Why public education should be scrapped

[Left Turn Only]

15. Picking and choosing

Picking and choosing is exactly what I was against. It was not my job to decide who should pass or fail, that's really up to the students. I was a teacher who taught the subject matter in the most interesting way I knew how, made sure they had everything they needed to get whatever grade they cared to work for, and then tested them on the material. It was of no concern of mine, nor should it be of any teacher, what a student may or may not do 20 years down the road. The job of a teacher is to remain objective and not have any favorites. My grades were totally objective; namely, how well did the student learn what they were taught.

Also, I mentioned that students with special needs, behavioral or cognitive, need special teaching, whether it is higher expectations for the gifted or pared down basics for the cognitively impaired; all I said was that they shouldn't all be in the same class. By pointing out the spending of large amounts of money in trying to save a few students, I was showing how the business model in education doesn't apply, but, yet, we as teachers are told that's the direction education should follow, justifying faulty evaluations and merit pay. People need to be willing to spend (be taxed) based on what they want out of education and stop expecting teachers to do the impossible. But right now we are not serving the gifted, average, or problem student very well, and we're spending a lot of money doing it, and I stand by my claim that we could get the same results we are getting now by spending a lot less money.