Knapsack: A few recurring thoughts about education

Regarding education, public and otherwise, there is a small set of observations I have made in this space before — even more than once — but in hunting through back numbers it appears I haven’t made these points here for more years than I’d have thought.

Seeing and hearing some of the comments online and in television punditry around this subject leads me to put three baseline realities out in front of y’all.

Point one: How much time does the average child spend in school, from birth to age 18? I’ll save you some math and make my point in a single digit. 9%. Children spend 9% of their childhood in school.

Yes, I know, folks will say, “Wait, you’re cheating here.” Right, I’m counting it all. Before starting school, sleeping, vacations. Can you see why? If a child comes to school utterly unprepared in kindergarten or first grade, or if a high schooler comes to the morning bell without rest, if any kid is walking in the schoolhouse door hungry and fearful — see my point?

Teachers have access to less than 10% of their students’ lives. If the other 91% is chaos, then you will have challenges in making good use of your 9%.

Knapsack: Arcades from Paris to Ohio — a pedestrian tour

Point two: Ohio’s current graduation rate is 84%; Granville’s is 98.7%. What people don’t understand is that grad rates have steadily climbed since the 1950s. Yes, increased. But many are certain our grad rates are in free fall. They are incorrect.

My grandfather was a school district superintendent. He retired in 1969, honored for successfully graduating 50% of all the students who began first grade with his district for his last decade.

My mother had the blessing and misfortune to have him as her algebra teacher, her high school principal, and knew of his challenges in a rural Illinois setting, but she reacted strongly 10 years ago hearing me make this point. “Oh no, all my classmates graduated.”

Well, he kept yearbooks most of his years as principal and superintendent, and we went to them. In the early 1950s, there were about 75 kids per grade level in elementary; after eighth grade (which held a graduation ceremony; my grandmother sent me a card and gift when I finished eighth grade in the mid-1970s and I was at the time, baffled) the class head count went to about 45, and the graduating classes ran 22 to 25 in all her years of high school.

Knapsack: You, and only you, can manage your local brush

Mom was still certain the graduation rate in her days was closer to 100% than 50%. The yearbooks show it was more like 30%; her father deserved credit for bringing that up to 50% once he was in charge.

Point three: We haven’t always educated everyone. This is related to the second point. In fact, Licking County (thanks to Eleanor Weiant) has a proud, long tradition of educating all children, even those with disabilities. That only became the law nationwide in the 1970s, and in many places wasn’t fully deployed until the 1980s. I’m not even getting into legal discrimination by race nationwide.

The reality is since the mid-1980s we are educating many, many kids our schools didn’t even formerly try to teach, or have in their buildings. Some of those situations incur costs which would stun you, but are now legal mandates (for the entity which only has them 9% of their lives).

Please consider these three points as we debate how education should operate in the challenging years ahead.

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller and preacher in central Ohio; he was also the attendance officer for Granville Schools for 16 years (long story). Tell him how you remember education at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack77 on Threads or Bluesky.

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Knapsack: Consider these facts before commenting on education

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