The impotence of teachers and parents, especially those involved with high risk student populations, has caused a huge morale problem, and energy drain, on the adults that are actually necessary to turn around minimally-motivated and under-prepared students. The teachers working with our at risk students are exhausted, and they are asked to constantly push that rock back up that mountain, again, and again. The commitment that I have seen in teaching in those schools is phenomenal. However, this anti-teacher climate is draining the energy from even the most devoted teachers, no matter WHAT their age.

I was so hoping that the new administration would refocus money and support into positive and research-based (not necessarily data-driven) education, but this is not the case. When children are proven to respond to positive, focused, non-competitive environments by achieving substantially, why would this not be true of teachers, and parents?? It IS true of adults, as well as children. If the 21st Century Learner research has shown nothing else, it has shown us THAT.

And, yes, I feel like teachers are ignored about education issues. Politicians, who don’t seem to really understand the true issues, are the ones making all the rules and decisions with no input from teachers. Even at the school and district level, administrators, who are sometimes more politician than educator, make changes to things with no input from the classroom teachers who actually know and will have to implement their ideas.

If you want to fix education, you need to involve teachers. Period.