teachers

Any conditions that compel the teacher to take note of failures rather than of healthy growth give false standards and result in distortion and perversion.
— John Dewey1

It’s Labor Day weekend, the schools have been in session about a week, and the disgruntled voices of a minority drone on. Their screeching refrain, often in letters to the editor and talk show call-ins, is familiar:
– Teachers only work half a year.
– Teachers are overpaid.
– Local school districts and their taxpayers shouldn’t have to hold the burden of teacher salaries.

The state of English Language Teaching (ELT) (and teaching content, electives overall) is going through a serious, almost radical, transformation.  Long gone are the days where union chapters, building reps and others who represent a teaching staff have the backing of their affiliate or parent union for support.  No more do we see teachers of all areas praised for working miracles with society’s problem students/children. Forever gone are the school days filled with bright eyes, smiling faces, recess, and an obvious love of learning.

The PISA scores are out and American students are ranking pretty low.  All who follow the corporate line are up in arms and blaming our educational system. For once they are right. Although American students have never scored high in these international tests, it only goes to show that the billions upon billions of dollars spent the last dozen years on testing, testing, testing, curriculum writing by non-teachers, privatization, charter schools, etc. have failed in their mission to remake our public school system for the better.