BAD bipartisanship: Obama ed sec to speak at Jeb Bush public ed privatization conference

[Squinch]

15. I am not a teacher but I work closely with teachers. What I see is that the children who truly

have special needs are absolutely lost. And the teachers are not allowed to slow down or teach differently to try and reach them. The teachers who do so will get unsatisfactory ratings, and in NYC, two "U's" and you are out. So they have no choice but to treat these slower kids like collateral damage while they try and teach the kids who can learn from the curriculum and methods they HAVE to use.

This is a tragedy, especially when you know and are fond of the kids who are being left behind. We used to value all children, and understand that even kids who are slow and learn differently can have nice lives and contribute. Now we are throwing them away in the education system, and there will be an enormous bill to pay when these kids become adults who know nothing and can't get a simple job and can't take care of themselves.

The other casualty from this system is quality teaching. The new teachers have never had any experience other than teaching from the cookbook. They have never been allowed to use different methods to reach different kids. They are only allowed to "level" their lessons, which doesn't address different learning methods. So the knowledge of how to do that is being lost, and the problem will be lasting for years and years unless we let the old, experienced teachers have some free rein again.

So sad. And the teachers are starting to feel helpless and hopeless.