The movie, "Won't Back Down", will be out in theaters soon - and we need to prepare for another round of union-bashing. At its core, however, there is a war against public education and the American ideal that everyone deserves a free and public education. This article in Daily Kos is worth reading:
Welcome to the culture war against teachers
The article makes an interesting point about the degradation of the expertise of educators. We would not dream of telling a surgeon how to operate or a pilot how to fly. But so many people now believe that they know more about education than the educators themselves.
During the open house for parents this year, I made sure to highlight my experience. Their children are in expert hands. My basic message was this: parents are experts in their own children, while I am an expert in middle school education. I have taught middle school longer than my students have been alive. I offered my expertise to these parents to survive the difficult middle school years. Few people would choose to spend 13 years with 7th graders - but I have - and I love it.
