Teachers teach the content set forth by the state standards and benchmarks. They have some say in formal curriculum adoptions, but the district and school building administrators make final decisions on what formal curriculum in provided. "Wise educational decisions," generally, are jettisoned not because teachers in the classroom reject them, but because school and district policy does. Teachers are reprimanded for attempting to teach their students how to think... bringing up controversial issues for debate are frowned upon. A wonderful example of how politicians and administrators mess things up is Reading First... an incredible outline that reflects true best practices. However, only certain packaged programs, some of them only appearing good on the surface but actually missing many important instructional tools, were endorsed by the government due to political maneuvering by publishers, which meant great programs that have been reflecting balanced and individualized used of the five components were rejected, especially those developed by teachers in their classrooms. Surprise, surprise, data comes back iffy about Reading First, and the research, reports, and overall program information was condemned rather than those truly responsible for the data's results... the politicians, publishers, and those who failed to implement and supplement accepted programs using the real Reading First best practices. Nope. They're not to blame. It's the teachers. Of course.
Yes, there are bad teachers out there. There are also bad doctors out there, but we don't condemn the entire medical profession because in spite of all those years of study and training there are still incompetents who make it through to be licensed. HMOs and PPOs limit our choices in medical care, just as public school districting limits our choices in educational care.
Defining an entire profession based on the worst practitioners punishes many committed and competent people who are doing their best. Don't make the good teachers "whipping boys" for those who are incompetent.
Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.
Other reader comments on this article
Comment
By
Date
Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein have hoodwinked the public into thinking that conditions in our schools are improving.... [MORE]
Ed Greenspan
Oct 28, 2007 16:15
I was reading your comments, and I was thinking about what the real role of the teacher is, because I... [MORE]
Dulce Dedieu
Sep 3, 2007 15:43
After a daunting first year of teaching, I can see why so many teachers leave the profession. First, we are... [MORE]
Donna
Jun 18, 2007 19:54
After reading this article and many of the comments, I felt I had to say something. I have been a... [MORE]
Heather Perkins
Jun 18, 2007 12:09
One of the problems we have in this country is assigning blame…….We are great at blaming everyone else but not... [MORE]
Bob Dean
Jun 17, 2007 11:36
Re. Don't Blame the Teacher By Diane Ravitch
The responsibility for educating a child is placed squarely in the hands of... [MORE]
Phyllis Cynthia Murray
Jun 16, 2007 17:28
When I first read Ravitch's article I thought....great points. Yes, in poorer nations children are hungry for learning and success.... [MORE]
MLR
Jun 16, 2007 13:50
BRAVO to Diane Ravitch! Teachers know the truth. We do everything we can. We talk to the students and to... [MORE]
Judith
Jun 16, 2007 10:51
Ms. Ravitch you are right. The detractors of public education in America have been fooling the public and even many... [MORE]
Paul Preston, Inside Education, Educational Talk Radio
Jun 16, 2007 09:30
To get a real picture of where the U.S. stands in regards to other countries on public education, see the... [MORE]
Debbie Smith
Jun 18, 2007 14:07
Ms.Ravitch starts her article with: "The meeting proceeded through the now-familiar litany of bad news: American students perform poorly on... [MORE]
Paul Preston, Inside Education, Educational Talk Radio
Jun 19, 2007 23:50
Paul, by commenting on the "litany of bad news" regarding the state of our public school system, Ms. Ravitch is... [MORE]
Debbie Smith
Jun 20, 2007 13:44
Thankfullly, we finally live in a state that has mandatory testing. It's a godsend since most of my childrens' teachers... [MORE]
Moira
Jun 15, 2007 23:03
Everyone who can remember when tests were measures of student success rather than the teacher's... raise your hand....!
And by the... [MORE]
Michelle
Jun 18, 2007 07:27
Yes, BRAVO for NCLB, it is truly the first step in legislative efforts at public education reform. In addition to... [MORE]
I am a teacher and have been an assistant principal and a high school principal. I now work for the... [MORE]
Mary
Jun 15, 2007 20:07
Diane Ravitch--this is an awesome statement. Politicians, business people, most conservatives, and all those others who could never hold their... [MORE]
John E. Russo II
Jun 15, 2007 15:36
Those who want to blame the entire set of teachers for the state of education today have never bothered to... [MORE]
Michelle
Jun 15, 2007 13:08
Diane Ravich is absolutely correct in identifying the source of America's educational woes in students' lack of work ethic. But... [MORE]
Mary Hudson
Jun 15, 2007 11:39
I only partially agree, because I'm sure a very small percentage of students are as Ms. Ravitch describes. (A very... [MORE]
Anne Spence
Jun 15, 2007 08:27
I agree with Ms. Ravitch that student apathy is a real problem in government schools and with many of the... [MORE]
Crimson Wife
Jun 15, 2007 15:44
You are angry--that 's obvious. However, as a public school Teacher, with excellent evaluations and commendations, I know Diane Ravitch... [MORE]
John E. Russo II
Jun 15, 2007 16:12
I was saddened to read the posting from the mother of the dyslexic student. Having been a special educator for... [MORE]
Jeanne
Jun 18, 2007 10:25
Sorry to hear of your child's educational horror story. BTW, it's Johnny not Jonnie. Remember, teaching is a cultural act... [MORE]
rb
Aug 24, 2007 21:36
I'm a Chinese student. No offense to all the teachers in the US, I have to say that, from a... [MORE]
Vera
Oct 8, 2007 09:22
You dramatically made the case that politically correct textbooks reflect bad scholarship and are part of the problem in The... [MORE]
Jon T. Hill
Jun 14, 2007 19:36
Get rid of active engagement with reflection, expressivism, WAC, and other "dumbed down" nonsense based on racial and gender stereotypes.... [MORE]
Paul Cameron
Jun 14, 2007 19:18
As a committed liberal, I have never been a fan of Professor Ravitch's work--until now. It is good for both... [MORE]
Bernard Freydberg
Jun 14, 2007 19:06
Teachers teach the content set forth by the state standards and benchmarks. They have some say in formal curriculum adoptions,...
Michelle
Jun 15, 2007 13:25
Who else is there to blame? Kids are sent to school. Teachers are paid to teach them. But they don't... [MORE]
Don Swearingen
Jun 14, 2007 19:05
Thank you for defending teachers. I taught special education for 17 years before being called to another career. I worked... [MORE]
Nancy
Jun 14, 2007 15:30
It's not that most parents don't support their children in school and that they don't push their children to work... [MORE]
Debbie Smith
Jun 14, 2007 14:16
School administrators are often caught between student need and lack of funding. This makes them horribly defensive, and have a... [MORE]
Michelle
Jun 15, 2007 13:43
I appreciate the sentiment you are expressing to the notion that if parents simply refuse to accept "no" for an... [MORE]
Debbie Smith
Jun 16, 2007 17:06
While it is true that many parents either lack knowhow and/or time in order to ensure the best education for... [MORE]
Michelle
Jun 18, 2007 07:06
I agree with you that we need stronger legislation and better enforcement in our schools, but, the facts surrounding school... [MORE]
Debbie Smith
Jun 18, 2007 13:42
What Ravitch says is true, as far as it goes, but some things are the fault of the teaching profession,... [MORE]
Charles Connell
Jun 14, 2007 12:58
Kids get A's and B's for work that would have earned us C's and D's because when they get C's... [MORE]
Michelle
Jun 15, 2007 13:47
To: Ms. Ravitch and the Editors
No doubt the teachers are wrongfully blamed for the past several decades of public education... [MORE]
Nancy Joyce Jancourtz
Jun 14, 2007 12:24
As the old saying goes, "You can't make chicken soup from chicken feathers". When most of a child's capacity for... [MORE]
Harold Brown
Jun 14, 2007 12:06
I love this article ! I am a special ed dept. head in a urban high school. There are some... [MORE]
Ben Hull
Jun 14, 2007 11:23
I am no expert, just a mother of four children, but I see that in families where there are high... [MORE]
sonja moran
Jun 14, 2007 11:14
Finally someone hears what we teachers are saying. Notice that we are never included in the discussion. Why is that?... [MORE]
Heather
Jun 14, 2007 11:08
Does no one hear the words of Jamie Vollmer? Students go to school and they are there no matter what... [MORE]
Jaime Cordero
Jun 15, 2007 10:41
"The parents are the primary educators of their children. As your school we are here to help" We found this... [MORE]
Linda Jalufka
Jun 14, 2007 10:54
To me, your article is clear and hits the 'Nail' right on the head. Your perspective is so obvious to... [MORE]
Robert D. Mossman
Jun 14, 2007 10:41
I am in my late 50's and have been teaching for 6 years here in North Carolina. In all that... [MORE]
Joe Grace
Jun 14, 2007 10:22
Throughout my years in education, particularly as an administrator, I have not always agreed with Diane Ravitch's ideas or conclusions,... [MORE]
Jim Little
Jun 14, 2007 09:46
I know an outstanding teacher who recently asked her students what career path they were interested in. About 60% said... [MORE]
Fred Jenson
Jun 14, 2007 09:14
The real reason why students are slackers, and why education is ridiculed, etc. is simple: students are forced to go... [MORE]
David
Jun 14, 2007 09:04
Students are the primary agents of their own learning. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make... [MORE]