I am a sixth-grade mathematics teacher in a rural school nestled in the beautiful hills of Steuben County. This is my sixth year teaching and I am so passionate about students having the opportunity to achieve academically that I built my mathematics curriculum from scratch two years ago.

I have written six mathematic units built with the New York state standards as the foundation and appropriate assessments that show key indicators for modifying the program to fit each grade it services.

Analyzing the assessments has provided vital information for teaching to the students at their level. So I know how to reach my students. The problem is not a lack of trying on my part.

The problem seems to be a lack of wanting to try on the students' part. Parents seem helpless in dealing with this problem.

Students are apathetic when it comes to trying and there is no clear reason why. It is the topic of conversation at many lunch tables in many schools.

Teachers in surrounding schools tell me that they are discussing the same issue. Teachers are being told by state policymakers that students are capable of meeting state standards.

With all that is expected of students in all the curricula, a school culture is developing: "Give me (the student) the answer you (the teacher) want, because I am not going to spend one minute thinking on my own." That innate desire to have a true understanding of a task at hand is reserved for an elite few.

This idea that it will take "quality teachers" to fix the problem of low-achieving students must come from those who have absolutely no understanding of the current classroom culture. Quality teachers are working. We need to look in another direction.

Is anyone looking into how standards are matched with cognitive development? That may be the problem. There is a ridiculous amount of coaxing and encouraging students to practice skill-building.

Somehow, society needs to put real meaning on the school day of a child.

For example if an adult took the time to walk in the shoes of a middle-school student going from class to class with high expectations for academic achievement at every turn, some understanding might be gained.

Are the students capable of meeting all of the state standards? Yes they are capable. It may seem a bit extreme, but I have a good example of capability not matching cognitive ability.

Girls who are 9, 10 and 11 years old are capable of having a baby; but are they cognitively ready? They are not!

As students progress through the grades, the combined concepts and skills they are expected to practice become more integrated and complicated.

The cognitive development of our youth may not be ready for the expectations of New York state policymakers at each grade level. Even the students with the innate desire to gain a truer understanding of the lessons presented by the teachers are crying out for time to "play with friends."

Teachers are not afforded the opportunity to interact on a social level because it's all about remediation for the population of students who are not ready for "the test."

It seems like the innocence of our youth is the price we may be paying with all kinds of behavior problems resulting from the standards pressure.

It's not that educators should expect less of the educational system; however, it seems that the expectations that have been set by the state standards should be more in alignment with the cognitive abilities of students to reach a mastery level before time runs out and it is time to move on to the next grade level.

My father is from the generation dubbed "the greatest generation" because of the level of education he and his contemporaries received. In conversations with my father, he does not give the complete credit for his education to his teachers in the school; he gives partial credit to his parents and home life.

As a child, he grew up developing a creative mind where he had to think independently to do simple things like "playing." He used mathematics and science to fabricate toys and to build forts.

Plus, he was expected to help work around the farm, where he used more math and science to do chores and help maintain equipment.

The same idea holds true with my mother; she used mathematics to help her mom cook. Today, students' home life is quite different.

They live in a time when everything is pre-mixed, pre-measured, completely assembled or little assembly required and no thinking required.

There is absolutely no thinking required before students get to the part of gratification.

Debra McCutcheon, who teaches in Andover, is a member of Canisteo-Greenwood Education Association.