How sad for all concerned. Given: One of the poorest communities in Rhode Island and the rigors of No Child Left Behind (which is what is behind all this educational crisis.) Depending on who you talk to, there are lots of fingers being pointed. Faulty statistics are being bandied about. Administration is drawing its line in the sand. Teachers have refused to take on extra burdens without compensation. The teachers’ union doesn’t seem to be supporting the teachers. Somewhere out there, there is the truth. I expect it is in the middle.
The one missing part of the puzzle seems to be what the students are doing. What is the community doing? How fast can attitudes in poor, immigrant communities be turned around? Should teachers of students in low achieving communities be compared to teachers in wealthier areas?
Who will be willing to go in and replace all those teachers? The nation will need a million new teachers by 2014. Where will they all come from? When will communities, parents and students start to assume responsibility for their own learning? You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink. After all, its all about accountability.
The Rhode Island teachers will have the last laugh, in all probability. The data-driven replacement crowd will come in all full of themselves and will soon find out that perhaps the job isn’t so easy. The newcomers will probably not do much better, they will burn out and move on. And one day very soon, there will be no one to teach the children. Younger people simply will not want to put up with the insult and there are lots of easier ways to earn $75,000. (that amount was NOT starting pay, btw)
