...my LTTE. Called "Truth in Teaching."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/opinion/10wed4.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1244649683-nv0LTFMZZ5n7puocaXnDQgMy letter:
I am writing in response to your editorial dated June 9, 2009 entitled "Truth in
Teaching."
The article seems to me, as a teacher, to make the case for better trained
administrators. It is a 'jumping on the bandwagon' style OpEd that continues the
delusion that teachers are the problem with public education, when that isn't
true.
In 2001, under the Bush Administration’s Education Secretary, Rod Paige,
teachers (unions, specifically) were called terrorist organizations. For the
last eight years, NCLB has done nothing but blame public school problems on
ineffective teachers. There has been almost NO recognition, for eight years, of
the job teachers do. The general public has NO IDEA what the job entails and our
leaders have worked to make that WORSE for eight years. Now, it seems, the
effort is to use data unfairly to document the delusion.
Rather than continuing the fantasy that 'if we better evaluate and quantify what
a teacher does we'll be able to get rid of the bad ones and our schools will get
better', a better start would be a HUGE and LOUD apology to the teachers of
this nation who have dedicated their lives to teaching kids... most with little
support, either financial or in respect.
Most teachers I know expect and have no problem with fair evaluation. If the
past system needs reform, then we SHOULD make it better. But, unfortunately, it
is not teachers who have the power to make evaluation fair. Right now it is
politicians...most of whom know little about teaching in a classroom. They must
not know that judging a teacher by a student test score is inherently unfair.
There are too many variables out of a teacher's control to do that.
This is a problem in need of a solution. But it is time for politicians to stop
this game and publicly apologize to teachers for scapegoating them in recent
years. Should we work together to make evaluations better? Absolutely! Should we
work together to get rid of the FEW bad teachers that tarnish the reputation of
the majority? The sooner the better. Should we work together to finally fix
public schools for the 21st century? Sign me up.
But let's be honest. Truth in Teaching? It has yet to be heard in the public
discourse. It is long past time we had a discussion about what is truly wrong
in our schools. The simple answer (the one that is usually wrong) is not
teachers. Fixing public education is a very multi-faceted task and will require
honesty from ALL stakeholders.
ALL of them, including teachers. 
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