Where We Live: Waiting for A Better Education System

Listener Email from Linda

Great discussion today about education in CT. I was a teacher, probably the "ideal" teacher desired today - a little older with industry experience to bring to my subject area, outstanding academic record, etc. In the two years I taught, CMT scores in writing improved markedly. I liked the kids; they liked me. I enjoyed working with my colleagues and administration. And I quit. Why? Because the expectations on teachers have become absolutely absurd, and this stress on teacher bashing and testing, testing, testing does nothing to help the kids. Most of all, today's educational system does nothing to prepare students for the real world or for a competitive workforce - in schools today, children can do no wrong. If they fail, they are bolstered up and coddled, and the blame is passed on to the teacher. In the real world, employers are saying young people are coming to work with this attitude - that they should be able to do whatever they want, however they want, and they are baffled when that gets them fired.
I've never experienced so much stress or anxiety as when I was teaching. When I have a job to do, I do the job, and yet I never felt that I could succeed as a teacher, because there simply is no way to ensure every kid is good at every topic - and realistically, is that really necessary? This is a big world with room for artists, plumbers, hair dressers, bus drivers as well as corporate CEOs and rocket scientists. The current atmosphere completely overlooks and ignores human differences. These are not widgets! They are human beings! The current goal of education -- that everyone be good at everything -- is absurd, and, frankly, unhealthy. The only way for that to happen is to dumb everything down to the lowest common denominator, and what happens is that the best and brightest get overlooked, while the kids who might be wonderful individuals but who will simply never be good at nor have an interest in some topics are pushed and prodded to master a subject that will never play a role in their adult working lives. The goal of education has become test mastery, not the true acquisition of useful skills.
Nearly every experienced teacher I know is trying to get out. There will always be a stream of new graduates, but only half of them make it past their five year mark. It's going to take a brave soul to stand up and say that the truth is that some kids will fail, some will succeed, college wasn't ever meant to be for everyone, and yet there is a place in the world for everybody.