Pain, Frustrations, and a bit of K-12 Standards

It has been a rough day.  I worked all day today, which I enjoy immensely, but at the same time I am tired.  I have started to notice that my left knee is also starting to give me pain.  As a matter of fact, it is swollen as I am writing. 
Today, my task was to type into a word document Writing Standards from 1st Grade through 12th grade from the State of California.  Rewarding experience, but an eye opener.  It was sad to see that some students, which I tutor, are struggling with certain concepts, concepts that were supposed to be learned and at least by Eighth grade, granted these are college students.  I am not blaming the students, I am blaming our education system.  These are students that were, technically, part of the "No Child Left Behind" bill, and yet they are struggling with 6th grade writing standards. 
I find it funny they get frustrated because we are going through some of these concepts in class.  The students label it as "kid stuff" or "garbage." Well, student! if you had applied yourself and learned these standards when you were supposed to, we wouldn't be having this argument now, would we? But I digress.  Like I was saying it is not entirely the students fault.  Some instructors point out that there are a select few number of students that fall through the cracks, but there are students that graduate high school that don't know many of these core standards. 
I'm not asking for perfection, nor am I asking for someone to take the blame.  I am just asking you to think about this for a while.  We, in the educational field, are not all focusing on the same concerns, or have the same agenda.  We should all focus on the student.  It is the student who needs the help, it is the student who is struggling.  Here is the frustration. 

When I started going through these standards, I felt a little robbed of my education.  I did not learn all that needed be learned while in the K-12 system, granted, I started school in the U.S. in 6th grade.  Coming from Mexico, I had a lot of catching up to do, but I am here, an Imperial Valley College Graduate and a year away from finishing my Undergraduate work in English Literature and Theatre Arts.  I may not be perfect, but at least I am aware of these problems.  I try to address them and so should you. 

Ask yourself these questions?

Do you know what a simple sentence is? What about a complex? What about a compound sentence? What about a compound-complex sentence?  If you don't - that is something that was supposed to be learned in 6th grade. 
I understand, also, that not every student out there is a student in English, but as a student, one writes reports, research papers, assessments, etc. In which the English Language Arts Standards are important. 

I am using this venue as a way to vent.  I'm still in pain, I'm a bit frustrated, but I am really saddened really.  To see students that are struggling and really need the help, but a summer session is not really enough to help all. 

I could keep writing, but I think I would get more frustrated...

Until next time.

Adieu.