In what other profession... - David Reber, Topeka K-12 Examiner
I'm going to step out of my usual third-person writing voice for a moment. As a parent I received a letter last week from the Kansas State Board of Education, informing me that my children's school district had been placed on "improvement" status for failing to meet "adequate yearly progress" under the No Child Left Behind law.
I thought it ironic that our schools were judged inadequate by people who haven't set foot in them, so I wrote a letter to my local newspaper. Predictably, my letter elicited a deluge of comments in the paper's online forum. Many remarks came from armchair educators and anti-teacher, anti-public school evangelists quick to discredit anything I had to say under the rationale of "he's a teacher." What could a teacher possibly know about education?
Countless arguments used to denigrate public school teachers begin with the phrase "in what other profession..." and conclude with practically anything the anti-teacher pundits find offensive about public education. Due process and collective bargaining are favorite targets, as are the erroneous but tightly held beliefs that teachers are under-worked, over-paid (earning million-dollar pensions), and not accountable for anything.
In what other profession, indeed...
I thought it ironic that our schools were judged inadequate by people who haven't set foot in them, so I wrote a letter to my local newspaper. Predictably, my letter elicited a deluge of comments in the paper's online forum. Many remarks came from armchair educators and anti-teacher, anti-public school evangelists quick to discredit anything I had to say under the rationale of "he's a teacher." What could a teacher possibly know about education?
Countless arguments used to denigrate public school teachers begin with the phrase "in what other profession..." and conclude with practically anything the anti-teacher pundits find offensive about public education. Due process and collective bargaining are favorite targets, as are the erroneous but tightly held beliefs that teachers are under-worked, over-paid (earning million-dollar pensions), and not accountable for anything.
In what other profession, indeed...
Michigan Republicans: Let's Privatize Public School Teaching by Andy Kroll (Mother Jones)
In Michigan, a state perennially crippled by budget deficits, public school districts across the state have already outsourced their bus drivers, cafeteria workers, sports coaches, and janitors to try and save money. Now Republicans in Michigan's state Legislature want to take the outsourcing frenzy one giant leap forward by privatizing public school teaching.
Michigan Republican Sen. Phil Pavlov, who chairs the state Senate's education committee, is preparing legislation that would allow public school districts to hire teachers through private, for-profit companies. Privatizing the hiring process would presumably allow school districts to bypass compensation packages sought by teachers unions and let private companies compete for contracts with districts... (Read the rest)
Michigan Republican Sen. Phil Pavlov, who chairs the state Senate's education committee, is preparing legislation that would allow public school districts to hire teachers through private, for-profit companies. Privatizing the hiring process would presumably allow school districts to bypass compensation packages sought by teachers unions and let private companies compete for contracts with districts... (Read the rest)
"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope." - Robert Francis Kennedy
West Virginia learns Finland's "most honorable profession": Teacher
(CNN) When newly minted West Virginia Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven Paine told parents, teachers and educators in 2005 that he wanted to use Finland as a model for their education system, he got a lot of blank stares: Finland? What, people asked does West Virginia have to do with Finland?
The Contrast couldn't be more stark. In West Virginia, many children face poverty, illiteracy and broken homes and lack easy access to health care or proper nutrition.
Finland has a largely literate and relatively homogeneous population, little immigration and almost no poverty or social problems. They also offer a vast network of social supports including free meals and health care for school children. (READ THE REST)
The Contrast couldn't be more stark. In West Virginia, many children face poverty, illiteracy and broken homes and lack easy access to health care or proper nutrition.
Finland has a largely literate and relatively homogeneous population, little immigration and almost no poverty or social problems. They also offer a vast network of social supports including free meals and health care for school children. (READ THE REST)