Re: NY Post article

[Dorothy Tissair <dtissair@SNET.NET>]

At 03:03 PM 1/9/2002 -0600, Anne Oelke wrote:
>A George F. Will column from this past Sunday caught my eye, and had me
>nodding my head and exclaiming "Yes".  In it Will references comments by
>Paul Barton that much of the difference between average proficiency of
>various states' schools could be explained by five factors which included
>absenteeism, television watching, time reading, reading material available
>at home, and the presence of two parents in the home.  There are several
>other interesting statistics as well.  Do take the time to read it.
>http://nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/38231.htm

As a widowed mother who has now raised two male college graduates with
their names on the Dean's List, I have to take exception to Will's emphasis
on the importance of two parent families.  This is the least factor of all
those on Barton's list but Will's point of emphasis.  Neither of them
mentions the fact that several other studies have found that the greatest
indicator of a child's future academic success is the educational
achievement of the child's MOTHER.

As a matter of fact the children of educated single mothers in professional
positions, frequently out perform the children of "intact" families where
the mother did not complete college and was able to be home 24/7 with her
children.  Why?  Because the single mother has to go to work every day the
kids are far less likely to be able to stay home "sick" from school (less
absenteeism).  They are more likely to be enrolled in after-school
activities that limit their time in front of the television.  The
professional mother is more likely to set an example of reading and
studying for both work and pleasure that will be copied by her
children.  They are also at least as likely, if not more so to read to
their children from an early age.  Also, women are much more likely than
men to keep those books they have acquired through out their lives,
especially while attending college, providing their children with a wide
variety of challenging reading material in their homes.  Yes there is
little doubt that kids from homes with two educated, caring and involved
parents will have even more means available to provide broader experiences
for there children, but this is a result of having more money in the home,
not the number of parents.

There are major flaws in most of the other statistics that Will uses, as
well.  He lists the states with the highest scores on the SAT.  These
states also have far lower percentages of their students taking the test
than most states, because the ACT, not the SAT is the admission test of
choice for colleges in their region.  The amount of money per student that
a state spends on its students is generally determined by what they need to
pay teachers and that is at least partially determined by what it is going
to cost a teacher to live in that area.  Thus it costs more to provide
education for kids in D.C. than South Dakota.  I won't even discuss the
apples and oranges comparisons that are made on international tests.  I am
sure that many people are concerned about the out of wed-lock birth rate,
especially those members of religious communities.  Unfortunately, the flaw
in that statistic with regard to unwed mothers in their early twenties is
in identifying all as leaving in single parent households.  Amongst my
children's contemporaries I know of several young couples who have chosen
not to marry just to make their family "whole."  Their children are still
brought into a home where two parents live.  Even if this is not the
case,  the young women who make up this statistical group having their
first children are much more likely to have a college degree and a career
and will fit my description above.  Their younger sisters who are making
babies in their teens are a problem, but we have been making head way on
that for the last two decades.

I have now gone on far too long but I will close with the wisdom of my late
high school social studies teacher, "Love makes the world go round, but
money greases the gears."

Dorothy E. Tissair, M.L.S.
Library Media Specialist
Old Saybrook, CT  06475

dtissair@snet.net

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