#9 Seventeen-Year-Old First Grader

As the day breaks, mother would tell him three times to get up and get dressed. It wasn't until the waterfall flowing down from the cup of motivation she held, did it dawn on him she meant business. After getting dressed and eating breakfast, she'd help him get his things together and see him off to school. The school day started with calendar and phonics. It would progress into story telling time and then math using apples and oranges the teacher brought. When it came to reading, he'd let his mind wander and hide any frustrations he had by staying quiet. When is first grade ever going to end?

Could this have been the story of Antonio Rocha's life? I don't know. But if tested by the Mythbusters, I'd say it'd be "plausible." The reason being, he was a 17-year-old young adult who could not read past a 1st grade level. That is until he sued New York City school to pay for tutoring. My guess is that it took the dawn of a new day, one with bleak job opportunities for an illiterate person, to light the fire in this boy and his family.

Have you ever been embarrassed as an educator that the system has let one slip through the cracks? What if you had taught him at some point and found out he couldn't read as a 17-year-old student? I could speak for anyone who taught him and say I'd be a tad embarrassed. But should we really be embarrassed? Why did he move from one New York school to another throughout his education? I know that new students who enter even the best schools do not get fully assessed immediately upon arrival and are assumed to be literate anywhere above 4th grade level, typically. This is especially the case when students, parents, or former schools do not update the new teachers and district of the progress or lack of progress this new student has had over the years. Sometimes those cumulative folders take three weeks to arrive at the student's new school if they ever do at all. By that time, people like Antonio are moving on to another school or district, only to avoid the truth if not anything else.

Fortunately, or maybe not so fortunate, Antonio works for the U.S. Postal Service currently and has the fundamentals of reading. Who's to blame in his lack of education? Well, if the New York City School District actually moved him around from 11 schools on purpose, for whatever reason, I'd say they are to blame. The advocacy group and Antonio's lawyers would agree with that probably. The story isn't told. However, if it was his family who moved him around and he didn't confront his teachers year-after-year about his illiteracy, I'd say the family is to blame. Who's responsibility is it really?

If I hadn't taken initiative and figured out exactly what I supposed to complete or what I was exempt from completing, I'd never have taught. Nobody helped me figure out how to teach in California after having my education in North Dakota and a certificate in Washington as well. When I once considered living in Connecticut, the same held true. I actually had to inform the Connecticut State credential department exactly how the "and/or" statement written into their requirements meant I didn't have to actually complete that 5th year of studies, which would have set me back over $85,000. It took my persistence and three phone calls to clear it up. Why don't more people take initiative and take responsibility for their own actions or inactions? Why did it take Antonio Rocha finally, after having the bleak prospect of unemployment lines or digging ditches, want what was granted to him for free, education? Do you think the school systems should be held liable for peoples' lack of will power, drive, and determination to be successful?

Even with all that considered, the embarrassment would come over me like a wave had I taught this boy at some point. What kind of teacher allows his student to slip through the cracks? Did the teachers Antonio have ever actually require him to perform anything in their classes? How does this sort of thing happen?