Recently I had the opportunity to attend a conference hosted by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on how to close the “Achievement Gap.” The African American Chamber of Commerce was also included in this meeting of about 200.

I must say that I was unprepared for some of the statements that were made from the dais to this group!

The President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce opened with, what I thought was an astounding statement that, “The responsibility for this achievement gap rests with the Hispanics!” This is a “Mea Culpa” that is seldom heard when it comes to this topic.

This statement was followed by a statement for a local school superintendent who said, “Schools cannot solve this problem!” This is, to me, a long overdue observation of the actual facts.

I opened the local paper this morning to one of my favorite cartoons that stated, “A new study finds that children ages 8 to 18 spend 7 hours and 38 minutes watching TV, net surfing, playing video games, and using other media each day. Even more astounding is how these kids, who obviously have no parents, afford all this stuff!”

In my personal observations of teenagers as I tutor in homes I have to agree with all of these statements. Parents seem to have “Signed out” on their teenagers. A check of the crime blotter in our local papers would suggest that many of our children are not spending their free time at the library!

What do I find in most homes and apartments where I tutor kids that are having problems with school? In spite of many of these parents clearly having limited income, there is always a flat screen and it isn’t tuned to PBS or any other educational program. Additionly in most cases there is evidence of a video entertainment device in the home. The President of the Hispanic Chamber clearly has a point that “The responsibility for the achievement gap rests with us.”

Is achievement “Poor” in our schools? Clearly there are many “Gaps” between the various cultural, racial and ethnic groups. In addition I would suggest that kids in Washington have a “Gap” between their levels of learning and those of some other parts of this country. One only has to look at some of the statistics for achievement in states such as Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Minnesota to see this. Internationally the statistics are not pretty.

It is my contention that the reasons for this aren’t that hard to identify.

1. School Districts are very reluctant to make parents aware of the actual achievement, and progress, that the students of the school district are experiencing as they always want to “Put a Positive Light” on the “Progress” of the district. Phrases such as “All means All” are, when the bare statistics are looked at, not a realistic appraisal of the actual situation. Schools are very reluctant to make it clear to parents that their child is not progressing according to plans, as this might “Stress” a parent!

2. Parents are either indifferent, or lulled, by the “Positives” that they keep getting from the schools. Only since No Child Left Behind has their even been an easily understood measurement of actual achievement in an individual school. This doesn’t seem to motivate most parents to take an active part in either improving the situation or removing their child from the school. Most of our School Board have taken these steps for their children. They know the realities of this somewhat better than most parents.

3. Parents are reluctant, or not aware of, the basic facts of parenting. It now seems to be so easy to just satisfy the child rather than insist on learning when learning becomes “too hard.” Distractions from flat screens, to game-boys, to I-Pods, to cell phones have now taken over the lives of many of the children who are not making satisfactory achievement.

Let us take to task the words of the President of the Hispanic Chamber, “We are responsible for the achievement gap,” and the words of the Superintendent of one of our largest school districts who said, “We cannot solve this problem alone.”

Let’s begin the next school year with a “Shot over the Bow” to all parents that success in our schools is a matter should become a higher priority for them if they want their children to be successful education-wise.