At least someone respects the work that teachers do

I'm someone who cares A LOT about education and who's just gotten out of a whole 12 years of "education". I understand what's at risk with good and bad education. I'm someone who's seem his friends have their learning abilities destroyed by bad teachers and someone who's been inspired by good teachers. I've sat, stunned in boredom through useless and boring classes and was fascinated by and contributed to good and useful ones and all points in between.
I think that makes me qualified to make such a statement, if you agree with me or not is YOUR judgement, but I wouldn't have said anything if I didn't believe it.

 

Is noting we pay a whole lot for very little in results an 'attack'?

If educators did a good job there would be no traction to any such claim by anyone...The problem is, the success does not match the compensation, and folk are figuring it out.

 

What I'm saying is that you just made a statement about MOST educators in our country. Do you feel qualified to speak about people you haven't met or seen teach?

 

Get rid of the unions and make it very hard indeed for the education industry to influence politics.

 

I don't want the department of education running education either. I'd rather it be run ran by individual districts than at the city to state level like it is in Japan.

The problem with all these institutions is that they're driving down the value of a high school/middle school education.

 

Right. Because only politics should influence the educational system, right?

 

School boards...are at the individual district level. What, exactly, do you know about the way education works in this country?

 

When all politics concerning education was local, we had an education system that worked. Unions arrived, then politics, then mediocrity...

 

You have such a simplistic view of the world. It would be endearing if it wasn't so (*)(*)(*)(*) frightening to those of us who can see complexity.

 

I know in Hawaii there is a Board for each island. Not for each individual district.

I also know that there is very little value education in this country. Mainly because it's free.

 

I agree but i'll add more. Teachers became propagandists. How did that happen? I had a few really good teachers. FEW. The rest were tyrants and ignoramuses. Unions entered the picture but then so did a LOT of those 60's little radicals. Such screwed up thinking. They went into teaching, they were promoted and now we have the vile aging hippies running everything. Kids don't learn anything. Except self esteem. American kids have the highest self esteem ratings and the lowest scores on any actual knowledge. Thank you, you old smelly birkenstock wearing, long stringy split end grey haired overweight dirndl wearing. free love 60's hippies. may you rot in the hell of your own making.

 

Complexity is often a code word for inept...if education is too hard for government, let the private world do it. Private schools are already far better.

 

Usually I am VERY anti generalizations, but my school is supposed to be a good school, it's in a fairly wealthy area, it's better than the adjacent areas, and it's supposed to be one of the best states for education in the country and I've heard similar things from other people who have gone through the education system and from all available statistics, so I would be ready to assume this, but I understand and am very cautious about making such generalizations, it's usually a very arrogant act.

 

You definitely came off as arrogant. I'll give you a pass though since you at least seem to have a sliver of decency about the way you discuss the education system. The rest of the people on this board hear "education," and immediately look to rant against unions, the government, and liberals. I wonder what they would say to the conservative teachers out there?

 

If unions are the only factor that influences education in this country in your mind, you're frighteningly simple.

By the way, private charter schools perform at the same level or noticeably worse than their public counterparts.

 

Why does someone have to be qualified when others that are qualified have studied the subject and posted their results?

The results seem to indicate that the majority of teachers in America are not good at their job. Of course, being good at their job is not a requirement to maintain their employment. In almost every other profession in the US, success is results driven and external factors are simply another obstacle which has no bearing in the way their performance is judged.

Who would have thought, another self-aggrandizing "teaching is the most important, under-rated, and challenging job in world" thread? You want some cheese with that whine?

 

My experience with teachers is that many of them are incompetent and have no business teaching.

I went to private schools so I can imagine the public schools are even worse.

Teachers do not belong up on a pedestal. They are people like everyone else.

For decades teachers have been bullying us taxpapers into paying them more on the excuse that it's "for the children!"

My response is, if you want to get rich, find another profession.

Good teachers aren't in it for the money and never were.

 

What results, exactly, are you talking about? In what other profession are you expected to manage 120 employees who you didn't choose and have no ability to fire? Now take that a step further; in what other profession are you expected to single-handedly educate, train, and babysit those same individuals?

 

"The military do not belong up on a pedestal. They are people like everyone else."

Since when is 30k a year starting out "getting rich?" Is 50k a year for a master's degree and 12 years of experience "wealthy?"

 

Teacher's unions will always demand more. Right now, we can't afford to pay teachers more, because all the states are flat-out broke.

This is not about disrespecting teachers. It's about reality.

All employees of the state, including teachers, are going to have to take it on the chin until the current crisis is over.

 

You just disrespected them. Try again.

 

But its ok for rich people to demand less taxes and less regulation.

 

The difference is that it's the riches' money, it's not the money of the teachers who demand to be made no matter how crappy they are

 

Unlike teachers, rich people aren't sucking money out of the treasury. Rich people aren't the problem. In fact, rich people are putting money in the treasury. If it weren't for rich people, things would be even worse for the states.

But increasing tax rates doesn't necessarily increase revenue. In fact, when Reagan lowered tax rates, revenue increased.

The way out of all of this is to grow the economy. Increasing taxes on the rich will kill growth.

I'm pretty sure your typical liberal understands that, but doesn't care. He wants to tax the rich to punish them, and doesn't care if it hurts the economy.

 

I would think that this description fits just about every education administrative position in the public sector.