Jags, I appreciate this sentiment. Certainly teachers are frustrated daily when decisions are made by either folks who have spent no time in the classroom, or by folks who have done poorly in the classroom so they are promoted to administrative roles. I have many ~subversive~ ideas about education and they include more body movement, more integration of subjects, more relationships with industry, more access to pertinent equipment, and less testing.
You have some kind of personal issues here so I’m going to suggest you go get a beer or take a hot bath. Reading my replies won’t help, so I’m not writing them for you. I’m clarifying for others who might buy your slanted hyperbole. I do suggest you visit a local school and spend some time in a classroom so you can make some more realistic observations. At this job, it is impossible to “go through the motions” when you deal with upwards of 200 people and make thousands to millions of personal interactions every day.
Poor teachers can and do get fired. The protection that teachers get is only to provide them with due process. In other words, you cannot fire someone just because you want to hire a cheaper newer teacher. You have to show cause. Merit pay is idealistic, but difficult to qualify. How do you compare the biology teacher to the media specialist? How do you compare the Speech pathologist to the math teacher? Additionally, how do your account for the teachers in the low income areas whose kids score poorly. I have taught in inner city Los Angeles. I have taught at more affluent schools. Same teacher. Same subject. Far different scores. In the end, testing companies are making buckets of money with the same tax dollars you abhor putting towards a teacher salary.
Schools don’t label kids with ADHD. Ever. This comes from an outside doctor referral.
My kids spend far, far more time listening to the political views of their peers (and therefore- peers parents) than they ever hear about mine. This is true across the board, though there are certainly exceptions.
The vast majority of parents send kids to their neighborhood school, even when there is a choice. The statistics do not support your assertion that if parents can, they place their kids in a different school. If It’s one of the reason free charter schools become more like a private school. But that’s a topic for another day.
Many of my students drive their own brand new cars past the private school every day on their way to my public school. I've talked to many parents who are very pleased with the switch from private school. I would venture to say that, with a few exceptions, parents have been pleased with the teachers and the schools at which I’ve worked. Heck, I learn and grow every single day when surrounded by the thinkers and doers that I work with. The private schools do have the advantage of smaller numbers and families who value education. They don’t waste time with kids who have special needs or behavior issues. I went to a little catholic school and, well, that’s a story for another time.
It’s true that NC has lower property taxes than other areas. Most other costs-to-live are about the same.
It’s disingenuous to assert that the economy has not impacted teachers. If you have been paying any attention at all, you might have noticed that cuts have changed the climate of education in the last five years.
US schools are not failing. (broken link removed to https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/97oct/fail.htm)
Of course whenever I bring up my own story, these things never apply to me. Just these other elusive terrible and greedy teachers. The ones we are so focused on that we are going to miss our pockets getting picked.
