It's not just pulling for Oklahoma students to succeed. It's everyone pulling together

The etymology of the term “heave-ho” has its nautical roots where the most efficient way of pulling a line is done so as a team. It is also a strategy used by a smart tug-of-war team. The physics is clear. Collective strength is maximized when exerted in unison. Let me emphasize — “in unison.” Nobody can pull to the drum of a different beat.

In my first column last summer, I mentioned that for our kids to get the education they deserve and need, “all the adults in the room” need to pitch in. Success is an achievable moonshot whereas parents, office workers, cafeteria workers, custodians, teachers, counselors, deans, principals and district officials must work together.

But what I failed to specify was that the adults need to heave-ho as a team.

Unless you have been living under a rock, the a.) largest institution that is b.) failing miserably, c.) at an important mission is public education. And yet, while almost everyone agrees there are problems, very few admit they are part of the problem.

What I find most disturbing is that many adults want to place blame on the kids. If I hear the word “snowflake” one more time, I’m going to have a meltdown. Since when is it OK for adults to call kids names?

While responsibility and accountability are important, adults need to acknowledge that misbehavior is not a result of self-combustion like the universe’s big bang. I would argue that through either neglect, abuse or helicoptering, adults created our kids, and it’s those same adults who are allowing bad performance and behavior to persist.

The public school system is almost militaristic with a defined rank and file. There exists a hierarchical pecking order like none other that I’ve experienced in previous careers. A lot of butt-kicking is directed downstream.

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When things get tough, the state schools superintendent kicks the districts. District leaders kick campus administration. And administration kicks the teachers. Somewhere in the mix are parents, who are also kicking into a crossfire.

Last fall, when I had 180 students on my rolls, only six parents showed up at open house night. "Res ipsa loquitur" — the thing speaks for itself! Parents, your shift is from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. and all day on weekends, holidays and summer. At those times, schools have no say-so as to diet, exercise, sleep time, homework and device time.

The quality of the raw materials (the kids) that you send to the factory (the schools) is on you.

Schools have an equally large and important responsibility ― to use public funds to transform those raw materials into a useful product that will make for a better world.

Recently my beloved Oklahoma State University fired its men’s basketball coach. Almost everyone in Cowboy Nation said the same thing, “He’s a great guy, but he hasn’t produced.”

I’m not recommending mass firings. But I am suggesting the team is losing, and the status quo is failing the future of Oklahoma.

On its standardized tests, my school scored lower than the district’s average. My district scored lower than the state average. And … wait for it … according to U.S. News and World Report, Oklahoma’s K-12 schools ranked 48th — ahead of Alaska and New Mexico.

In closing, all I can say is that Alaska and New Mexico have their sights on Oklahoma’s back. So now, more than ever, is the time to heave-ho.

The moon is still within reach!

In the words of former NASA flight director Gene Kranz, “Failure is not an option.”

K. John Lee worked last year as a teacher in Tulsa Public Schools.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma students' success means educators, teachers working as a team