San Marcos — School is getting back into full swing. It is obvious to the resident San Marcan that a new set of freshmen has joined the crowd at Texas State University. Yellow school buses are a regular sight around town morning and afternoon. Football is in the air, figuratively and literally. That means that fall cannot be far off and before we know it we will once again be in the holiday season.

The late Bob Murphy, the wit of Nacogdoches, told a great football story. It seems their high school team had played a string of losing seasons and the coach's job was on the line. They played their first game of the new season against a powerhouse from Tyler and at halftime were behind 56-0. On the way to the locker room the coach found himself beside the opposing coach who put his arm around him and said, "You know, Bill, your team telegraphs every play. You never will win a game until you stop doing that. We know exactly who will carry the ball every time."

"How?" asked the befuddled coach.

"Well," said the opponent, "I shouldn't tell you this but I really feel badly for you. All we have to do is watch your backfield before the ball is snapped. There are four guys back there; one is white as a sheet and the other three are giggling."

I suppose just about everyone is concerned about the state of education in our nation. A few years ago Lucile and I operated a business working with students who are having a hard time progressing. We have seen it all. We have worked with college graduates who were unable to write a meaningful memo, high school graduates reading at or below the second grade level and graduating college seniors who admit that in their entire school experience they have never read an entire book.

This is not intended to be critical of the professional men and women who teach and who administer our school system. I believe they are, for the most part, very professional and totally committed to their task. We have provided facilities and books. We, the citizens, have probably not provided the encouragement to them we should. All too often our only contact has been to criticize in the pages of the Daily Record. I believe it is time we stop being critical and begin to offer our help in solving the problem.

Involvement of parents is one of the key ingredients. Children need to know that their education is important enough for mother and dad to get involved, to care about their progress. They need to recognize that good teachers will let them know when their child needs help and that a call from the teacher is not a criticism of either their parenting ability or of the child. Go and talk to the teacher; find out what is needed and be a partner in the solution.

Money is not the solution to our school problems. Government regulation and mandate are not the answer. We will have only as good schools as we, the citizens, are willing to support and serve. It is easy to criticize; it is much harder to give of our time to make a better school. It is also much more rewarding when you share in the educational experience of your children and grandchildren. You never get too old to get involved in the education of the next generation. It is a cliche but it is true, they are our future. Life's like that.

             

Jerry Bullock has written his weekly column for the Daily Record for more than 20 years. Jerry is a retired Air Force colonel, an ordained Baptist minister, professional counselor, military historian, speaker and writer.