Reply #56: hmm...

[chervilant]

I am deeply offended by your not-so-subtle intimation that teachers do not stand up for students. Furthermore, I find your assertion that 'no good teacher wants to work' in 'schools like Marshall' both misinformed and disingenuous.

Teachers run the gamut from very, very bad to very, very good--just as do members of any other profession. The vast majority of teachers--again, like any other professionals (please review the Central Limit Theorem)--cluster around the mean, which is why bell curves are so familiar in the social sciences. The vast majority of teachers are hard working, dedicated, erudite individuals whose hearts are completely devoted to their students.

As importantly, playing the 'blame and shame' game is both stultifying, and a waste of time and energy. "Not all teachers are to blame"?!?! You completely miss the point. The corporatists who are driving the education reform du jour ARE promoting the meme that 'bad teachers' and 'vile unions' are TO BLAME for our failing system of public education! And, THIS is a primary focus in madfloridian's considerable--AND admirable--efforts to docmument this egregious assault on teachers and unions--during the administration of a Democratic President!

Obama's appointment of Arne Duncan as SecEd, ALONE, put a huge question mark in my mind about his integrity. Then, his casual dismissal of teachers as 'resistant to change' provided an accurate, if disheartening, picture of his attitude towards a profession that is VENERATED in nations that enjoy successful systems of public education.

One final note: I am among thousands of unemployed teachers in this nation. I have been un- or under-employed for the past three years. Despite the fact that I teach MATH, I cannot get a teaching contract in a public school. I am exploring unorthodox ways to remain a teacher, since--despite your claim otherwise--I am deeply concerned about the future of our children.

(BTW, bad grammar undermines your entire argument...)

(PS, I'm taking a screen print of this comment...)