Fact
The three-yearly OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, which compares the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in 70 countries around the world, ranked the United States 14th out of 34 OECD countries for reading skills, 17th for science and a below-average 25th for mathematics.
We need to do something different. We need to educate our kids. We need to stop paying the retirement and healthcare of past teachers until we get back to our past ratings as the best schools in the US. We need to take the best of you and ditch the rest. Not every teacher is bad, but it is rare to find one that will place any blame on their co-workers. I have teachers in my family, I’ve taught, I’ve known many of you.
Or the schools can implode as they are doing right now. Look up Garfield Heights, Ohio.
You see, I already bought my curriculum this year and MI has recently passed Virtual Charters into the mix. I know women who are getting a nice baby sitting business going. They’ll be watching other kids while moms work and the students attend Michigan Virtual Academy. It doesn’t take a BA in education to do it either. While teachers point fingers, parents are working things out.
We need to educate our kids. We need to stop paying the retirement and healthcare of past teachers until we get back to our past ratings as the best schools in the US.
The Teachers fully fund their retirement account through payroll deduction. The TEA negotiates favorable insurance rates for retirees. The retirees pay the premium. So taxpayers are not paying for retired teachers in Texas.
Not every teacher is bad, but it is rare to find one that will place any blame on their co-workers.
Again I do not know your location or environment, however your statement may incorrect for the Texas School Systems I have had contact with. Teachers are critical of both the commitment and performance of their peers. Texas teachers also are subject to observations where their performance is critically reviewed and included as part of their annual summative. I qualify it as may, since my level of contact is limited to the school districts my children attended or that my wife was employed.
You see, I already bought my curriculum this year and MI has recently passed Virtual Charters into the mix.
Ah, location is revealed. I spent my first 27 years in Michigan so I better understand your position. My sister in law is a retired teacher and I used to play weekend basketball and softball with several teachers and elementary principals so I am well aware of the problems of the 70's and it would seem things got worse over the years.
Having experienced the environments of both Texas and Michigan I can unequivocally state the problems in Texas are not the problems in Michigan, both structurally and financially. Of the two, if given the task, I would prefer the problems in Texas as a starting point.