[stevepaa]

I look forward to a day that someone proposes workable standards and metrics with pay for performance. I think most teachers would go for it. Nothing was more discouraging than knowing what my pay was going to be and there was little I could do to get an increase. And the pay was OK with the majority of teachers as they were usually women with second jobs in the family.

I think there still is substantial local control over education. It is the direct education of your child that matters most and you can make a difference there.

I agree that politicians in DC have no clue about teaching. I think a prime example is No Child Left Behind. This is like a chicken in every pot. It really is time to wake up and smell the roses. Not everyone will achieve to any standard you set. You just cannot arbitrarily cut off the bottom portion of the bell curve and shove it in the middle. There will be kids who cannot achieve to any good standard. It is what we do for them that defines us. Currently, we make believe that we can make them be achievers. It just pushes the spotlight onto schools and how they are "obviously failing". What rubbish.