John Thompson: Can Education Trust Be Trusted by Teachers?
I only have one problem with Joy Resmovits' Huffington Post article "Dream Deferred: Are We Leaving Black Students Behind?," but I will save that detail until the end of my response. My big problem is with the venom of many of the 3538 comments. I also believe that the policy analysts Resmovits cites have contributed to the bitterness of many commenters. But, first, I want to agree with the thrust of her post.
Resmovits recounts teacher Dwight Davis' "nightmarish" ordeal as a black student in Washington D.C. Bad teachers helped create a sense that no one cared. "Though he excelled in elementary school, as he got older," she reports, "he fell in with the wrong crowd. His grades dropped, and he wound up in lower level classes, courses that attracted 'all the bad teachers.'"
Davis came back to D.C. and during his nine years in that city he felt compelled to "insulate his fifth graders from what he saw as bad teachers, teachers who just passed along students who didn't learn or try." It is no criticism of Davis to note that he is now one of the many teachers who has moved on to easier schools.
Resmovits also reports on the Education Trust's proposals for improving teacher quality and equity. That liberal "reform" advocacy group condemns the "comparability" loophole that allows school systems to duck this equity issue. The rule, sadly, is the only protection against
Resmovits recounts teacher Dwight Davis' "nightmarish" ordeal as a black student in Washington D.C. Bad teachers helped create a sense that no one cared. "Though he excelled in elementary school, as he got older," she reports, "he fell in with the wrong crowd. His grades dropped, and he wound up in lower level classes, courses that attracted 'all the bad teachers.'"
Davis came back to D.C. and during his nine years in that city he felt compelled to "insulate his fifth graders from what he saw as bad teachers, teachers who just passed along students who didn't learn or try." It is no criticism of Davis to note that he is now one of the many teachers who has moved on to easier schools.
Resmovits also reports on the Education Trust's proposals for improving teacher quality and equity. That liberal "reform" advocacy group condemns the "comparability" loophole that allows school systems to duck this equity issue. The rule, sadly, is the only protection against