Busy Day for Teachers
Today, Saturday October 18, 2008, will not be a typical weekend day for teachers in the USA.
Teachers and their supporters from across the country will be marching to the capitol in Washington, DC today – to protest Teacher Abuse across the entire nation.
Organizers for the rally have provided paper bags for teachers to wear if they fear retaliation for marching. Since, under our present system, teachers can have their lives turned into a “living hell” if they irritate the wrong people, it makes sense that some of them desire anonymity.
The goals of the protest include:
- Making citizens aware of the dangers teachers are experiencing on a daily basis as they try to do their jobs.
- Protesting being made the scapegoats for the problems in our educational system.
- Presenting a united front to protest having the blame for the failures in our public schools being placed on teachers.
- Indignation at politicos’ comments that the USA needs “better teachers”
As Don Kingsland states in his book “Set Our Teachers FREE! A Plan to Save Public Education”, there are many dedicated, highly-skilled and professional teachers all across the nation. They are almost all contending with negative forces, from within and outside their schools, to teach their students under nearly hopeless conditions.
These noble and ethical educators are struggling to fulfill their duties within a system that almost GUARANTEES failure for both students and teachers.
Because of societal issues, unrealistic accountability issues, and the physical dangers they face on a daily basis, teachers are discouraged. Many have already left teaching for safer and more financially rewarding venues.
I for one am glad that teachers are finally doing something to defend themselves against unjust accusations.
It’s about time that they speak out and bring the dangers of their job to the awareness of citizens and politicians alike.
It will be interesting to see what happens next.
Brennan
