There are a lot of good teachers. The vast majority of them mean well. They are limited by the lack of any discipline allowed, also too many of them believe the crap they are taught in ed school.
I feared my teachers - one whack from the wooden paddle with the holes to reduce air drag was enough for me. Nobody fears their teachers today - not even the 4 year olds in pre-K.
Without the support of the parents, the child is lost and destined to fail. This is the root of the “problem with the education system.” And throwing billions of dollars at it won’t help. The failure of the education system is a reflection of the failure of the family and society.
I’m not convinced that there are a lot of good teachers based on my personal experience. Which is not to say that the educational system’s problems are simply the teachers.
However I think when we started handing out degrees in education to teach any old subject we started going down the tubes. In the sixties every one of my teachers had degrees in the subject they taught. That’s not the case anymore. And I don’t see how somebody with a degree in education can teach history or English as effectively as those with degrees in those disciplines.
But again, it is my considered opinion that a great deal of public education’s problems relate to political correctness and incompetent administration.
I found this to be true in the lower level classes that young teachers (those without seniority) have to serve in. The advance placement classes have good students who want to learn, or at least want to succeed.
The need for discipline in the schools as described by the teacher in this article is valid. Also the teachers need to be selected based on desire to teach and ability (and subject matter mastery). If the discipline is so bad that learning cannot occur, then things need to be changed. Whole schools should be closed. The schools in the article need to be turned into charter schools with vouchers. Students who do not find a school they are willing to succeed in should be provided with trade school and apprenticeships. The schools in the article are not places where any teacher could succeed.
Why do precious few adults admit the truth out loud? Because in America the taboo against questioning the current orthodoxy on race is too strong and the price is too high. What is failing our most vulnerable populations is the lack of political will to acknowledge and solve the real problems. The first step is to change the ”anti-discrimination” laws that breed anti-social behavior. Disruptive students must be removed from the classroom, not to punish them but to protect the majority of students who want to learn.
“There are a lot of good teachers.”
I don’t believe that. I think there are a few good teachers. This isn’t the ‘50s or 60s and prior when teachers did it for the love of teaching.
A local politician had me compile anonymous data he received from a survey he had mailed to all residents. The teacher respondents - ALL of them - said they taught to have summers off, and not having to work hard during the school year while getting decent pay and benefits. And, BTW, their written responses were borderline illiterate.
I have often thought that is at the root of it. Parents expecting schools to teach discipline to their kids (or not caring at all about discipline) yet handcuffing teachers so they cannot discipline.