Here is Teresa Mull writing at American Thinker — government schools ARE unsustainable:
I have a handful of friends who are teachers. Gathering with them over the weekend and hearing about their experiences was eye-opening.
One of my friends teaches at a traditional public school in an impoverished area. He makes a better than average salary but is completely disenchanted by the experience and plans to quit the profession altogether after this school year. He has raised his students’ proficiency rate to 90 percent – a remarkable accomplishment made possible by his dedication and hard work. Yet he receives little support from his principal and barely any backup from the students’ parents, and his day is so consumed by paperwork and bureaucratic nonsense that he’s overwhelmed, frazzled, and exhausted much of the time.
Another friend teaches at a private Catholic school. Though he teaches almost twice as many classes as the public school teacher I know and earns about half his salary, the private school teacher enjoys his work much more. His principal is supportive, his fellow teachers are enthusiastic, and the parents and students are engaged in the educational process. It’s a positive, rewarding workplace environment.
Then there are the charter schools. My Catholic schoolteacher friend told me many people he knows prefer to send their children to their local parochial schools for a religious education, but since quality charter schools are available in the area, they go with the free option instead.
The private school-charter school debate is complex, but it’s obvious that the traditional government school system is broken. The very way it has been set up makes its demise inevitable. Its doom is a matter of not “if,” but “when.” How many students have to suffer and fail before its ultimate downfall becomes reality?
Read more: American Thinker
Image credit: www.americanthinker.com.
