Too many of my fellow Conservatives deal with the issue of education reform by simply blasting teachers and their unions. I have many issues with the teachers unions, especially on the national level. However, they are not the major culprits undermining our educational system, especially at the local level. The Education departments of universities indoctrinate teachers with doctrines, methods and priorities which are counter productive. Legislators appease interest groups and enact mandates that detract from the teaching of core subjects. They also try to turn schools into social work agencies instead of educational institutions. School administrators divert money from the classroom, to fund bloated bureaucracies and wasteful programs. Lazy and Incompetent principals mismanage schools and fail to take appropriate action to deal with teacher misconduct and lack of teaching skills. They fail to app;y progressive discipline and then blame the unions for the presence of bad teachers.
In two decades, teachings at the same inner city school, my wife has seen it all and done her best and more. In all of that time, she has seen one capable principal and he lasted one year. Together with a colleague, she wrote the grant that provided replace the school's patchwork of computers with a state of the art educational computer system. Of course, she got no compensation and no recognition. On the other hand she did get abundant criticism and interferences with the grant's implementation, from the principal on down. I will address the education issue further. For now I truly want your input suggestions and criticism. I hope to hear from you soon
Charles Perkel
Mr. Perkel, my late mother and sister were teachers their entire working career. Our family had education as a core value. My mother had not herself been in a classroom in over 20 years and after six children attained first her Bachelors and then her Masters in Education. My Father, used to tell us three things when before our first day of school- 1) Do your best. 2) If you get a whack at school, you are getting two at home. 3) Don't be a bully, but if someone picks a fight with you, you better finish it. Even though he worked long and hard days, he would find time and listen to our reading. While Teacher's Unions and incompetent administrations contribute to the minimum competency and lowest common denominator paradigm, parents must also take responsibility. G-d Bless. Thank your wife for her service and G-d love her and her efforts.
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