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Don't Blame the Teachers

Submitted by Nancy Joyce Jancourtz, Jun 14, 2007 12:24

To: Ms. Ravitch and the Editors

No doubt the teachers are wrongfully blamed for the past several decades of public education deterioration. The social environmental focus away from learning, excellence, and appropriate behavior--certainly has injured our society over the decades; not to mention the escalation of drug usage, both prescribed and illegal...

From my recent personal experience with elementary school children, however; I vouch through such empiricism,that our children do not come to school disinterested in the curriculum because of their home environment...The parents I know are deeply concerned with their children's wellbeing--including but not limited to their education. Those homes where children are not receiving appropriate nurturing need be investigated by Social Services...

As we continue to advance electronically and otherwise--we will be bombarded with more and newer "Pods" and musical interludes--as well as pictorial invasions of privacy. Parental guidance is more essential than ever; yet the excitement of learning must be fostered within the school environment. It is this writer's particular belief that the teachers' unions and politicians are the worst offenders of needed nurture and desire of our children to learn. Indeed, we have wonderful stimuli on-line, beginning with free pre-schoolers' "Starfall", etc. When I was a child, that would have been a mere dream--if that!

The attitude of the education system, i.e., do not correct a child's speech, her spelling, his grammar, his evaluations to obtain the correct answer, etc.: therein lies the great fallacy, compounded by the modern generations of teachers, who themselves, were taught thusly. Vouchers available to all is the best solution--immediately. The college and post-graduate situations will rectify themselves shortly from this essential change now.

Cordially,

Nancy Joyce Jancourtz.

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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]	Debbie Smith	Jun 18, 2007 14:14
To Diane Ravitch: Thank you! [MORE]	Dennis Fermoyle	Jun 15, 2007 21:28
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,... [MORE]	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...	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]	Thomas Farrell	Jun 14, 2007 08:54

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