IN LOCO PARENTIS

In the twenty-first century, almost half the children entering the urban public schools do not graduate - an appalling failure for the schools and for the students - who are now condemned to the insufficient choices ; poverty, crime, institutions or dependence.

The causes are myriad, and the solutions elusive. What has befallen the public schools, long considered the gateway to democracy, the stepping stone out of poverty, and the ticket to a productive life and the American Dream? When I attended elementary school in the fifties, Home and School were cooperative but separate.
The home nurtured and was responsible for the care, maintenance and welfare of the child, the school for the education of the child.

These lines have not only blurred and overlapped, but have now merged. The school now, not only attempts to educate, but in addition, has by default, taken on feeding, health, care and maintenance - before, during and after school hours. A gargantuan task, an impossible task!

It used to be, the only nonacademic services the elementary school offered were the opportunity to buy milk at recess, and the availability of a nurse for first aid and disease control. We ate breakfast at home, and brought a brown bag, or walked home for lunch. After school activities were provided by Scouts, community and settlement houses, and non-working mothers. The streets and playgrounds were safe, and children were often on their own until the the first street light came on, when children could be seen all over the neighborhood scurrying home.

All that has changed with schools assuming the overwhelming parental role for which they are neither prepared nor constituted. Their job is to teach - when that was all they did, they did it well.

Today, schools open early and stay open late to provide children with day care, and almost all inner city children qualify for free breakfast and lunch. Teachers and staff must not only nourish the body, and cultivate the mind, but socialize and civilize the child. They must provide comfort, build character, and teach right from wrong. With little training, they are the front line for diagnosing sickness, mental problems and inadequacies. School counselors and psychologists attempt to deliver therapeutic help for the emotionally imperiled or disturbed, as well as furnishing ever expanding classes for the moderate and severe learning and behavioral challenges.

Overburdened by the swelling numbers of children with fetal alcohol syndrome, damage from congenital drug residue, as well as abuse and neglect, it is no wonder that learning suffers. The schools cannot do it all - adequately.