Teachers are being stifled in many areas. They need to fight back...but then they'd be fighting the union. It's a pickle...but it's a pickle that needs to be dealt with. Most aren't equipped to do it.

The goal is to deny ALL of them from the opportunity to excel as individuals. Individualism isn't even discussed, as far as I know.

And try to test a kid who can't speak the same language. Pointless. Again, another (bilingual) student gets utilized as a translator. And they're 5 so, that gets...messy. They become best friends with their translator and the translator doesn't really want that job...and should have to go to school to translate. ugh

There is some of that too. But it changes nothing about where the responsibility should lie.

I quite agree. I had some horrible teachers, some that were ambivalent and some that really inspired me. I found encouragement much more motivating than punishment.

Evil..The Ominous Parallels by Leonard Peikoff presently being embraced...

It's terrible. That has to be intimidating in the extreme. What are they supposed to do? How can it be expected that a teacher can focus solely on one child? There are other children who need his or her attention as well, for whom English is NOT a foreign language. Ugh.

I know some fabulous teachers...our system is not set up to get the best out of our kids, or the best into our kids. Lack of parent involvement is HUGE...even some involved parents aren't really in the know. Decades ago this country took the parent out of education and now parents buy into this...it's the teacher's job not theirs. :( And income isn't as much of a factor as you might think...it can go both ways. Here in AZ we also have language issues. It should be considered abuse, in my opinion, to drop your kid off at school without EVER being exposed to English. It's a mean thing to do to a kid. They are lost from day one.

I'm afraid I'm on the verge of back handing and shoulder shaking people!! IT-IS-TIME-TO-WAKE-UuuuP!!

And I know you and I will continue to bang away about this until people start to WAKE THE FUCK UP!!

lo;

Stalin wannabe's.

Mr. Retro, matches his mic.

We are on that path in my house. The private schools our daughter is applying to have classes on Saturdays, and a DAILY study hall from 6:30-8:30pm. Note, we are pulling her from public "education".

Because the comparison is with public school scores. Common core sure isn't going to make any difference in that area...and it will have the added component of indoctrinating even more collective thinking, which is exactly what we need to get away from..WRONG DIRECTION PEOPLE.

Kindergarten parents sign their initials that their homework is done, when they haven't done it all. The problem with education goes deeper than schools...and schools can't fix this (and don't want too either). Some parents simply don't have a vested interest in their kid's education. Think about this a minute. Is there any kind of fear of failure anymore? I mean, they KNOW their kids will never go hungry, or not have a roof over their heads no matter how stupid they are...so really...why bother caring or noticing what they're learning OR being taught. The GOVERNMENT WILL TAKE CARE OF THEM. THAT way of thinking needs to change or nothing else will. Freedom means free to succeed and free to fail...your choice. That choice has been remove by the same assholes who want to choose our kids' education. HELLO!

Hello rlewellen,
The contrast is disappointing. I wonder what all the reasons are. In my day I had a lot of homework that extended my daily learning period. The other day I heard a story that stunned me. A study was done and found that many parents were doing their children's homework... We also had no computers or even calculators. We had to train our brains... It sounds like much of the curriculum has changed also. I don't know...
Respectfully,
O.A.

And sock monkeys

I do not want the government, the UN, the unions, and so on and so forth calling the shots on education at all. This should be done locally with HUGE parental involvement on how and what should be taught (IF homeschooling is not an option for them). Having government pick curriculum is a recipe for disaster and this have been proven repeatedly throughout history. Face facts, the ONLY people who REALLY have their child's best interest at heart are their parents. Not the NEA, not Microsoft, not any politician trying to get reelected, not even teachers who have a golden pension forever in the backs of their minds making a ching ching sound and pushing them go along with whatever bogus class assignments become mandatory so they don't lose it... and certainly NOT the UN either. I could go on for days about the issues that public schools have..(march in a quiet line)... but I'm tired.
How the HELL did China and Japan get brought into this? We can't come up with our OWN ideas/models/plans to educate our OWN kids to the highest level they can possibly achieve? Wow.

Scary ass shit, huh? Keep the people down while convincing them that the gov is helping to build them up to be the best they can be... How many days of school do I have left?? Eighty ish I think.....graarrrg.

lol...stop nitpicking! Let's talk about YOUR radio host... I wanted to smack her if she said "interesting" one more time!