And for most of us, it was a public school teacher. Never before in the history of education in the U.S. has the public school teacher been attacked with such vitriol. When did the public school teacher become part of the problem with education and not part of the solution?

From the Senate to the House (Bill 7189) to Governor Crist who said he would sign the bill that puts the Sunshine State into an “Educational Debacle”…and they wonder why they have to deal with irate parents, students and teacher unions.
As a former teacher for 25 years, with many recalcitrant students, I can tell you that not all children learn in the same way and one size does not fit every student who has to be prepared for a standardized test each year to prove the validity of the classroom teacher.

Scores of students over the years, who have become productive citizens, have told me that they learned most from individual teachers who nurtured them – not from cookie cutter standardized lessons to prepare them for a test, which is not teaching!

President Obama, through his education secretary Arne Duncan, has developed yet another way to diminish the public school teacher with “Race to the Top,” which will provide states with federal dollars if they enact “school reform,” which includes more tests, more charter schools and more vouchers for private schools; just as president Bush did with NCLB (No Child Left Behind), which really amounted to (NNPSCLB), No Non-Public School Child Left Behind.
 
If you were able to read this, thank a public school teacher.

Dr. Jim Tranthem                                                                                                                                
DrTranthem@Yahoo.com
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