days on the job as Michigan's Superintendent of Public Instruction I have a kaleidoscopic perspective. As the first of my family to graduate from college, I understand the value of education and the doors it may open.

The vision I share with the members of the State Board of Education is to create educational experiences that make differences in the lives of Michigan's children. With your help, we want to take Michigan public education from being the "establishment" to being the "movement." Certainly, there is much more to do. There is much to celebrate, too.

I am happy that our public schools are not nearly as bad as critics want you to believe; that great things are happening in our public schools everyday; that Michigan 4th and 8th graders scored higher than the national average on a recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics test; that Senate Bill 614 paves the way for legislative approval for a specialty license plate supporting public education; that we have begun to build a new accreditation system involving everyone with a stake in public education.

I am frustrated by the gap between what those who wax eloquently about their unending support of public education and what they truly do to support teaching and learning; the ever-increasing number of students with limited readiness to learn who are entering school the academic achievement gap between middle class and poor and minority children; the ideological and political battles that often seem more directed at partisan gain rather than academic achievement for all children; an educational system that touts college as the only viable option for children when employers are begging for competent, technically trained people who may not wear a business suit to work but will earn comfortable middle class wages.

I am concerned about parents who believe a new charter school or an existing private school is automatically better than the traditional neighborhood school; that the violence and bullying that permeates our society will take the life of another child or educator; that excellent, creative teachers who make learning exciting will change professions for higher-paid opportunities while less productive teachers will retire on the job and coast toward their pensions; that we will allow societal challenges, such as poverty, English as a second language, uneducated parents, drugs and alcohol abuse to be an excuse for not educating all children.

I fear that as a society we will not find ways to collaborate with educators to help our children learn and to bring about reform in our public schools; we will allow the rhetoric of calls for reform without funds and calls for more money without reform to drown out each other; that too many people are leaving the important task of educating our children solely to educators when we all should be taking responsibility.

I find great joy in the fact that the majority of our teachers are good, committed and dedicated professionals; in knowing that innovators and risk-takers can rally a community one citizen at a time to support its children; that members of the State Board of Education and I are working as a team focused on improving the quality of education for all of Michigan's children.

The 2001-2002 school year is about to begin. For many, it will be an exhilarating year as they learn to read and write, master a difficult subject, are admitted to the university or technical program of their choice, finally grasp algebra, help tutor a classmate, go to the prom, excel in athletics or forensics, march with the band, or act in a play.

Yet, we also know that the statistics of dropouts, functional illiteracy, and students with no direction and even less hope are as overwhelming as they are clear. These are our children, too. As a community, we must find ways to connect with all children.

Our public schools and the dedicated teachers who work in them have made America the greatest country on the face of the earth. Michigan has fabulous teachers such as 2000-2001 Michigan Teacher of the Year Jim Linsell from Traverse City Public Schools. Jim, and many other high quality teachers like him, believe in building a strong sense of self in students, building real-world connections in the classroom to motivate students, inspiring creativity, and most importantly, making learning meaningful. In short, the quality of our teachers today is the gift we give ourselves tomorrow.

Yes, there are problems, inequities, and injustices in our system of public education. However, let me paraphrase the words of President Bill Clinton in his first inaugural address There is nothing so wrong with our public schools that cannot be fixed by what is right about them.

The school bell is ringing and the beginning of a new school year still brings mixed emotions. But I believe that together we are better. If we all work together to do what is right for all of our children-great things can and will happen.

Tom Watkins assumed the role of Michigan's Superintendent of Public Instruction on April 30, 2001. On May 30th, he introduced "Thirty Ideas in 30 Days," a call for collaboration and action to improve the quality of public education of all of Michigan's children. The document is available on the Michigan Department of Education's website, http://web.archive.org/web/20011030164125/http://www.mde.state.mi.us/. Members of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent welcome your thoughts.