Is the current public school system "Getting the job done?"

Teachers do not receive the respect they deserve...they didn't in the sixties and seventies either, but it's only gotten worse! Their pay is substandard, they're treated with suspicion by management, and STILL expected to keep a good attitude and teach...often to students who don't want to learn!

Teachers are given an agenda (an amount of specific material that MUST be covered in a given time) and told to "Get it DONE!"

There's very little time to create a rapport with students, and classes are so large that in many cases it would be almost impossible to do so anyway...
So many teachers cram the agenda down their student's throats - not a pretty picture, but it's sometimes done that way.

What about giving a person a thirst for knowledge?

-- Do teachers still try to instill a desire to learn in their students, as they once did, or is that a forgotten art?
-- Do teachers still CARE about they're students?

Yes, many do!
Many go home each day, and agonize over their students' performance, or lack thereof...particularly those teaching older students!
Many teens today are not interested in learning - school is more like a social club to trem, and school just isn't "fun" or "cool"...

What's the answer? More teachers and smaller classrooms?
An excellent idea, but it would have the undesirable side effect of lowering teacher wages, since schools are only budgeted for a certain amount...and the average teacher only makes about 28k a year...

That's about the same as the average factory worker! Not good! Not good at all...

Teachers have also been forced to handle many "political" situations, such as...

How to handle homosexuality in the classroom...anything taught
in public school is seen to be the official stance of the Government.

How to handle teen sex and teen pregnancies.

How to handle the drug issue today.

How to handle children from single-parent homes...as well as abused children (and teens), and children who've joined gangs just to "survive".

A teacher must be more than just fluent in their specific area (History, Math, Science, etc.)...they also need to be caring of others, familiar with Congressional teaching mandates, sex counselors, and be able to recognize when a student is drunk or stoned and react to it properly!

All for twenty-eight thousand a year? That's a little over 500.00 a week!
Who wants to do THAT?

Not many, that's for sure!

There's a SHORTAGE of teachers today (big surprise THERE)...but in the seventies, there was a SURPLUS....some 10,000 teachers were out of work (in Virginia)!

What's happened?

Has our State Government lost touch with reality?

Has teaching become an undesirable job? If so, WHY?

In Virginia, ANYONE with a Bachelors Degree in ANY FIELD may now teach...the State is THAT HARD UP for teachers!

Also in Virginia, many have now started HOMESCHOOLING…because the Public School system comes across as an uncaring group of people pushing government rhetoric.

Many high schools in Virginia are seen as diploma mills - where students reading at a 2nd grade level can receive diplomas.

What can be done?

We need to work together as a TEAM - to make this Country great again!
That's not going to happen sitting idly by, doing nothing...
So what are your ideas, and how can we implement them?