A Teacher on the Front Lines

Our own dear NP has gone and posted a frightening article on education on her blog, the Coffee-Stained Writer. Ever wonder what the view was like from a young, enthusiastic teacher's perspective? It's worse than we thought:

At the school from which I recently resigned, I was told many things about how the school curriculum is run. I was warned that Honors classes are "watered down," and that a good portion of my time as a teacher of English would be spent helping my junior students prepare for their science standardized test in the spring. I was also told the curriculum for sophomore English students focused around taking and passing the English writing standardized test. And in the time left, teachers split their time between teaching literature and grammar and taking students to registrations, passing out report cards, and going to assemblies.

I don't know about you, but that looks like a wasteland. Now I understand just what kind of damage Bush's vaunted "No Child Left Behind" nonsense has caused. It must be making the fundies scream with joy - kids are so busy learning how to test well that they're not learning to think.

Take your Zoloft and go have a read.

En Tequila Es Verdad is not responsible for the resulting deflation of your mood, and holds itself harmless from civil actions resulting from eyes stabbed out with grapefruit spoons, head injuries caused from skulls being smashed repeatedly against walls, and the complete loss of your social life as you gird your loins and jump into the battle to save education in this country.