Michelle Obama: Teachers Are Key to a Successful Economy

Thank you Michelle Obama for your great comments. I'm married to a teacher. He will be retiring in the next 3 years. It's an exhausting job and until you teach or are close to teachers it's hard to know that. I think there is a the reason young people shun the classroom as a professional option. It's not just the money. The classroom can become toxic without the support of the Administration and the parents. If teachers had support from these 2 groups I think you would see more people stepping up to education. I think the teachers would walk into the classroom knowing that if a student disrupts them and the students who want to learn, the entire community would support them and their efforts recruiting teachers would improve. Teachers take the hit first but really we are all responsible for our kids education, even if it's some small way. I would challenge those who think it's the schools, teachers and government's fault should spend a week with a teacher, in the classroom and after school they would change their criticism to support. I just don't think they know how hard it is to teach.

I hope we can turn this situation around. I hope more step up to the challenge. The students are our future.

K Peterson of CA 11:26AM November 12, 2009

I am entering into my ninth year of teaching. I live in a community that borders Mexico. Two-thirds of the student population are of Mexican decent. Many students from local schools travel across the border on a daily basis to be educated here. The biggest challenge with my students is their lack of the English language. Until students have a command of English, they should be retained at kinder, first, or even second grade. This would be a wake-up call for the many families that take it for granted that the schools will take care of the "language issue." As teachers, we see many students who will succeed and go far in life. Unfortunately for the others, without a great education and a desire to learn, many will end up as their parents and grandparents did. Most are on welfare (in this area) and the others are farm laborers, waitresses, cleaning ladies, and so on. Parents need to be held accountable for their child's success. It begins at home!

A Third Grade Teacher from California of CA 9:45PM November 08, 2009

I think I have been very insensitive to my son's teachers needs because I did not realize all the restrictions that they were under. I did not realize that they were only able to "hold back" so many students. My son is extremely learning challenged and spends 95% of his day in Special Education class. He was supposed to graduate last year, but I did not think it would be any big deal for the High School to keep him another year. A social worker told me that he was listed on her government computer as attending a high school that he did not attend and which I had never told anyone he attended. I wonder that maybe the strict quotas for having people graduate each year drove them to this deceptive tactic.

Deborah Glen of MO 9:45AM November 07, 2009

Dear Readers:

I believe that teachers are important. I believe that great teachers may be inspirational to their students--usually ones that do not teach to the curriculum guides. These do not lead to high-performance test scores.

A few people have mentioned that merit-based test scores will encourage people to leave the profession. It will force teachers that live on the salary to choose students based on their ability to learn. I believe this to be true. If merit pay becomes a reality, I will leave urban schools and make a life in the suburbs. I am sad to say this.

Students have no responsibility if their parents do not care about their grades. If a school has many students that do not care about their grades, students essentially have the option to only complete half the assigned work: the schools will pass them. Teachers have quotas on the number of students that they can fail. This puts teachers at the whim of student ambition--or rather their lack of ambition.

Is this the fault of teachers? Is it the fault of society? Is it the fault of media?

Until students are forced to face their own responsibility, all these other "fixes" will fix nothing. Standardized tests, merit pay, blaming the aforementioned groups only shuffle the blame. In a society that claims meritocracy, however accurate or not accurate that statement may be, should we not be teaching students that they are the ones responsible for their education?

What I propose is radical: remove quotas. Let teachers teach. It's what they want to do. If a student has not learned the content, let them come back year after year. It will be painful to the system for a time--but enough want to graduate that they will step up and meet expectations. Our students are just as smart today as they were 10, 20 and 30 years ago in this country. Hold THEM accountable for THEIR lives. I believe that have the ability to astound us.

Praying for a better tomorrow...

Optimistic of OH 6:38PM November 02, 2009