Let teachers teach — and parents should parent
September 17, 2012 6:50PM
Updated: October 19, 2012 6:07AM
Let teachers teach, and parents should parent
No matter what they tell you, throwing more money at the public schools will not significantly improve anything other than the wallets of teachers and administrators. If it were true, the Chicago Public Schools would produce a far better product than they do.
They told you the children are hungry, so they fed them. They told you that to get quality teachers, you needed to pay more for it. What were the results? Chicago can boast it is one of the worst school districts and highest salary averages in the nation, and Elgin School District U46 is not far behind.
Here is a thought. Let’s bring discipline back, no curved grading, pass students only if they earn it, and get rid of this bilingual nonsense. Let the teachers teach. It works in the private schools.
Teachers went to school to learn how to teach. They did not go to school for baby-sitting, nursing or psychology. In minor ways, most teachers do a little of each. If a student has a medical problem, they may need to attend special classes that can attend to their needs. If a student is not proficient in English, send them to classes that teach them English instead of making everyone learn Spanish. Students not proficient in English hurt the teaching of American English-speaking students. If they do not pass, quit passing them. Instead of lowering standards, raise them. Maybe instead of the teachers union, there should be a student/parent union that cares about the education of students. Teachers unions seem to only care about their wages, benefits and class sizes.
I am sure there are tons of teachers who would love it if their unions would take simply let teachers teach; but they have to join the union to work as a teacher, denying them work if they do not join.
I am sure some will point out the benefits that unions brought, and they did. But now unions want their increased wages and costly benefit packages and do not seem to care if it will bankrupt the city. It is their “I want mine, screw you” mentality that an increasing number of taxpayers find offensive but remain silent.
As long as the parents takes a passive role in education, little if anything will change. But half of a child’s education comes from the parents, and it seems like parents do not want to parent or do not know how. They simply want to let the teacher parent for them.
Manfred W. Czymmek
Elgin
