Arne Duncan "teachers in America often come from the bottom of the academic barrel"

[Karia]

48. Maybe at your school 4 decades ago

But that has not been my experience at all. My daughter is getting an excellent education in our urban public schools. Every single one of her teachers has been incredible: bright, dedicated, hard-working, caring, and intellectually creative. At first we thought she was just lucky, but as we spent more time in the elementary school, we realized that ALL of the teachers are terrific. When it was time to move on to middle school/high school, we were worried, and started looking at private schools "just in case." There has been no need - we are still very happy with her public school education. She is learning the same things as her suburban counterparts (yes, I do keep track), and is ahead of them in math. The teachers are terrific. She has never had a "drone" or even a teacher she found boring. Not one.

The teachers also go in early to give last-minute homework help, and to run academic "clubs" before school. They stay late to run more academic clubs, school newspapers, sports, etc. They are at the school 10+ hours/day, more if there is a PTA meeting, a sports competition, a school newspaper deadline, or a kid who needs them. Some of them even went in to school to run sports practices and help students with academic issues during the winter break!

Best of all, my kid has never stopped loving school, and neither have her friends. At their age they try to be too cool to show it, but I know them.

If anything, I think public school teachers are better than ever. They know the money sucks but go into teaching anyway because it is what they really, truly want to be doing.

The average test scores are lower than in the suburbs, but this is not due to deficient teachers. Nor is it (as I have heard some racists claim!) because a high percentage of the students are African American or Latino/Latina. It is because the only meals some of the students get are the ones they eat in school. It is because medicaid pays for only 2 pair of glasses a year but the cheap medicaid-allowed frames break easily. It is because their parents are the working poor, too busy juggling 2-3 minimum wage part-time jobs to help with homework or make dental appointments for kids with toothaches. It is because they live in crowded, noisy places and can't sleep well.

Don't blame teachers when students get low test score. Blame a corrupt economic system that punishes and crushes the life out of nearly half of the population.