What do I do ALLL day?

School districts are dishonest. They aren't actually people, though, but an entity so you cannot hold them accountable.

They make a commitment but can never follow through. They try some attempt at reform, but when they don't have any brown sugar, they just stick in white sugar which completely changes the flavor of the recipe. Then they complain it doesn't taste the same as the original they tasted on their visit to a successful model.

Then they go back to their old ways.

Did you know that educational reform in this country originates with the formation of a more "industrial" school model, meant to mimic the factory environment? Students are treated like a four door sedan and one teacher is designed to produce a window while another works on the steering wheel. No one cared that it only produced a 25% college attendance rate because that was the expected outcome- 75% of adults were needed for manufacturing jobs. People would start in a factory, die in a factory, and provide a fairly decent living.

Why hasn't this whole system been overhauled to meet the needs of a different economy?

They tried in the 1920s but then WWII hit and we went back industrial. They tried in the 60s, but when the civil rights movement emerged, teachers were unprepared for urban populations and shied away from trying anything that would work- they went back to the pedagogy of poverty, a method that is both ineffective and a further violation of any civil rights that people may have been afforded during and since this movement.

The 80s saw a resurgence until the Federal gov. started subsidizing state-funded schools and demanded accountability. The long-term result of that is NCLB, a noble but failed attempt to hold schools accountable for all this money the feds have handed out. NCLB has again derailed any movement to solid meaningful instruction because teachers are afraid to be creative. They have reverted to an antiquated "drill and kill" style, something that works for such a small percentage of the population that we are back to the original design of schools to factory every sedan down the line.

It doesn't matter if a kid is a Nova, an SUV, a VW bug, a minivan or a Cadillac, we are going to give them the same sized window, door, and tires.

I have hope that with a new twist on NCLB under the new prez., this age of accountability might morph into something good, that schools will be held accountable but for the right things: decrease in drop-out rate, increased engagement in school, higher job placement and college rates, the number of students who become productive members of society (problem-solvers who do not need the social services of the government for prolonged periods of time) and unique curriculum designed to meet the needs of the individual. All I can say is that every day I get to work to that end and I love my role in it.

If your kid has a good teacher, get them a box of chocolates and say thanks for meeting the needs of my kid even though you have no training or expectation to do so.

::stepping off of soapbox::