One of the things I hear
about far too often is that good teachers are run out of the system by
bad administration and other bad teachers. Being a star teacher is
frowned upon because the other teachers allow their petty jealousy to
eclipse the primary mission of educating. This angers me.
I don't know how you go about solving this problem without really tackling the teachers unions. I had some great public school teachers and some other real duds. I actually had a teacher that would nap in class. Nothing after that convinced me more that we need real reform in public education.
I feel like school choice is a step in the right direction. Recognizing teachers that really perform is probably a big part of it too. I don't think we can make public school teachers responsible for every poorly performing student (who probably has bad parents, bad neighborhood, and bad nutrition to deal with) but we can select teachers who won't give up and throw in the towel.
I don't know how you go about solving this problem without really tackling the teachers unions. I had some great public school teachers and some other real duds. I actually had a teacher that would nap in class. Nothing after that convinced me more that we need real reform in public education.
I feel like school choice is a step in the right direction. Recognizing teachers that really perform is probably a big part of it too. I don't think we can make public school teachers responsible for every poorly performing student (who probably has bad parents, bad neighborhood, and bad nutrition to deal with) but we can select teachers who won't give up and throw in the towel.
Put it this way: I think
we have to make sure that everyone has the right to a superb public
education. I just think we have some disagreement on how to make it superb.
I think competition of providers works. You can get good results with a monopoly, but you wont get innovation and the people who have to do the work don't have any opportunity to change the system. That can change with a competitive educational system.
But we absolutely have to develop something to get people to value the education of their children. Far too many people think school is stupid and smart people are a nuisance. Without some recognition of academic achievement as a real good with substantial value, our culture is headed into the trash-heap of history.
Everywhere I go, I see businesses that are built on the stupidity of their customers. There is a real economic interest in keeping people dumb. The better we can curb this kind of predation of the undereducated, the better off we'll all be.
I think competition of providers works. You can get good results with a monopoly, but you wont get innovation and the people who have to do the work don't have any opportunity to change the system. That can change with a competitive educational system.
But we absolutely have to develop something to get people to value the education of their children. Far too many people think school is stupid and smart people are a nuisance. Without some recognition of academic achievement as a real good with substantial value, our culture is headed into the trash-heap of history.
Everywhere I go, I see businesses that are built on the stupidity of their customers. There is a real economic interest in keeping people dumb. The better we can curb this kind of predation of the undereducated, the better off we'll all be.
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