Let me state now that I am a teacher. I teach at Morgantown Elementary, Robert Lewis Middle School and Natchez High. I am proud of the work that I do and the tremendous efforts of my fellow educators. The great accomplishments of my students also bring me great joy, for they learn and master a discipline that very few people can.

Currently, it seems popular to place the blame for low-test scores blame solely on teachers. An administrator recently asked me, “Whose responsibility is it to teach?” I answered, “teachers.” That answer should appear obvious.

My question is: whose responsibility is it to learn? The answer to this question should also be obvious. It is the students’ responsibility to learn what is being taught and parents’ responsibility to see that their children are prepared to learn and are held accountable for their behavior.

The majority of the students we teach in the Natchez-Adams School District come to us from a culture that celebrates ignorance, defiance and criminality. These children lack even the most basic social skills and speak a language that is so far removed from common American speech that they can barely understand academic English at all. Their parents are part of the same environment.

The students I am describing make up nearly 90 percent of the student body.

I challenge anyone to give me one teaching strategy or instructional model that can counteract what I have described. Our schools are facing a cultural and societal problem that can only be addressed by the communities in which these children live.

Until students and their parents take responsibility for their education, there is little teachers can do.

Shawn Smith

Natchez resident