Pages Missing

I’m the type of individual that prefers to write over reading any day.

When I do read on my spare time, I make sure the book that I am reading is really good.

One time I purchased a used book, “Down These Mean Streets.” It was really intriguing, but there was one problem; there were missing pages.

The pages in the book that were missing forced me to skip ahead and by pass parts of the book that could have been crucial to the story.

This week I met a high school student that reminded me of the book that I once purchased with the missing pages.

However, there was a difference between her and the book; her missing pages seemed to be more valuable than those out of the book that I previously owned.

Her missing pages had the potential to alter her life for the better or the worse.

Her missing pages were purposely ripped out by others who didn’t care to see her excel.

I just want to say that I didn’t write this article to bash the educational system.

I wrote this article to raise questions about what is problematic in the educational system.

I want to be the first to say that I know many of excellent teachers and I commend them for their service to the youth.

However, there is something wrong when there are young adults entering the world and they lack the capability to write a complete sentence.

There is something terribly wrong when students are just passed along through grades without knowing the academic material they should know.

It’s time for some people to realize that by not requiring students to have certain knowledge before moving on we are ripping pages out of their books.

I know students who have missing pages who can’t communicate with those who speak proper English because all they know is Ebonics.

I know students who are limited to what mentors they have to look up to because the only one they have learned about is Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I know students who are seeking someone to inspire them; but without their pages, they can’t find inspiration.

We live in a creative generation, but creativity is something that we aren’t willing to accept when it comes to learning.

I believe that it is now time to return all of the missing pages.

If a student has an interest in film, find ways to incorporate film studies into his or her learning.

If a student loves music, give him or her something to look forward to by showing them the millions of universities that offer music as a major.

Don’t tell students that film and music are useless in life because this is not true; many of people have done great things in these arts.

Stop ripping pages out of student’s books.

Give the pages back.

Bring back the support; stop crushing dreams because of your personal opinion.

If you feel that students aren’t being challenged enough in school, then go the extra mile to make more worksheets for homework.

This is not only for teachers this is also for parents at home.

Teachers can’t give pages back; and then as soon as students return home, they get ripped back out.

My high school friend that I met this week graduates this year, so her time for getting her pages back is very short.

I wonder how many other students are in her position.

People let’s return the missing pages.

One for the week: Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said. Exodus 7:13 We can’t be like Pharaoh, we can’t have hard hearts. We must listen to each other, especially upcoming generations of the future.