Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, a parent in Bloomington, Indiana, posted the following “rant” (as she calls it) on her Facebook page. She is one of the parents who is outraged by Governor Pence’s unrelenting attack on State Superintendent Glenda Ritz, who was elected in 2012 with more votes than Governor Pence. She is a member of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education. The great majority of parents—Democrats, Republicans, and independents–send their children to public schools, not to charters or voucher schools. They see clearly what the Governor and the Legislature are up to: the destruction of their community’s public schools. They know what is behind it: money, campaign contributions from private interests who will profit by the proliferation of for-profit charters. And they are furious that their votes for Ritz have been disregarded by Pence and his allies.
Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer writes:
“Governor Pence has swooped down on his white horse and hat to right the wrongs of the ISTEP. You have got to be kidding me.
Fixed ISTEP?
Yes. The same way that dissolving his secondary department of education at the start of this session (CREATED BY HIS OWN EXECUTIVE ORDER WASTING MILLIONS OF OUR HARD-EARNED TAX DOLLARS) “FIXED” the troubles with Ritz and the SBOE.
Governor Pence has created both problems and then somehow gets credit for finding solutions. Heck, he doesn’t need his own state-run newspaper. He’s got a confused unaware citizenry.
It was the pressure of his constituency and that of the super majority that made them PASS A LAW TO STOP COMMON CORE AND CREATE NEW STATE STANDARDS. Yes, the feds require college and career ready standards. So give up the waiver already. Democrats, Republicans– these are corporate education reformers we are talking about and they are not doing ANY OF THIS FOR YOUR KIDS. It is all about the money.
Glenda Ritz put together new state standards by including as many of the players she could and being sure that she was including all of the many standards that the supermajority, SBOE and governor required of her. She and her staff wanted to ask for a halt to the accountability until they could roll out and test this assessment. This is our superintendent enacting THE POLICY SET BY THE GOVERNOR THE SBOE AND THE SUPERMAJORITY. (Yes, in line with the federal requirements. So drop the waiver already. Aren’t you so flipping proud of your surplus as others have pointed out).
But it’s not even about standards. There is NO RESEARCH that shows that standards educate children. I thought they salivated over data? SHOW ME THE DATA.
It’s about Chambers of commerce blaming teachers for not having kids “college and career ready for a global economy” while they and their corporate interests ship jobs overseas or avoid paying workers a living wage so the top tier can make more money. SHOW ME THE JOBS, INDIANA SUPERMAJORITY. Because these kids in public schools can sure as heck show you some jobless parents.
It’s about making money off of these exams that show that kids are failing and blaming the schools of education for creating these teachers who can’t get kids to test well. Let’s test the teachers to test the schools of education to prove that they, too are failing. Watch them open their virtual online academies of teacher preparedness training. OR, more profitable, let’s create more Teach for America unskilled well-meaning teachers to replace those union thugs.
It’s about a narrative that calls superintendents CEOs and views schools as businesses and education as a product and our kids.. widgets in a factory. Those unskilled laborers are creating a better product because of competition.
It’s about a message that claims that our public schools are failing. And the offer: MARKETS WILL SOLVE EVERYTHING.
It’s about ALEC (google ALEC and destroy public education) and the Friedman Foundation and creating a market. Choose your schools, privatize the system so the markets can improve everything. Try charters (where only engaged parents can transport kids and get on lotteries and no democratic accountability to the people exists because there is no voting for a board to run them and they are proven to be no better and no worse, but way way more open to corruption and harm for kids).
Try your voucher (then you don’t have to go to school with those kids. Except, of course in your private school doesn’t want to keep you or deems you a behavior problem).
Where these have existed, public schools have not improved. What of the kids in those schools?
Here’s the thing.
My child is not college and career ready because he is a child. A test does not begin to sum up what I want for him. I trust teachers. i believe in public education because I believe that every single child regardless of background should have the same opportunity to a free, high quality public education as it states in our Indiana constitution. I believe that accountability means:
Every child should have a school that has enough nurses, social workers, guidance counselors, gym teachers, art teachers, music teachers, librarians, small class sizes, electives, hands-on projects, science experiments, theater, band. Every child. But instead our schools are being strangled. They are jumping through hoops where every. single. thing. is. tied. to. a. score. And the purpose is money.
Tell you what:
Let’s privatize firefighters and police officers. They don’t get to houses in the inner cities or out in rural areas fast enough. Let’s see if competition improves things. Oh? That child in the meth trailer out in the county? Too bad. If his parents weren’t on drugs maybe they could have afforded to buy a house closer to the damn fire department.
No, you know what? I don’t ride the city bus. But my teens could use a new used car. Give me a voucher for the money for public transportation because the money should follow my child. I don’t like to touch the books at the library either, gimme my voucher for Barnes and Noble.
Ridiculous? Our ancestors would be appalled that we want to go back to the days where the children lie dying neglected in the streets.
Governor Pence and his friends at ALEC, the Koch brothers, don’t believe in democracy. They don’t believe in a government for the people, by the people and of the people. They don’t believe in democratically elected school boards and schools.
Glenda Ritz was in the way of a much bigger agenda. My child who has not yet lost his baby teeth is a pawn in a game that has taken away our local control, relegated our public school system to a circus act of jumping through testing hoops to please the ringmaster… who can bring the tent down at any time.
Fix the problem? Be rebellious, Indiana. Wake up and smell the fascism. You’ve got someone who gets his way by executive order and a supermajority with no checks and balances. The one dissent in the education policymaking just lost her major responsibilities–not by democratic vote, but by changing her position through statute.
Follow the money and you’ll find the motivations.
I hope the mama bears and papa bears, and yes, the Grandma and Grandpa Grizzlies will get mad enough to do something radical:
Vote. Until then, see you at the protests and rallies.”
-Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The attack on democracy, by plutocrats and the politicians they own, is a cross-country plot to further concentrate wealth.
Two-thirds of Ohioans voted against Gov. Kasich’s anti-worker legislation, two years ago. This week, the Dayton regional Chamber of Commerce announced, as its legislative agenda, reintroduction of the legislation.
For all who stand up to the 1%, like Cathy, Supt. Ritz, and those on the Ravitch honor roll, a profound thank you, from the nation.
Those, attempting to privatize and corporatize education, are America’s enemy.
She got it right on everything. Pence is very out of touch!
“Out of touch” implies that he wants to do well but lacks the current information to do so. He just flat doesn’t care what anyone thinks as long as the money is right.
I’m embarrassed to admit that I live in Indiana. Every time I fill out an online form that asks in which state I reside, I click on “Indiana’ and cringe.
I will be at the protest in Indianapolis on Monday. How sad that our state is being run by politicians who don’t have a clue about what is happening inside the classroom. Our poor teachers and students are the losers in this never ending political game.
I’m a retired music teacher and I’ve had enough!!
Love it!!!!
It’s not only happening in Indiana though. Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Chicago has been screwing over the public schools there too. And he’s a Democrat.
“Contempt for Democracy”
They don’t believe in democracy
In fact, they have contempt
For any wish from you and me
From which they claim “exempt”
See you there. Monday. At the state capitol.
I wonder how we could identify individual public schools in each lawmakers district. Public schools generally have t-shirts/clothing with the name of the school on it, right?
What about wearing your school’s shirt when trying to get the attention of the lawmaker who represents the district within which that school is located?
They know the schools in their district. It gets much more uncomfortable for them to ignore/denigrate public schools if the schools are broken out individually and tied to each lawmaker’s (respective) name.
Local media might pick it up if it’s about each local school representing at the statehouse, rather than “public schools”.They always need free content and it could be photographs. That will be very personal and specific to public school parents.
I wish I could be at the rally, but we will be taking a practice test for the test that shows NOTHING on the effectiveness for me or my students.
Governor Pence is a bully, just like Tony (dishonest) Bennett. What are these people doing? Glenda is a good woman and very capable and talented in her chosen field. Pence should not try to destroy a good woman just because he thinks he can do it. I certainly hope voters remember what a buffoon he is at the next election. I can’t tolerate bullies and the haters are bullies.
Both my husband and I are teachers in New York. He teaches high school English, and I teach French. We are both concerned about the state of education now, and I am actively taking steps to change my career after 23 years in teaching. Let’s make no mistake about the situation. The move toward privatization of public education, the destruction of unions, and the loss of our democracy is well underway. I personally feel that the only way teachers, administrators, and parents can counter this is by refusing to participate in Common core tests and any tests that are used to evaluate a teacher’s performance. Teachers are now giving pretests in the beginning of the year knowing that students will fail because they have not yet learned the material! This is absurd, not to mention immoral and unethical. We are losing our common sense. Teachers are being evaluated by student performance on tests and those tests are in NO WAY reflective of what students have done in class. For example, some teachers’ evaluations are based on how students do on a 15 minute computerized test–a test that does not count for the students! It’s not a test grade; it’s not a graduation requirement; it’s not a Regents exam. It’s an exercise that serves as a referendum on an individual teacher’s ability. Furthermore, the subject matter of the test is peripheral to the subject matter of the classroom. Many kids know this; therefore, instead of taking it seriously, they tap the keys and answer carelessly. Is this logical? Does this make sense? Would any businessman accept this evaluation system? In addition, I think parents and the public would be shocked to know how much time has been wasted on policies and plans that pop up and then are changed months later. I have worked countless hours on preparing items and then watched as the school discarded my work. Wouldn’t my time have been used better to create great lessons for students or helping them? There is no plan, no vision. The two pillars of this “reform” movement are corporate greed and misogyny. I say misogyny because in NY over 70% of teachers are women, and the teaching profession is dominated by women. Our NYS union NYSUT is headed by a woman, and recent NYSUT pictures show a child saying, “Gov. Cuomo you’re breaking our hearts.” This kind of appeal will not work to influence men. Men are influenced by ACTION, not by appeals from children. Example: In basketball, Coach Dean Smith installed the four corners offense. Instead of shooting the ball, he would have his players dribble for minutes on end. He did this because he knew the game needed a shot clock, and this was the action he took within the rules of the game to bring it about. This is why I say that we need to refuse the tests. It is ACTION we need in the actual academic arena to bring about change! And teachers, if you’re concerned about losing your job for speaking out, it may happen anyway if the Governor get his new teacher evaluation plan through the legislature! If you happen to be a teacher who has been around for a while and earn “too much” money, you’d better worry. In the beginning of this post, I said I was actively seeking a new career after 23 years in teaching. Why? First, the stress of day-to-day teaching. People think teaching is easy. Try being with children all day -some of whom are disruptive, disrespectful, and not motivated. Try helping students who haven’t eaten, slept or been loved by their families. Try listening to their stories of abuse, poverty, and helplessness. It takes a toll on you. Second, I’m tired of the loss of respect and professionalism that teachers have suffered. We are losing control of our classrooms, our creativity, and our independence. We are now at the mercy of administrators, politicians and billionaires who are creating curricula, assessments, and evaluation plans for financial gain. Mostly, I am saddened at the diminishment of intellectual curiosity and joy in learning that is pervasive in our culture today. None of the “reforms” currently suggested will positively influence this. Thank you for this forum, and thank you Diane Ravitch for your cogent arguments and your advocacy.
Damn! I wish I had written this brilliant response. You speak so powerfully about everything I’ve been thinking and saying about the destruction of public education in Indiana and the cluelessness of our governor and so-call legislators who think they know more about education than the front-line teachers and administrators do. Keep telling the story!
Mamie is very eloquent in her post. She makes some very good points however, everyone here seems to glossing over the fact that our schools are a dismal failure. Are the suggested changes by Pence the answer…mmm, probably not but at least he’s doing something and people are getting involved. For the various teachers unions to insist they have the best way forward would be laughable if it weren’t so sad. My granddaughter is a teacher and when I started fussing abut Common Core, she ‘explained’ to me in certain terms that I was…off base. The implementation is being poorly done but she insists that the program is ultimately good for the schools. She also tells me that the reason the older teachers don’t want it is they cannot pull out the same curriculum books they’ve used for years. Considering how our kids are doing compared to the rest of the world…using the same type of teaching may not be in our kids best interest.
Cliff in Tex, you probably don’t know that the reason our scores have been in the middle on international tests is that we have the highest child poverty rate of any advanced nation in the world–about 23%. Poor kids typically have lower scores because they have more obstacles than well-off kids, like illness, absences, poor nutrition, homelessness. If we didn’t have so much poverty, our scores would be near or at the top. Why don’t you read my latest book, Reign of Error and learn more? If your town has a public library, you can probably find it there.
And Cliff, what Governor Pence is doing is the status quo, the same thing that Governor Daniels did before him. When you try something for 10 years, and it doesn’t work, shouldn’t you listen to the people who actually are in the classroom instead of ALEC?
“Furthermore, the subject matter of the test is peripheral to the subject matter of the classroom.”
Exactly… read my commons about learning vs testing.
BEST EPIC LETTER EVER!!! Share share share!
Cross-posted: http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/A-MUST-READ-Indiana-Mom-V-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Destruction_Diane-Ravitch_Education_Problem-150214-418.html#comment533499 with links to other posts here about indiana, Kansas and Nevada…embedded there.
ant to know more about the destruction in Indiana:
Reader: “What’s Wrong with Indiana?” or read this one:
“Indiana: Where Testing Has Reached the Height of Absurdity”
and don’t miss
“CURMUDGUCATION: What’s The Matter With Indiana ”
And while you are at it take a look at “Kansas Education Is Newest Target of Kansas Budget Cuts”
or read : “Angie Sullivan: Nevada Races to the Bottom”
In 50 states, Public education is under attack, being privatized.
You saw how that worked with health care.
If you want to see what is happening under our very noses as we get entertainment news on tv, and lies in the media… go to my quick links series
http://www.opednews.com/author/quicklinks/author40790.html
and read my commentary where I tell THE TRUTH AND GIVE THE FACTS… do this before it is too late…and tell your contacts about the hidden assault on public education which is dumbing down our nation’s future voters.
And, all these “accountability” people have no idea what is going on in schools outside America. I do. They don’t test and test and test — they use technologies to connect to experts thousands of miles away. Teachers organize instruction — they don’t create it all. They have specialties, and then they use the best of a “standard” as we would call it by using instruction from the person, or teacher, that is the best in the business, and they create the materials to demonstrate the skills and then opportunities to transfer at the right developmental level — the standards are completely connected through child development. It is fascinating to watch them work They allow the very best to take a subject and then parse it to developmental standards and become “teachers” for thousands of children. It is why they do so well. They are leaving us in the dust. When I go to Asia, I am surrounded by children “trying out their American English” on me. Right now, China has more people that speak English than we do. It is New Year’s in Taiwan — and right before New Year’s Eve and school is out for a couple weeks, the children of the city demonstrate their learning — not in the schools, but in the streets and small alleys. All kinds of free venues, and in the marketplaces. I used to see art work, poetry recitations, plays, artwork — schools that connected to their community. Here in Indiana I live a block and a half away from an elementary school that has high poverty children. I have no idea what is being taught in it — no idea for over 8 years now. Our schools are disconnected from our communities, right under our noses, and we have to fix that before any of this other stuff is going to get better. In America we ask people to come into the schools. In Asia, the students and education go to the people. As we March on Monday in Indy — in the streets — we have to take the lesson from that — demonstrate what all our children learn and are able to do TO the communities — not just to the parents — to everyone. As to corporations, you should see the technologies they use every day, every hour, to connect and support. City playgrounds look like small Disneyworlds — how do they afford this? Corporations are huge benefactors for children. Children are valued — all children. We cannot do much until corporations understand it is their job to help fund schools, to support children and know what is going on in them to help children learn. Trust me when I tell you that teachers are NOT buying stuff for their classrooms — they just have to ask. It is because children are so highly valued. That has to happen in America before anything else is going to change. Teachers don’t just belong to a “school.” They belong to “children” and their skills are utilized efficiently for all children.
Exactly so. Have you ever seen Finnish First
May I say, that it happened in America. I went to school in the 40s and 50s, I taught in the 60s and 70s as my one sons got a wonderful free education, and college tuition in NYS (CORNELL) was $4500 a year.schools belonged to the children, and as John Taylor Gatto said recently, teachers looked for the ‘genius’ in each kid.
We need to go back to go forward. The dark money has warped everything as the privateers moved in to make a fortune by making ‘schools’ a business, and the INSTITUTION of public education (for the common good) disappeared.
Yes, I have, and it is an excellent example of what happens when poverty is addressed, community is connected, and children are free to develop within the curriculum that is both textured and creative. Education is much about nurturing the growing child. You are as old as I am — my first year of teaching was in 1966 in a 1920s school building that had one phonograph with one record about Johnny Appleseed — and I used every ounce of creativity I could from that one piece of technology. I am still in touch with a couple of students from that joyful and “learning” year. Since I am sort of a part-time resident here, I am still solidly invested in Hoosier education. All together, 48 years of teaching at all different levels in several different states. I am more than just worried if this chaos and devaluing of education continues. We are well into a generation of children that doesn’t like school very much — and that is a critical problem that exploded when politicians attacked the very foundation of our continuing democracy for no reason — educators. They should have been attacking poverty and the laws and policies that affect children and their families.
Your statement about your low tech room struck a note with me.
You see, in 1989 when I taught for one year in a brink Jr HS, I did not have glass in all the window panes, or walls with our gaping holes. I had no tech of any kind, and in fact bought all the books and materials I used.
In 1990 when I was the first and only seventh grade teacher in an east-side Manhattan middle school, I had no desks, no blackboard and no books, for the first months. I had one computer, eventually, and an overhead projector. I shared a tv with every sub who wanted to show a movie (the principal’s way of harassing me) … as all the other rooms had a tv mounted over the blackboard.
Yet, by xeroxing the best literature that I had gathered over the years, by reading great writing to the kids, including that found in picture books and high school literature texts, by making talking and thinking and writing fun and interesting, my students were 10th in the state on the first ELA test in which 3/4 of NYC kids failed… of course, as I have said here before… by then I was in the rubber room, and I never saw my classroom again…the kid wrote and told me they threw everything away, and gave my books and art materials to other teachers.
http://www.opednews.com/author/author40790.html
Sigh!
The letter is beautiful. But we need hundreds if not thousands more to write similar letters – to our governor, legislators and the media. The only thing they understand is the power of the people and if the people in sufficient numbers do not get involved … To save not just our kids but democracy itself.
Taxpayers have seen tons of their hard earned taxes with seemingly little change in education. The set-up we have now in education simply does not work. For Pence to make a bold change is going to ruffle union members. Thinking outside the box will get everyone’s attention. For those who resist change, there are just as many saying the time has come for change in our education system. I say let’s see what this change might bring before being so negative. What we have now does not work and Status Quo has to go.
Ralph,
Didn’t you have Tony Bennett as State Commissioner? I agree that the status quo is pretty awful. But it is the status quo created by Tony Bennett and Mitch Daniels’ appointees on the state board. You are right: They have got to go. So does Pence.
Ralph, I can tell you this much. Indiana had better go global in their educational experiences in their public schools very quickly, or there will be no catching up. Governor Pence has made no “bold change” to education in Indiana — it is all about testing on curriculum that is no longer global in its scope. Be a part of the solution to transform schools with the educators; they are very aware of what must be done as they, too, are globally connected and see the differences and boundless opportunities for our children that await them, Be a part of this kind of change and help your local educators to move us forward.
Vouchers mean we don’t necessary have to put up with Common Core and liberal brain washing in socialism, atheism, hatred for the US Constitution and it founding documents, hatred for Christians, rewriting US history and making it fiction. Vouchers mean we actually have a vote, LIBERTY and genuine FREEDOM. Get rid of that crap and just maybe the public schools then get the vouchers.
Oh, for heaven’s sake. There is a huge difference between secularism and atheism. Our schools, much like our government (at least theoretically), are secular: they are supposed to neither encourage nor discourage any private expression of belief. This means that they are no more teaching atheism (or Christianity, or Islam, or Buddhism, or…) than your church is teaching biology. This also means that they are not teaching the *hatred* of any of those belief systems. At best, they might offer a section/class on comparative religions that tries to compare them even-handedly.
If you want your children to be Christian, take them to church with you and–perhaps more importantly–show them by your example that being Christian is a *good* thing. If you show them by your example that being Christian means complaining about anybody and anything that isn’t Christian (or isn’t Christian *enough*, God help us all), then sooner or later they’re likely to decide that being Christian isn’t a good thing.
Jesus taught love and tolerance. What did you learn?
And of course the government does everything so well (healthcare). Not all privates are corporate money makers. Most private schools are run by not for profit organizations. A lot of liberals here misstating facts.
Actually, Medicare and Medicaid have lower overhead than just about any private health insurance company in the nation. And a fraud rate that is roughly comparable to any of them. Since Medicare and Medicaid don’t have to pursue a profit that they can pass on to the shareholders, they routinely pay out (in claims) 90+% of what they take in from the payroll tax, whereas private insurance companies *complained* about the fact that they now have to pay out 80% of what they take in from premiums.
And yes, a great many private schools are run by non-profits (more specifically religions). But the vast majority of *charter* schools are run for profit. And while some of them are doing a decent job–often by being selective in who they admit–some of them are significantly worse than the embattled public schools that they are competing with (despite being selective in who they admit).
Corporations don’t maximize profit by caring for the common good. Some corporations (Newman’s Own comes to mind) have deliberately accepted reduced profit in order to do so. But in the mythical “free market”, such corporations are doomed to eventual failure as their more profitable competitors eventually gobble them up. Which is why products and services that are aimed at the common good are properly the responsibility of the government. You may argue what constitutes the common good (everybody does, really), but if you can’t accept that *some* functions really are best carried out by the government, you have no business living in a reasonably civilized country like the US.
Personally, I believe that public education is one of those common goods that the government needs to pursue. Not just because I have a son who is currently in kindergarten, but because I don’t want to live in a country full of ignorant savages. I want to be reasonably sure that the clerk at the grocery store can actually count out the correct change for me, and not get completely flustered when I say “oh, I have two cents” after the drawer has already opened and they’re looking at a “change” line of $1.48. I want to be confident that when I go to the polls, the person checking my right to vote can actually read my identification and write down (or type in) the address I give them. I want to know that when I go to a gas station to ask for directions, I will actually get usable directions.
I’ve got nothing against private schools. But look at the adjective again: “private”. Which is to say, not public. Private schools do not deserve public education dollars any more than private detectives deserve part of the police department’s budget. Charter schools are, IMHO, just a subset of private schools and should be treated as such.
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE!!!! We gotta unite, be fierce, and stay the course just like this amazing Indiana Mom!!! You go girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love this! What Pence and his cronies did is totally outrageous and unforgiving. Just like Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his right-wing LDP lapdogs barged into US public education and audaciously demanded McGraw-Hill to change the words in highschool textbooks so that they could erase a shameful memory of their nation’s past history. I’m not a fan of a textbook giant company, but what Abe and his cronies did is totally out of question. I have never heard of any single country–even China– that interevned into public education system of foreign country on historical dispute. Their stupidity adds one to the awlfulness of political control of public education. Pence and GOP cronies can have a good macth with them for narcissim contest.
Thank you !!
Not proud to live here. Just glad to be employed here. People are crazy everywhere you go.
Pence is no different than all the other republicans wanting to change this country into an all white oligarchy
How very well thought out with very strong supportive facts.
Some excellent points made in this rant by Cathy.
I would also encourage everyone to be active and involved in their local School Boards, City Council’s, various committees, and local Senators and Representatives.
http://indianasenatedemocrats.org/
http://www.indianasenaterepublicans.com/
http://indianahousedemocrats.org/
http://www.indianahouserepublicans.com/
Make phone calls, write e-mails, compose Letters to the Editor, and most of all, work with your neighbors. Politics is a war of attrition.
All the best at the rally tomorrow in Indianapolis.
“You’ve got someone who gets his way by executive order……” Wow, that Pence guy sounds like someone else we all know and love. I guess what is good for the goose is not good for the gander.
That is all.
It time to use executive on our Governor and remove him from office and in the next election remember how voted in his favor. He is no different than our last Governor, they are trying to eliminate public education.
New to this site, so I can’t respond to the ‘Diane’ that replied. Good points and they should be part of the conversation but with all due respect, those are the same precepts that brought us to this point. The Government is very seldom the solution. Would you want the same sort of ‘folks’ to run the Education system as do the auto license renewal folks? The same sort of ‘folks’ that run the day to day business at the physical post office location?
Cliff, the “Diane” who answered you is the owner of the blog. Did you know that the top-performing nations in the world have public school systems? Did you know they don’t have vouchers and charters? Do you believe that there would be less crime if the police were privatized? Or fewer fires if firefighters worked for private corporations? How about public highways? Public beaches? The military? Should we let Halliburton do it?
Cliffintex,
If you say that our public schools are a “dismal failure,” then our society is a dismal failure as well. What are schools to do when students come to school after having worked the night before because their single-mom can’t make ends meet? What about students who come to school after having been up all night at a rock concert? How about students who throw up in the garbage can during English class because they’ve taken a concoction of drugs? How do we educate students who haven’t eaten? How about students who come to school tired because they sleep in a bed with their younger siblings to stay warm? What about students who are homeless? How about students who can’t get work done in class because they are so concerned with their cellphones and who is texting them at the moment? I have many more examples. Schools have a battalion of professionals – social workers, counselors, teachers, etc. trying to help as best they can. Our schools are a reflection of the society at large and they have to deal with the ramifications of economic and social problems of the larger society. There is no way around it, and you can’t separate the two. Until we deal head on with poverty, violence, crime, drugs and the helplessness felt by so many in our country, schools will continue to deal with these issues while trying to provide a place for all students to learn.
Mamie K,
You are exactly right. Our society is failing our children and blaming it on teachers. Complaining about teachers and public education is blame-shifting. Our kids are struggling to grow up in the midst of rampant commercialism, poverty, and the celebration of violence in the media. How did the teachers cause any of that?
Thank you for expressing my extreme anger toward Pence, Daniels and all their cronies who only care about destroying public education. Well get ready Pence and your Republicans because your day will come . We shall stand together and soon the Democrats will be the majority. People see you for who you really are….an arrogant, narcissist who cares only for himself.
So true! Glad someone had the guts to speak up. We all need to stand together.
What is wrong with teacher evaluation?