It's kind of ironic.

[Reader Rabbit]

In threads about health care, DUers are quick to mention the large numbers of doctors and nurses who support the single-payer option. In threads about the Bush Administration's flagrant violations of the Constitution, the opinions of legal experts and attorneys' professional organizations are placed front and center. And why? Because those are the people "on the ground" who know the system or subject in and out. Who better than they to listen to on this issue?

On threads about education, however, teachers never get the same respect for their personal and professional experience. Our opinions are all too often discounted or marginalized. We are assumed to be bad or lazy or jaded teachers who want to continue sucking off the government teat and avoid accountability.

Why?

To me, this tendency to discount what teachers say—to ignore or devalue their opinions, to omit them from decisions which will affect them and their students—is the perfect example of why education reform in America will never succeed. Simply put, Americans don't value those doing the educating, and you can't claim that public education is a priority, and attempt to "fix" it, while at the same time crapping on teachers.

Are there bad teachers? Sure. Just like there are bad doctors, lawyers, businesspersons, etc. But they are not indicative of the entire profession. And even the "bad" ones have been in the trenches, so you just might give them the same respect you give the doctors and the lawyers:

The respect you give to any experienced professional that just might know what the Hell they're talking about.

I have no doubt that this opinion will be attacked by the usual suspects (who, in all fairness, seem to be a small but vocal minority). Just remember, though, that every post attempting to discount my professional opinion—formed over fifteen years of teaching in low income schools—is just proving my point.

[Vickers]

1. "Just remember, though, that every post attempting to discount my professional opinion—"

"-formed over fifteen years of teaching in low income schools—is just proving my point."

CURSES! A "Gotcha! Clause" right there in the OP!

[XemaSab]

2. This is a well-worded post.

Your fine wordsmithing and attention to detail earn you an A+. :)

[Reader Rabbit]

3. Thank you.

Got it. (It's before 6:00 a.m. here.)

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Darn. I made a spelling mistake in mine.

And a nice DUer pointed it out. :)

[Reader Rabbit]

4. The disrespect might be a gender thing, since teaching is a "pink collar" profession.

Some of the interactions I and other teachers have faced around here remind me forcefully of Rebecca Solnit's Men Explain Things to Me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Here! Here!

Excellent points.

:applause:

[Waiting For Everyman]

7. Teachers and parents are intentionally pitted against each other.

It's the same "divide and conquor" we see in politics. The failure is in the system itself - the "dirty little secret" is that it has been subverted to a social-engineering goal, which neither teachers, parents, nor students want and is in none of their best interests. But it's very well hidden, and never discussed.

Our schools are failing because they're designed to.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5230698

That being the case, basing teachers' salaries on success is a highly perverse notion. It seems like a reasonable idea, but in fact it's nothing more than a way to drive down their salaries too - just like the other unions' were. The idea is a trojan horse.

In fact, I'd bet that some of the best teachers are among those who have been fired - for objecting to the system.

What we need to do, is get at the rotten design for failure which permeates the whole system and its curriculum. That goes mostly to the very top executives, and the very top of the universities which train teachers today. They are who I blame, the "philosophers" of the whole system, who are in a position to dictate what will be taught and how.