Image via Wikipedia One of the three R's is racism. It isn't accidental that minorities don't do as well as white students. Economics are just a good way to cover up prejudice.When a teacher says it is all about the kids and in the same sentence complains they don't make enough money, which do you think they care about more. The rallying call is always the kids, but it's all about their agenda.
The excuse " we have the neediest kids", is a cop out. Teachers use this excuse to explain why half the kids can't read, write, or do math. The fact is that if you translate this into every day language, it means don't expect needy kids to learn. Don't expect a child who lives in poverty to succeed. It isn't likely they will. Who do you think they spend their time teaching.
Testing is not a fair way to measure how kids are doing in school. In elementary school kids are no longer tested, so they either sink or swim when they are given a standardized test. We shouldn't have to teach kids so they can pass a test. Maybe the reason that these kids drop out of middle school and high school is that they use testing there.
When a kid comes into school, they have already heard that they aren't likely to succeed if their population source hasn't been succeeding historically. Kids talk. Bigger kids talk to younger kids. Brothers and sisters talk. The bottom line is that they know what the expectations are for them when they walk into kindergarten. The whole education system has spent decades broadcasting this message to generations of kids. Surprise we have illiterate,kids who don't have math skills.
For decades we have sent the message that we have low expectations for certain populations of kids. Teachers know which kids they have to spend their time on to keep their jobs.
I spent thirteen years in education and I can tell you about teachers who handed kids books and said read this and do it. I can tell you about the odd teacher who did her clothes shopping while a teaching assistant watched the kids. I can tell you a hell of a lot more too.
Teachers are paid what they are worth. Actually more than they are worth for the number of kids that actually leave school prepared to go on to college. What would you pay an employee that had a 46% success rate. Oh that's right they couldn't keep a job with you.
The old trick of trotting out ten good teachers to show that they are persecuted doesn't cut it any more. For those ten I bet they could trot out a thousand that couldn't house train their cats. Let alone, educate a child.
We spend upwards of a trillion dollars a year on a basic college prep education. Over the years we have thrown good money after bad while people who home school their kids seem to succeed more often and get better result with out any tax dollars. There is definitely a problem when someone who has their own income to educate their kids can get better results than a system that spends so much. Of course we have to have stadiums for the kids to play sports and money for uniforms. A winning sports program obviously out weighs a real education.
Lets hand them more money it has worked so well.
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