[wintertime]

yet garners very little respect.

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You bet!

I have little respect for people who are cooperating with and propping up a system that harms children with ineffectual and damaging educational programs, lax discipline, and allows a chaotic and unsafe physical, emotional, and sexual environment for children.

Yep! I have little respect for these enablers.

[mware]

Some of us are fighting in the trenches my FRiend. Would you rather we depart and leave the schools totally to the liberals?

[MinnesotaLibertarian]

Did you even bother to read what I wrote? You spoke of dangerous environments for children. Public schools in Baltimore are such an environment, as is most of the city of Baltimore. Many teachers there just allow things to keep sliding, because they don't care. You are correct that such individuals exist. They do not compose 100% of the teaching population nationwide. If a teacher comes to such a school, trying to enforce discipline and teach the basics, what is that "enabling"? Maybe "enabling" some of these kids to be more than drug dealers and gang bangers? If they do run into a problem with the bureaucracy of the school system, should they call it a lost cause, quit, and let these kids suffer even more?

[Tenacious 1]

Wintertime,

I have strong opinions about public education. However, person for person, your broad stroke criticism is out of line. The focus of your passion would be better served if you targeted the "leaders" of education.

IMO, the biggest failure in education today is the teacher's unions and the government. The lobbyists and government are more focused on the teachers than the kids. I don't disagree entirely with the premise that teachers are not professionals. It is pretty easy to become qualified to become a teacher. The problem lies in what our expectation of what teachers should be. Union leaders and lobbyists keep this country from demanding better qualified persons. Teachers should be required to get a masters degree at least. The curriculum should be much more demanding. When we start to weed out those that can teach from those that are good teachers, we may need to pay them more. First things first. BREAK UP THE TEACHER'S UNIONS. Then someone might step up and start thinking about how to make kids smarter instead of how much to pay teachers or how to make the learning environment more appealing.

I want teachers who take personal responsibility for the success of their students. I want teachers who know the names of student's parents and aren't afraid to confront the parent when they are not participating in their children's education. I want intelligent, outgoing, diehard educators. I want teachers that are qualified to make logical decisions on their own without having to rely on "Zero Tolerance" policies. The politics of education has relegated teachers to policy followers. They are little more now than government workers. And I don't believe it is the teacher's fault. Your suggestion sounds like teachers should go on strike, anarchy, a rebellion. We aren't talking about building cars here. They are not factory workers.

Place the blame where the blame is constructive.

[MissEdie]

Put your money where your mouth is and go teach a class in a public school. Are you too good to become part of the change you feel is necessary?