Most people have come to agree with the Nigerian Igbo African culture proverb or Hillary Clinton’s book “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child,” but what is the present state of that village and what is the condition of that child?

From my experience as a public school teacher, I find conflict in the general belief of many educators, administrators and appointed/elected public officials that “children come first” in our teaching profession and the widely accepted premise of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs whereby personal physiological, safety, love/ belonging, and esteem needs all come before self-actualization which embraces the caring and assistance of others.

Oh, I do believe that children MUST come first, but this “Children come first vs Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs conflict is fleshed out when the village’s public school is replaced by chartered schools, magnet schools, private schools, parochial schools, Montessori schools, military schools, vocational schools, gifted and talented schools, special needs schools, virtual schools, home schools, and even closing and restructuring schools while the village’s public school is left short on highly qualified teachers, support and resources and long on criticism, sanctions and consequences.

I find conflict when the public school complex allows three unified school districts with three different facilities, three different administrative staffs, and three different budgets to be built and sustained within seven miles of each other when one would suffice and while public schools suffer in disrepair, a shortage of teachers, lack of equipment and anemic funding.

I find conflict when more prisons are being built while fine arts, industrial arts, music, business classes, technology, life skills, health, humanities, and theatre previously offered in public school programs are being dismantled.

I find conflict when No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top mantras are uplifted while in the public school trenches children are actually continuously left behind and socio-economics, psychological, emotional, or physical conditions leave no ladder to ascend, no hill to climb, no means for children to race to the top.

I find conflict when financiers and politicians are making n-times the salary of public school teachers who educated many of them, sparked their interest, nurtured their ambitions, and encouraged and supported their dreams.

Some experts espouse that American students are lagging further and further behind other countries in terms of math science and technology, ever amongst comparable students from wealthy/affluent families. But I say, in order to consider that an equable comparison, we must ask the question, “What is the state of respect and self-discipline for those students and what is the level of parental involvement and support for those students in those countries?”

There is a quiet battle raging in the public school trenches. Day-in day-out teachers are confronted by many students who are sincerely unable to distinguish between an adult and a student peer as evidenced when they commission the same disrespectful attitude and language for both; students who are too quick to want respect at any cost but know very little about giving respect; students who are too quick to disrupt their learning environment and that of their peers for the sake of a laugh or superficial attention; students who seek instant gratification and want all of life’s secrets revealed to them in a nanosecond whether those secrets should be revealed slowly over time through maturation and life experiences or not; students who are unable or unwilling to connect a proper education with life’s successes.

Teachers are confronted by some parents who, when it comes to discipline, are more willing to believe their child than the teacher. Teachers are confronted by administrators who are pressured to support curriculum pacing guides that drive academic deadlines, but fall short on students actually learning or acquiring a skill set. Teacher are frequently challenged by home time being created to allow for students to use PlayStation III and X-Box 360 but no home time for Math Study Island, Larson’s Math, Math Blaster, Cool Math, Brain Pop, Accelerated Reader, homework, test prep, social etiquette mastery, or quiet reading time. Teachers have become surrogate parents, grandparents, doctors, nurses, counselors, psychologist, psychiatrists, baby sitters, policemen, and clergymen, but without the gratitude, respect or compensation.

How can we influence, improve or change the present state of our village and the condition of our child? We can’t burn the village down and start again, but we can start with ourselves. President Barack Obama said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

What can we do? We can model how and we can actually become better mothers, better fathers, better parents, better civic and moral leaders. We can model how and we can actually become better listeners and better mentors. We can advance the importance of sound processes, the necessity for accountability, the value and impact of empathy, the gravity of a tempered moral core and an unwavering work ethic — Thomas A. Edison said, “Most people miss opportunity because it wears overalls and looks like work.”
We can become more Christ-like in our actions, endorse active involvement in community service and help our children build better character. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.” We can become better participators in community (“village”) affairs, become more involved in public school organizations (i.e. PTA, PTO, Site Council, School Board), and become more knowledgeable about our children’s school activities, academic assignments and future aspirations. We can seek out and enroll our children in church community outreach programs, after school programs and tutoring programs. We can assist our children with developing a clear plan for their educational success. Albert Einstein once said, “All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.”

We can support our teachers, visit our school classrooms and volunteer to assist, attend school district meetings, and ask how we can help. Taking specific liberties with John F. Kennedy’s words I say, Ask not what our village can do for us, but what we can do for our village.

We can spend quality time with our children. We can better understand and convey to our children that education is a cornerstone, a gateway to life’s successes and an equitable playing field, and along with faith, belief and common sense can make all the difference between a path of darkness and one of illumination. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

When people ask, “If there is so much presently wrong with the village why do you teach?” I offer them this, A Teacher’s Creed: I am proud to be a teacher. I believe that teaching is one of the most honorable and noble professions in the world. I love what I do and I understand that my enthusiasm is contagious. I bring knowledge and understanding to my classroom and I enjoy sharing my expertise. I care about my students and I show it through dedication, kindness, and a friendly word. I know what I give to my students will come back to me in many beautiful and unexpected ways. I realize that my students will be better people because of me and I will be a better person because of them. I know that I make a positive difference in my students’ lives and that makes all my hard work worthwhile.

Malcolm X said, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” I sincerely believe, as one school district so succinctly phrased it in its mission statement, that “All students are capable of achieving excellence through hard work and persistence. However, students must be taught and challenged by us to meet the highest educational and behavioral standards. They have inherent value and deserve to be members of classrooms and schools that affirm their worth.”

I believe that our students have the right to be served by competent and caring adults who are provided the resources, pay, and the professional development to meet clear performance criteria. Our students do benefit from positive communication and healthy relationships among members of the school community and they can be inspired by a positive image of the public school system. Our/all students deserve the close involvement of parents and guardians in their education. This helps build a strong bond, a solid citizen and a strong village. Frederick Douglass said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men (and I add women).

The satisfaction of watching students in the act of discovery validates my purpose for teaching and supports my motivation towards overcoming any obstacles impacting student learning. Reflecting on the question of why I am a teacher and focusing on how much I enjoy it prepares me for the rigors of my students’ many needs, staff meetings, administrative tasks, social scrutiny, and parent’s misgivings about our education system or my abilities as an effective teacher. I find serenity in the idea that as a teacher I plant the precious seeds of learning in my students; I observe my students’ tending of the garden of knowledge; and I share with my students the harvesting of the benefits of learning to the entire village!

What is the present state of that village, my village, our village and what is the condition of that child, my child, our child? Many believe that they are on life support, but me, I believe that they are just getting their “second wind!”

Our children are precious and sensitive fresh clay on life’s pottery wheel. Let our village be gentle and gladly shoulder the responsibility of successfully molding, shaping, and creating a wholesome and exquisite masterpiece.

Our children seek guidance and direction. Let our village provide the knowledge, the wisdom, the values, the virtue, the integrity, the truth and the expectation that will become the driving forces of our children’s future.

Our children thirst for knowledge. Let our village quench their thirst. Let our village spend time with our children and let them know that we value education highly. Encourage our children to take school seriously and to set high expectations about their school performance.

Our children are preparing to become willing and capable leaders who will be ready for life’s challenges. Let our village assist them in building their self-esteem by mastering skills. Let our children know that time, affection and communication are essential to their success and well-being. Let the village be clear about our values and attitudes.

Our children are our hope, our future and our legacy for that future. The children we are raising today will be running our village, our country, our world tomorrow. Let our village invest wisely. Teach our children to be humble, sensitive and empathetic, but also teach our children to be strong, ambitious and goal-oriented.

Yes, it takes a village to raise a child so let’s get on point! Marcus Garvey said, “God and nature first made us what we are, and then out of our own created genius we make ourselves what we want to be. Follow always that great law. Let the sky and God be our limit and eternity our measurement.”

Let us reinforce our village this year, the first year of President Barack Obama’s second term as President. Let us make our village strong this month, our celebrated Black History Month. Let us protect and support our children today, our nation’s Social Concerns Day.

The present state of our village is uncertain but HOPEFUL. The condition of our children is unsure but CHARGED and WILLING.

Dr. Willie Hancock, Ed.D.