I am not amazed at the number of teachers who leave the profession. I'm just amazed at the number who stay despite it all. Now they're going to sock it to them again. I'm referring to the changes being made to the No Child Left Behind Program, a program with laudatory goals but goals unable to be achieved in the real world in my opinion. Now, they want to change it with teachers bearing the responsibility to make it happen.
First, programs that focus on students passing some sort of competency test do not turn out educated human beings. It turns out kids capable of passing some basic test and that's about it. Witness all the kids working in retail who can't do basic math in their heads. I run into at least one every few days.
Second, if kids aren't succeeding in schools, don't look to the teachers. There are other forces at work in a child's life that should be the front line of responsibility for the child. Yes, this is an unpopular opinion, but parents are responsible for raising a child. Not the teacher, the school, or the government. Too much is expected of teachers. They no longer teach. They wear so many hats that most of them burn out within the first five years. Those who last longer than that do so because they still believe they have a calling.
I could rant all day, but just go read about this at the National Education Association. Write your representatives because this is a national issue not a local or state.
Sling Words out to compose a letter.
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