Posted by Mike on 1/05/09

I'm a NYC public school teacher who's been following your
chancellor Ms. Rhee (a product of our own tyrant, Joel
Klein) and I can't keep my outrage inside anymore. Apologies
in advance for the rant.

Ms Rhee is the latest of the holier-than-thou "education
reformers" in the mold of our own Millionaire Klein. Elitest
intellectuals who decide to enter the school system on a
lark and try to fix all of its ills. A wonderful, noble
endeavor.

Do they do this by tackling the greater social problems of
awful, neglectful parenting in low income areas? The
environments that so many under-performing students are
direct products of?

Hahaha, of course not. That would be far too complicated and
way too unpopular. These low-income kids exist as props to
be used in the media's heart-warming tales. If the tale is
pleasing, it will be retold; those who challenge it get
typecast as evil union hacks, villians out of a Dickens' novel.

Instead, these "education reformers" go about their holy
quest the easy, convenient way: by attacking teacher unions
and smearing teachers. Tenure!! That's the root of sociey's
problems! Teacher pensions and summers off, that's making
students not study!! Damn you, teacher unions! Big, bad,
teacher unions!! Who doesn't love attacking a faceless
entity that happens to have perks many Americans (especially
in bleak economic times) can only dream of.

There. Doesn't that feel better than tackling the original
problem? Of course it does.

The problem, as you likely know, is not the teachers. To
blame under-performing students on them is pure laziness,
and more than anything, it's that small-minded arrogance
expressed by people outside the system that does the most to
drive away qualified candidates.

Holy crusaders like Klein and Rhee are a dime a dozen...they
saunter into teaching ready to change the world one kid at a
time, get overwhelmed or bored within 2-3 years, then head
off to more lucrative pastures having done their good deed.
Most have no intention of making teaching a career. It's a
hobby.

Most teachers are in it for the long haul. They know they
won't get rich. They know they'll be forced to spend 20-30k
on a masters degree in order to keep their jobs. They know
they'll be kicked around often by students and
administrators alike. And now this...people like Klein and
Rhee and Bloomberg doing all they can to make life
unpleasant for teachers, for their own media image and long
term financial benefit.

What can we do? Vote King Bloomberg out of office this
November. And if you're in DC? Vote against Rhee's awful
proposal.

Fin.

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