Conradictory Reasoning

"Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."

HA!  I laugh every time I hear that one.  The more people believe this, the less they can complain about the quality of educator that stands before classrooms of students.

If people believe this to be true then there is a lack of public affection or reverence towards becoming an educator.  I challenge anybody who buys into this mentality, "How is it possible to attract the best and brightest into a classroom when they are looked down upon by the very people who want them placed there to begin with?"

It's one thing to be criticized by other educators, students, administrators, or even the parents of my students, but by Joe Schmo?  Don't even bother.  Save your energy when it comes to criticizing the work that I do with my students in my classroom.

I have no sympathy for a systemic reform effort that marginalizes or belittles the very work that we do.  You cannot demand excellence while at the same time patronize the profession.  The message itself is so conflicting that it's mind-boggling that people don't catch on to this glaring contradiction.

I challenge anybody who really thinks that they can justify the above statement when surviving as an urban educator requires putting up with an atmosphere where due process is about to disappear, where students can make allegations to get your fired on a whim, where the test scores of your students (whether they attend school or not) is more important than the actual lessons learned.

Anyway, on a lighter note, Go JETS!