2019 Medley #4
Disrespecting Teachers,
Benefits of a Book-oriented Home,
Math is for Boys and Girls,
Poverty Affects Achievement,
Bill of Rights for School Children.
THE DISRESPECT OF TEACHERS
As professionals, teachers are disrespected.
Ed reformers blame teachers for “failing schools” but that’s because the truth is closer to home. Here we read about Michigan’s “failing schools” caused by legislative neglect or, more likely, legislative abuse.
The state’s public schools were once admired across the nation. They were well-funded and supported, and provided an excellent education for children. These schools became “the center of community life” in many places in the state, and still do in many communities.
But our state’s “new landlord”, aided and abetted by the “multi-level marketing robber barons” of West Michigan, stopped funding our schools, allowing too many of them, especially in our largest cities, to fall into neglect and disrepair. Michigan’s last governor took $1 billion from the state’s education fund, while declaring himself the “education governor”, and we wonder why Detroit’s schools don’t have the resources needed to maintain their facilities, or pay their teachers a competitive salary. Our current Secretary of Education suggested the best solution to the problems with Detroit’s schools would be to simply shut down the entire district, and let families find other places to send their children–and this is the person in charge of the nation’s public schools.
As professionals, teachers are disrespected.
The State Board of Accounts includes CPAs…the Native American Indiana Affairs Commission includes members of local Native Americans…
But a commission directly affecting teachers in Indiana has no teacher as a voting member.
Gov. Eric Holcomb followed through Tuesday on his pledge to charge a state commission with finding ways to make Indiana teacher pay more competitive with neighboring states.
However, none of the seven voting members of the Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission is a teacher.
As professionals, teachers are disrespected.
CONTINUE READING: 2019 Medley #4 | Live Long and Prosper
