If Manchester’s public schools took a more modern approach, perhaps some of the system’s problems could be solved.

First, there needs to be more emphasis on practical and hands-on education. This is one issue raised in Leonard Sax’s book, “Boys Adrift.” He identifies three significant issues affecting boys in schools: lack of awareness of how boys learn, the over-diagnosis of ADHD (resulting in overuse of prescription drugs), and video gaming.

Gun violence, whether it is gang-related or self-inflicted, is also significant. With the constant preoccupation of this hobby, I wonder about the possibility of hunter education classes being part of the curriculum? John Harrigan, of The Union Leader, would be the perfect curriculum designer/educator. Young boys playing video games and shooting at fictional characters know nothing about tracking prey, hunting it using proper technique and equipment, dragging it back to the site to skin and prepare the meat for consumption. Lesson to be learned: guns are not for play.

Secondly, our current culture is one of high stress. This topic is critical, in need of immediate attention. Daily the media are filled with stories of people making poor decisions based on the mismanagement of stress. As a result, the community is impacted. Examples of this include a parent who caves in to violent anger from a high-maintenance child or an adult who succumbs to drugs or alcohol from factors such as unemployment, pregnancy or divorce. Someone else’s stress usually results in someone else being victimized — in small and large ways.

My daughter’s pediatrician, Chrissy Ferrerri of Pediatric Health Associates of Manchester, did a fabulous job of discussing this topic with my teenager. Ferrerri’s conversations with my daughter centered on the issue of how one manages stress in one’s life. She spoke of how an individual makes choices which can be positive or negative. Ferrerri pointed out how these choices are directly related to the individual. Good choices yield good results; bad choices yield bad results. What an intelligent conversation to have with a newly christened teen! Teens need discussions on this very topic. And it seems we could all use some coaching in this area. How does one navigate in a world so charged with so much chaos?  

Schools in the 21st century remain traditional, though significant improvements have been made since I graduated from Manchester West in 1988. Hands-on learning and attention to learning styles were two needs that were not often met for me as a student. Yet, I had the culture bred in me of the joy of learning and the importance of education from my parents, some teachers, and other adults.

School in the 21st century seems similar to the 100-year-old house: a roof is caving in in some places, the plaster on the walls is cracked and the wallpaper is peeling, but the foundation remains intact.

Schools remain surprisingly traditional in a culture that is anything but traditional. It is critical that local schools get creative, using local resources, to solve local problems plaguing our local children and affecting our local community. It’s something like the local food movement or the “Made in New Hampshire” campaigns that need to take effect in area schools.

Some of those issues need to include more education for families on the subject of good parenting and proper supervision of youth, and this is not a class distinction. All parents rich and poor, well-schooled or undereducated, could benefit from more information on this topic. Huge variations in raising and educating youth result in lack of control for so many, that by the time some students reach a certain age, the foundations are set in a way that is almost impossible to restructure.

Education should seek to encourage children to become their best throughout their days, beginning at home each morning, continuing throughout their school day, and ending with the reassurance in bed that night, that despite the day’s obstacles, they are still capable of realizing this goal again tomorrow.

Amy Rheault-Heafield is an educator and parent of three children in New Boston.