Page 4 — Thursday, July 1, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
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Devoted to the interests of Barry County since 1856
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News and press releases: [email protected] • Advertising: [email protected]Subscription Rates: $52 per year in Barry County
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Hastings, MI 49058-
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at Hastings, MI 49058- NEWSROOM •
Rebecca Pierce (Editor)
Kathy Maurer (Copy Editor)
Brett Bremer (Sports Editor) - ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT •
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8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Frederic Jacobs
Publisher & CEOHank Schuuring
CFOScott Ommen
Mike GilmoreTy Greenfield
Jennie YonkerGreg Chandler
Benjamin Simon Taylor OwensRead-or-flunk law could
hold back third-graders
Adults are lucky they’re not being blamed
and punished for their reading skills like
Michigan third graders. Thousands of
families with third graders got a letter this
summer stating their child may have flunked
last year because he or she is not reading up
to level.
It makes me wonder about the reading
abilities of our legislators in Lansing who
came up with this cockeyed “Read by Grade
Three” plan signed into law in October 2016
to be implemented this fall. They can’t
write, that’s for sure.
The law says third graders who aren’t
proficient on the M-SET assessment test
and don’t read proficiently can be held back
to repeat the grade when school resumes for
the new academic year. In 2016, the law
seemed like a good idea to many. Reliable
data shows that a child who cannot read at
grade level by third grade is four times less
likely to graduate high school than a third
grader who does read at grade level.
Also disturbing are the Michigan
Department of Education statistics
indicating that nearly 55 percent of third
grade students failed the state’s M-SET test
with only a slight improvement over last
year’s test results. That number may be low
because, due to the COVID-19 pandemic
and the difficulties and confusion with
virtual learning, many third graders haven’t
even taken the M-SET test or their parents
may have exercised an option to excuse
their child from being tested. More than the
3,477 families of third graders who received
the department’s “notice of failure” may yet
receive one.
So here we are with another education
dilemma. Michigan has invested more than
$100 million in early literacy support since
these third graders entered kindergarten and
we still can’t be assured that our students
are on the right path to some level of
achievement. What has gone wrong?
One thing that has certainly gone haywire
is a group of lawmakers who, with their
brilliant “Read by Grade Three” plan, are
suggesting they can fix learning problems
better than professional educators.
This law is nothing more than the old
political game of shifting responsibility and
blaming the victims. Teachers and
administrators who understand the hearts
and feelings of a third grader, though, are
pushing back.
Michigan’s top school leader, state
Superintendent Michael Rice, has criticized
the law, saying retention is not an effective
tool for academic growth. Across the state,
school superintendents say they have no
plans to hold students back. They’re
planning on working with parents to use
exemptions because of the extraordinary
circumstances due to COVID online
learning.
As with any issue, it’s easy to point
fingers or throw more money at the problem
but, with Michigan’s students ranking so
low, it’s imperative we find some answers.
Children who can’t read, though, are not
going to get better because legislators told
them they are bad.
It reminds me of a story former U.S.
Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development Ben Carson liked to tell and
the lesson it holds for all of us adults in
attacking this reading deficit. Carson often
commented about his early life of growing
up in poverty, raised by a single mom in
Detroit.
Carson’s mother was a domestic worker,
cleaning houses for people who had lots of
books around their homes. She concluded
that reading just might be the answer for her
boys in giving them the hope they needed to
be good students. So, she turned off the
television and sent the boys to the local
library. Their job was to read two books a
week and submit a written book report to
her.
What the boys didn’t realize at the time
was that their mother was illiterate, but she
marked up the reports as it she had read
them. In a short amount of time, Carson wasable to go from the bottom of his class to the
top, to a life as a surgeon and political
leader. Reading helped change the way he
felt about himself and the people around
him.
“You can do anything you want to do,”
Carson said. “Don’t just sit around and
bemoan the fact that things aren’t going
well. Use the circumstance to get where you
want to go.”
It’s imperative that parents, grandparents
and guardians get the message to their kids
that it’s important to read. You can travel the
world, learn about famous people, be anyone
you want and find true enjoyment in the
pages of a book.
Despite the disturbing reports and the
large amount of money Michigan continues
to pour into trying to push up the numbers,
the biggest roadblock to progress appears to
be personal irresponsibility and the lack of
parenting skills needed to build self-worth
and impact the role reading will play in a
child’s development. There’s no question
that COVID and virtual learning has affected
students in all grades, but hard work and
dedication is the message we should be
promoting to our students and parents.
Promoting the importance of reading will
help students realize what heights they can
achieve. Plus, research shows that increased
family engagement can improve important
educational outcomes, such as grades,
attendance and graduation. In reality, the
work must start before third grade if we
expect to see any measurable results in the
coming years. First, we must engage parents
by getting them more involved in their
children’s education. They are on the front
lines and have the most responsibility for
their children’s future.
After spending millions and seeing little
improvement in the process, we should all
agree that a different approach is needed.
Rafe Esquith, a retired teacher from Hobart
Elementary School in one of Los Angeles’
worst school districts, found one. A banner
in Esquith’s classroom read: “There are no
shortcuts,” and his students became a
testament to the power of his philosophy.
His classroom was filled with kids who
spoke English as a second language, and
grew up in neighborhoods where violence
and despair were the norm.
Esquith’s view is “learning isn’t easy and
it shouldn’t be.” Success, he believes, comes
from “a strong work ethic and from
dedication and perseverance on the part of
children, teachers and parents alike.”
Esquith stresses the value of sacrifice, the
importance of staying true to yourself, and
the danger that television and technology
can pose to growing young minds. He said
he learned how to make children not just
great students, but thoughtful and honorable
people as well.
If Michigan wants the “read-or-flunk”
legislation to work, then it must create a
culture of learning at all ages and implore
parents to read to their kids at an early age
and to foster an interest in reading to all.
Flunking more than 3,000 third graders
won’t solve the problem – and it could put
Michigan taxpayers on the hook for more
than $24 million because of the extra year
those students would be in the K-12 system,
money that could be spent on early childhood
education, lower early elementary class
sizes, one-on-one tutors for children in
need, and diverse classroom reading
materials.
“Education is the most powerful weapon
you can use to change the world,” Nelson
Mandela said.
If America expects to compete in the
future, we won’t make the grade by settling
for middle-of-the-pack results. We must
focus more of our attention on what’s going
on in our classrooms and be willing to set
standards that will allow our students greater
achievement.Fred Jacobs, CEO,
J-Ad Graphics Inc.On patrol
Banner June 9, 1955
County officers – Since April, Barry
County has had “around the clock”
protection from the county sheriff’s
department, with one officer in one of
the two county-owned cars practically all
the time. Here (from left) are the full-time
officers: Deputy Garold Mahler, Sheriff
Clarence Donovan, Undersheriff Hazen
Gray, Deputy Danny Ritter and Deputy
Theo Bera, license examiner. Not
pictured is the night turnkey, Clare
Corson. Other deputies in the various
communities are subject to call.On the last day of eighth grade, a student
asked the teacher, Mr. Smith, a question: If
he wasn’t a teacher, what would be his job?
Joel Smith hesitated. If he wasn’t a
teacher? He muttered something about
playing soccer, but, in reality, Smith said he
had never thought about a profession outside
of education.
It wasn’t like Smith came from a line of
teachers. Living in Fenton, a suburb of Flint,
both parents worked for General Motors ––
his dad as a tool and die worker, his mom in
the administrative office. But since fifth
grade, Smith has wanted to be a teacher, and
he hasn’t wavered.
It all started with Mr. Morgan, Smith’s
fifth-grade teacher. He was a funny person
who created an environment where students
were up and moving at all times.
“I kind of looked at him teaching and I
was like, ‘Man that looks like it’d be a lot of
fun,’” he said.
So, Smith went to college, studied English
and psychology at the University of
Michigan-Flint and then received a master of
education from Marygrove College. He took
a job not far from his home, teaching English/
language arts courses at Linden Middle
School, where he stayed for 11 years.
But even as he taught courses on books
like “And Then There Were None” and
“Fahrenheit 451,” he began moving to a
different realm of the education world: the
administrative side. He sat on curriculum
committees and served as the head of the
English department at Linden. When an
assistant principal job opened up at Hastings
High School, he jumped at the opportunity,
moved to the other side of the state and
transitioned to small-town life. He has
remained in the area ever since.“We like it way better out here,” Smith
said. “It’s just the small-town feel. Everyone
knows everyone. Everyone’s just nice and
kind. We fell in love with the area.”
Smith spent two years with the Hastings
Area Schools before taking a job as the
principal at Maple Valley’s Maplewood
School in 2020. He didn’t stay at Maplewood
long. Just a few weeks ago, Smith was hired
as the high school principal and curriculum
director.
“I do really like the high school feel. ... I
have a real strong passion for working with
all the grade levels in curriculum work,”
Smith said.
Smith, 38, started his job at Maplewood
“smack dab right in the middle of COVID,”
he said. Now, at Maple Valley Jr./Sr. HighSchool, he’s trying to get up to speed. He’s
trying to better streamline the curriculum
through the district and acclimate himself to
a new school.
“Working on making relationships with
people and connecting with people,” he said,
“... it’s just a little bit harder when you’re
meeting someone via screen. I’m more of a
face-to-face-type person. I like to, you know,
shake hands, say ‘Hi,’ meet, get to know
people that way.”
In addition to spending time with his three
girls, his new role has made for some hectic
days. He moved into his new office a few
weeks ago, but he has no photos or personal
items around him. He hasn’t found the time
to decorate just yet.
“It’s two big jobs, so it keeps me busy,”
Smith said. “So that’s why there’s still
pictures over at Maplewood, but we’ll get to
that when we get a chance.”
For his work in education, Joel Smith is
this week’s Banner Bright Light.
Favorite movie: “The Empire Strikes
Back.”
Person I’m glad to have met: My wife,
Kay.
Favorite TV show: “The Office.”
Book I’d recommended: The Bible.
Best invention ever: The toilet.
Hobbies: For fun, I enjoy spending time
with my wife and kids, reading, watching
movies, playing video and board games, and
traveling.
Each week, the Banner profiles a person who
makes the community shine. Do you know
someone who should be featured because of
volunteer work, fun-loving personality, for the
stories he or she has to tell or any other reason?
Send information to Newsroom, Hastings Banner,
1351 N. M-43 Highway, Hastings, MI 49058; or
email [email protected].Joel SmithUnder water
After the heavy rainfall this past weekend, Tyden Park is
looking more like a lake than a park with a river right now. Cityof Hastings Director of Public Services Travis Tate said there is
nothing the city can do to lessen the flooding. “We allow nature
to do the receding,” he said. Until then, the gate at Tyden Park
is closed. (Photo by Scott Harmsen)