[Lizavetta]

I don't think the fault lies with teachers.

They have unwaveringly supported their union, the National Education Association, and liberal democrat politicians which have wrought much of the problems facing schools today. They've made their bed - now they can lie in it.

[Teacher317]

I respectfully disagree. The leadership has faithfully followed the power-structure. The rank and file simply want to teach, and have learned that those who do not 'go with the (union) flow' are treated differently. Those (like me) who occasionally take a stand or try to high-light some particular instance of stupidity (I'll detail another one below) find themselves VERY lonely. As with any union, any non-vote is usually considered a vote of support for the union position... and that simply isn't so. (I've been a member of two other unions, and my brother is a 'lifer'. There is a huge number of dissenters. They usually aren't allowed a voice, though.

Idiotic educrat policies, take 2: Governor O'Bannon (IN-D) wants to be the 'education governor' (dont they all?). He addresses Indiana's weak standardized testing scores (usually in the low 40's out of 50 states) as the main indicator. His lame solution, as with so many others, is to change the test (as if that changes the amount of learning, or the quality of students produced). The moronic part: he decides that we should have 'the highest state standards in the nation'... making the test more difficult... which will, of course, result in lower standardized test scores. The educational process for children remains unchanged, and the test scorres will go down as an inevitable result of his own plan. Yep, that's MY governor! *sigh*