Reader comment in USA Today
“Poll: Most want easier way to fire bad teachers.” That’s an article running in USA Today. There’s a comment from a reader, calling himself “TxTeacher,” that I’d like to share:
Should doctors be blamed when their patients don’t improve, even when the patients ignore the doctor’s advice or have family history of certain illnesses?
Should dentists get sued when people get cavities, even though the people refuse to brush or floss or have a history of weak tooth enamel in their families?
The questions above may sound ludicrous to you. But we hold teachers to these insane standards. Why should teachers be the only ones blamed when students don’t learn, even though they don’t care one bit about their educations, fail to do their work, ignore their teachers, or have family history of mental illness, learning disability, or low IQ?
Talk to any teacher you know and ask him or her about the state of the profession.
When students come from homes where education is not supported, where responsibility for oneself regarding one’s education isn’t inculcated in a child, there is only so much a teacher can do. When administrators cater to the pathologies of “helicopter parents” who hold their child blameless and whose first thought is “what more can the teacher be doing,” the game is already rigged. Should teachers be evaluated based on the performance of students from these homes? Should these administrators be in charge of determining who the “bad teachers” are?
If only firing bad teachers could make a meaningful difference. But, I assure you, there are fewer bad teachers than Americans would like to think there are. The real problem is larger than that and strikes closer to home.
