Take a listen to the news, and you have reason to abandon hope. Michigan candidates are repeating that Michigan third-graders are the worst readers in the country. (Erroneously repeating, mind you.) TV and online news offer shocking or salacious stories to entice their audience, and we tend to assume they are representative of the whole picture.
But there’s another way to look, and when you look that way, you’ll agree with me that the future is amazing.
I personally teach and interact with amazing students who are going to change the world for the better. No question.
I am connected via social media with teachers across the state country who feel exactly the same. I see the proud posts on graduation days and post special-events. Regardless of size of school, type of community, or ranking on any list, the teachers in the day-to-day lives of our young people are telling us: the future is amazing.
I’m inclined to trust the experts on this one. It’s not perfect, and we’ve got a lot of work to do to make this amazing future real, but the potential is there, waiting.
Here are three things you can do to better understand and encourage this amazing future.
- Trust, support, and listen to your local teachers.
- Stop engaging with negative media, particular on anecdotal stories.
- Engage with young people and help them grow.