The four legged stool

Picture a four legged stool in your mind’s eye. One of the legs stands for school, one stands for parents, another stands for business, and the fourth leg stands for community. On top of the stool are children. When the weight is equally distributed, the stool remains balanced and the children are balanced also.

Shift all the children to any one leg of the stool. Two things may happen: the stool may either break under the added weight or the children become indoctrinated in the qualities of the leg upon which they are heaped. The results either way are not wholesome and perhaps disastrous.

It is obvious from research and practical activities, that youth who become outstanding adults have achieved a balanced sense of the four legs of the stool. They become educated in school, have a respect for their parents, participate in various community improvement projects, and are engaged in a profession or trade in business. Their life is balanced.

Knowing the importance of such a balance, are all the four legs of the stool cooperating fully? Are the schools seeking assistance from businesses and receiving it? Are they sitting down with business leaders in an attempt to formulate a cooperative plan of education for youth which will facilitate youths’ transition from school to work? It appears that vocational courses are taught in the schools with little input from the actual businesses who will be hiring the graduates.

Is the community coming into the schools and actively participating in exploring the ways that youth should be oriented to the needs of the community? Is youth being exposed to the various functions of a wholesome community? Are they being asked to participate in goal formulation of the community? After all in a few years they will be adult participants.

Are the business leaders approaching the schools and offering assistance or are they waiting for the schools to ask? Has business and the Board of Education ever had a one-on-one conversation to discuss the needs of the business world and how schools can best fulfill that need? Business and educators should develop tough and specific education standards–locally determined– as the best route to academic excellence resulting in better human resources in the work field.

Parents are asked to help their children by becoming involved in their education. Perhaps more work is done on this leg of the stool than on the other two–business and community. As a result the stool is lopsided.

By combing the input of the parents, business, the community and the schools, the effort, if prolonged long enough, will make an impact on the children sitting on the stool. Schools must send out a strong message to the parents, community and the businesses that they welcome and want them to join in their effort to produce intelligent employees and good members of the community.

Someone must take the initiative and call for a meeting of the legs. Only by making a plan which reflects all aspects of a child’s character can students truly become contributing members of our community. It is easy to forget that we are all interrelated.
What affects anyone of us also affects the rest of us. The strong community shares a common goal and each member of the group contributes to achieving that goal.

To most skeptics this is an idealistic dream. But if they were to put aside their skepticism and reach out, the four legs of the stool can become balanced. Only a balanced life is a happy one. Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal. Isn’t the finest education of our youth a worthy goal?