Teachers are asking the Wrong Questions

...of the wrong people.

A former classmate I've mine posted a link to a blog post in which a Kansas teacher was expressing his discontent over what he felt was the overreach and unreasonable expectations of the federal government in regards to school systems and teachers.

I don't mean to invalidate all of his queries. He raises some very good points. It is very difficult to make assessments when it comes to teachers -- one can't know exactly what each and every teacher faces every day with each individual child and their specific needs.

Sincerely -- no offense to the 90% of good teachers who are working so hard and for whom I am extremely grateful, but I think he is asking the wrong questions to the wrong target audience. The main question, which should be asked of the teachers' unions, is: In what other profession do you not have to pay consequences for poor results?

 

This commentary by Bill and Melinda Gates -- champions of effective education -- is a worthy read regarding this topic...

Yes, teachers all are dealing with so much, and can only do so much -- the fact remains: If school districts were able to fire the worst 10% of instructors, we wouldn't be posing these questions -- because our students' performance would be back at globally competitive levels.  That is, good teachers would have easier jobs -- would be able to achieve their goals more easily -- without having to first "fix" the damage/neglect done by the bad teachers.

Now, of course, this is not an easy task, evaluating which teachers need to go. Teaching is a noble profession, but it is not for everyone. We all need to stand up to the unions' refusal to accept any kind of standards in order to remain employed. Don't allow good teachers (who happened to be hired after the bad teachers) to lose their jobs -- let go of the "lemons" first, not the ones with the shortest employment. 

It's a win-win for the students -- and the good teachers that are so essential to their success!

Comments

[BurchPamela]

I opine that to receive the personal loans from banks you should have a great reason. But, once I have received a auto loan, because I wanted to buy a building.