A teacher can only have so much influence

It's often fashionable to unload on teachers when talking of why our public schools suck so badly. One of the biggest problems I have with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), is that it holds teachers to account for things that are WAY beyond their control.

Educational historian Diane Ravitch agrees that it is time to not just hold teachers to account, but to start looking at the role of students and parents in this mess. Here is a small sample of her article to get you started:

It's time to stop beating up on teachers and ask why so many of our children arrive in school with poor attitudes toward learning. If the students aren't willing to work hard, if they aren't hungry to succeed, then even the best teachers in the world — laden with merit pay, bonuses, and other perks — are not going to make them learn.

Every article and book about successful education systems in other nations say that their students are "hungry" for education, "hungry" for the learning that will propel them and their families to a better life. Our children — with too few exceptions — don't have that hunger. It's not the fault of their teachers.

We will continue to misdiagnose our educational needs until we focus on the role of students and their families. If they don't give a hoot about education, if the students are unwilling to pay attention in class and do their homework after school, if they arrive in school with a closed and empty mind, don't blame their teachers.

It's certainly refreshing to hear someone who is not a fellow teacher state what we teachers say every day, and that is that there is only so much we teachers can do, and then the student is going to have to bear some bit of the responsibility for his own education.

Good Day to You, Sir