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I agree with a good deal of what you have said here. There are some bad teachers and bad policy makers at every level. Teachers are not solely responsible for the problems, nor can they fix most of them.

I part ways with you on the dangers of unions such as the NEA. I place a majority of the blame on them, for a ruined public school system. As well as on ignorant parents who are looking for nothing more than babysitting services.

I am one of those people who doesn't support uniforms. I know it is good for some students and in some districts, but over all, as a general rule I do not like them.

My school district is getting allot of pressure from a small group of parents who do want them.

I homeschool, so that was my solution to the problem. Uniforms, co operative education ,and a liberal school board ,was enough for me to explore my options.

I do think if the parents and tax payers want uniforms, they should have them. I obviously would have some issues about the tax money I spend on public education and my returns, but I support the idea of public education in theory.

I wish it were much better though.

No one is getting their money's worth, but the NEA and the Departent if ED, IMO.

I part ways with you on the dangers of unions such as the NEA. I place a majority of the blame on them, for a ruined public school system.

I in no way support the NEA. Most of the teachers I know who belong to the NEA and its affiliates do so not because they agree with the NEA, but because membership is one of the few ways to obtain liability insurance, and they are afraid of being sued by a parent one day.

In my state, the only way I've found of obtaining professional liability insurance is through a teacher's organization - fortunately, we have an alternative to the NEA, although the NEA's insurance is regarded as being superior to the alternative. I refuse to donate my money to the NEA, but since I teach lab sciences I don't feel I can afford to be without insurance.

I am one of those people who doesn't support uniforms. I know it is good for some students and in some districts, but over all, as a general rule I do not like them.

As a parent I'd prefer to buy uniforms, and as a teacher I think the dress code might be easier to enforce with uniforms, but the parents in our district don't want them, and high school aged students are going to find ways to bend and skirt the rules if at all possible in any case. I do get tired of boys with waistbands around their thighs and girls with tummies hanging out and skirts split to their crotches however.

I wish it were much better though.

Me too. Right now my biggest beef is students who've been socially promoted to the high school level and are still reading at primary grade level. It's very frustrating for all of us when the students just don't have the skills to do high school level work.