What I Think...

I have been a passenger on many airplanes. Big planes, little planes, long flights, and short flights - As many times as I have flown it never once occurred to me to think I could fly a plane. That would just be silly. A pilot is trained and licensed to fly the plane. No matter how many times I am a passenger on a plane-I am neither trained nor licenced to fly a plane. I don't know what flying a plane requires - there are a lot of instruments I know that. There must be a good amount of stress in being a pilot - See, I would not purport to know how to fly a plane just because I have been a passenger on a plane - Why, pray tell, does every nummy-nut with a forum for speech think they can tell teachers how to teach. I am trained and licensed to teach. I am still going to school so I can be a better teacher - teaching is a difficult job - just because you were once a student does not mean you know how to teach! Oh, but education is the big buzz word this election season - a lot of opinions going around - get rid of the teacher's union because it protects incompetent teachers - have student test scores determine a teacher's quality of service - yeah, and let's have doctors lose their licenses if a patient dies. Surely a patient dying is more serious than a fifth grader who can't read! It is ridiculous! The LA Times published their rating system on the Internet. A 5th grade teacher, who fell in too the less able category, well he killed himself - I know that public indictment of his teaching was probably not the only factor in his death, but it contributed. The list is a joke, that poor man's family, well they are not laughing. Standardized test are given over a period of eight days. On any given day a student may not feel well. Perhaps they did not eat breakfast, or their parents were fighting, or they slept on the floor, or they have test anxiety - some people don't like taking standardized tests; On this day a student is not able to show what they know via the test; However, the LA Times proposes that the one day test score of a student will determine the effectiveness of a teacher - one day test score - have you ever had a bad day when you could not do your best work? Do you want your work evaluation based on the behavior or performance of the person in the next cubicle? Sure, Officer Jones is being fired because his partner Officer Smith shows up for work late - if Officer Jones was better at his job then Officer Smith would get to work on time. That makes perfect sense. Our system of Education is in need of repair - no one argues that point. Remember when they use to serve meals on flights? A soda and some peanuts, a movie, a blanket or a pillow - they don't provide any of these services anymore -- Why? MONEY! It costs too much and people are going to fly anyway. Education is in the same boat - there is no money and kids are going to come to school anyway. So while it makes for great election month debate, once the elections are over, the subject will go away. Nothing will change. Children have to come to school. I don't believe the powers that be really want to tackle the fixing of our education system - I'll do it! Teachers are the people who need to fix the system. It is our system. Yes, we need to do some weeding of our garden. Yes, the school year needs extension. Yes, we need to make more money so we can attract a quality individual to our profession. And yes, there can be an objective system of evaluation - However, before anyone evaluates a teacher - let them teach. My offer always stands; come teach for a week. Have you seen that show with Tony Danza? He went to school to be a teacher - but he was not a teacher - Teaching is not something you do it is who you are. Teaching is a passion, an art. If you feel it within your soul and your heart then you will do right by your students - If you teach because it allows you time to pursue other dreams, you won't last long - the job is simply too difficult if you are not in it for the love of children. Go ahead, take a walk in my sneakers - then judge me. I am not going to fly any planes, but you are welcome to come teach my class.