Signs Of The Future.

       Our system of education is under attack. No I don't mean armed teaching terrorists have descended on our schools. What I do mean is there is a concerted push to take funds away from public schools and provide private schools with more funding. What will this accomplish? I can tell you it will increase value of a private school education. Those students that are financially able to attend better funded private schools will undoubtedly get more attention and receive a better education.
       But what about public education? Well, schools who are determined to be failing will receive less funding because of vouchers that take students and cash out of the system for them. As a result they can only sink lower. Better performing public schools will, never the less, continue to be funded lower and will eventually sink to a lower level.
       The idea that teachers should be graded by government is an insult to the very people we entrust our future to. We need to have the brightest and best people we can find to replace teachers who will be retiring.
       If you have a company, and you want the best and smartest employees, do you tell them they'll undergo evaluations on a continual basis or do you tell them you want them to do their best work? In other words, do you say we don't trust you or do we say, we know you can do it so go to it? Again, if you have a company and you want your leaders to be the best you can get, do you pay them a low wage and treat them like cheap laborers or do you pay them a high wage and treat them special?
       If we want our young people to get a better education, wouldn't it make sense to get the best teachers we can find, create the best educational environment we can, treat those teachers the best we can, give them the best tools for teaching we can and pay them like they were the best? It might not even be a bad idea to show them the respect you would give any successful person in the field they represent.
       Yes, we need ways to remove poor teachers, and yes there are financial constraints, but if this country wants to continue to be a leader, the leader in the world, we need to find ways to meet the needs and show the respect to the teachers that will lead the way to that future.
       Governments, federal, state or local can't lead us there, but teachers can. All that governments can do is provide the tools for the teachers The big question is, will we demand our governments do that?