[Tim Walsh]

Just something from the trenches, my wife-to-be is a first year teacher who's teaching in what is or was a "failing school" and the reason they have to "teach the test" and nothing else is because of the consequences of not doing well on those tests. At her school if they don't pass the test this year, the whole administration will be replaced. No Child Left Behind has really screwed with how teachers are allowed to teach. At this point they have to teach the test because of NCLB. Heck she had at least 2 days last week after their semester ended and before the standardized tests that she wasn't allowed to teach anything at all, just babysit.

Yes I'll say that there are right many teachers who really need to be replaced, but what do you do when you can't find enough of them as it is? At her school there are currently 14 open teaching positions, do you fire the current incompetent ones are then leave the kids with no supervisor at all?? Also what do you think happens to the kids learning when you have to have a school lockdown because you have 4 gang fights break out in 10 minutes?? That was last week at her school.


Sorry, it just pisses me off when I hear from the peanut gallery that teachers are lazy, teachers are overpaid, teachers are incompetent blah blah blah, when there are many many of them out there that are trying their damnedest to get their students ready for the real world despite NCLB, stupid standardized testing and when many students have a complete lack of any stability at home.