Why do cons always blame teachers for all the lack of student learning in today's America?

Question

I teach in a ghetto school, and let me say that the good kids are great, but the bad ones come to school with no pen, no paper, no I.D., no uniform, no lunch money, no energy, and you can't reach ther parents because they've given the wrong number to the school, or they are bounced around from cousin's house to auntie's house and there's no adult at home to help with homework or even buy them a dictionary or notebook.
Nowadays at least we try to educate everybody. Back in the 50's when "the schools were so great" many of the poor kids didn't even go to school, nor were schools filled with foreigners learning English that bring down a school's test scores. (FYI, the foreign students ty harder and learn faster than the ghetto Americans.)
We don't have enough books, chairs, security, teachers, or classrooms, but still the cons rail against teachers and T's unions, who really son't have much power in my state.
Are T's to blame for all society's ills? Some think so.

AAH! Proof that the cons are against teachers? Well, in a Republican run state like Florida, I have seen over 12 years how annual budget cuts to education, (with only the Dems opposing the cuts) haveleft us with:::
1.Classes as large as 65 in a room built for 30.
2.A lack of security in the schools. (Sec. Guards cost money.)
3. A shortage of books and chairs. ($$$)
4. A SERIOUS shortage of teachers, which means principals have to put substitutes in classes.
5. Strict control of Teacher's Unions power ( we can't strike, for ex.)
6. Instead of listening to us in the poor schools and giving us supplies, safety, and smart colleagues, they make us fill out more forms, drive us crazy with teaching to the test, and nitpick about little things while ignoring major probs.

Now, to be fair: The LIBS have HURT, too, by allowing frivolous lawsuits against schools, having too much tolerance for disruptive behavior. And, giving most of the funding to special ed.

Answer 1

Well I don't think the fault lies with one side over another....I think the country OVERALL is to blame for many reasons.
1) stupid lawsuits
2) parents not being involved at all in their own child's education
3) society expecting schools to teach manners, civility, sex and other subjects that are the province of the parents/family
4) No consequences for kids failing..atitude that all kids are super geniuses just waiting to hatch and any failure is school's and not that kid is dumb or kid didn't do work
5) Very little ability to address teachers who don't exert much effort to teach
6) Lack of funds for proper materials
7) Politics intruding into education like with this whole ID vs Evolution stupidity.

These problems are coming from both sides and all boils down to no one in any way taking any shred of responsibility. Kids don't care and no one makes them care, parent's don't whack kid upside head to learn, schools don't have the resources to educate and act as nursemaid to every student.

When a child fails we lower the standerds to help them pass or initate a huge investigation into a "broken system" when a lot of it could be addressed by kicking the kid in the bum to study and pointing to kids who failed who now have crappy jobs

When i was a kid if I didn't do my homework i got in trouble and got no sympathy for whatever excuse I had....if I flunked they didn't make the test easier, I got slapped by my mom...if I got into trouble at school my parents didn't come in screaming about how the teachers are wrong..they came in slapped me upside head and asked what did I do.

sorry about the insane rant..had a stream of consciousness moment

Answer 2

Why not? I know some students feel lucky to be with the teacher. But the teacher is a professional and still should say "NO!" The teacher needs to be fired on the spot for being stupid. I was only 3 years older than some students I worked with when I first got into education. But I would never even try to talk to a student. Who snitches on them? Any one who has any sense! Even if you are jealous that the teacher is dating that student instead of you, then you should snitch.

Answer 3

Hey, I'm a "Con" and agree with everything you wrote here...so don't lump us all together like that. If anything, you should be yelling at the Libs. Libs are the ones that have created and perpetuated many of the conditions that you just complained about. Libs are the ones that just say if we toss more money at education and get more teachers, everything will be fine...which obviously doesn't fix the problems you just mentioned.

I think your anger is misdirected.

Answer 4

im 50/50 on that. i remember going to high school, and my teachers wouldn't care about me. all they cared about where the " jocks and cheerleader" people. i was not popular enough, so they played favorites. to have a teacher not care about me or how i did made me not care, so all through out high school i was a C, B student. and in college my math class teacher tout us the hardest way to do a problem and moved on to the next, so me and like half the class failed or barley passed. so i had to take the class again and the teacher i have now dosent care who you are, is kind and explains everything, and im passing. so i believe who you are, and how you treat the students. if you treat certain students like crap or show no interest then , their not gonna like you and show it by not participating.

Answer 5

Cons do not blame the teachers. We blame the bureaucracy that allows bad teachers to continue to teach and prevents good teachers from being rewarded.

Answer 6

Please show me proof that conservatives blame the teachers. As a conservative, here is where I put the blame on our failing public schools ranked in order of incompetence/impact.

1. educrats - notice, this is not the same thing as teachers
2. parents
3. today's culture which glorifies violence, stupidity and anarchy
4. students

Answer 7

I blame the lazy students, the lazy parents, AND the lazy teachers.

Answer 8

Libs empower kids - conservatives do not.