Teacher!Teacher!
Well I use to be strongly opposed to public dollars going to private
schools, but the most expensive thing to have is a closed mind.
After talking to some students, and reading letters in the editorial.
I realize a lot of public schools just don’t care; some just move students
up whether they’re ready or not, some don’t do anything about students
who skip, their text books are 30 years old. No point in squandering money
on schools that are ineffective: schools who put kids through the system
when they can’t spell or read or do math at the level they should be able.
Why is it so hard to get rid of bad teachers, or incompetent teachers?
Why can’t teachers fail students who deserve it.
This is the trouble in giving the public system a monopoly, and job security to the teachers union. Nobody else is guaranteed a job and neither should public teachers be; if they want to keep their job the should produce results
like everyone else. Give the parents education vouchers so the schools that
produce the results get the funding even if they are private schools. Maybe
then school boards will be more efficient and will be fiscally responsible.
A system where funding is attached to the students
instead of going directly to the school would give them incentive to
do the job or they lose students funding and close. We are not doing kids a favour in the long term, unless we only keep the best teachers and forget the rest.
Schools, especially secondary schools need to prepare students for
the real world and punish students that skip; participation in on any
school teams, or clubs need to be contingent on attendence and
effort in the classroom. If our tax dollars goes to a private school
that’s fine by me as long as they get results and accept all of God’s
children. Maybe a private school can do a better job for the same
cost. Maybe an end to a monopoly for the public system is the push
they need to restructure, put more funding into the classroom and keep
only the best teachers, and principals. Perhaps funding should also
be tied to the success of the school, how many graduate and how many
grads are able to pass standardize exit test. One thing I have learned
from chatting with students are some of our schools just don’t care if
students skip, or know the material they’re suppose to know. Like in
the movie teachers they just move the kids up to get them through the
system. In the long run they doing a diservice! Something is rotten
when public schools have a monopoly to public funding.
