Posted by Brendan Bohnhorst on September 04, 2002 at 21:59:24:
In Reply to: Re: Re: In Defense of HS Teachers posted by Tom Mason on September 04, 2002 at 06:56:55:
Tom,
I wasn't trying to say that people shouldn't be held accountable for their actions (or in many cases in actions). And upon re-reading my post I can see how it came across that way. For that I do appoligise, and now I will try and clarify a little.
I feel that I was allowed to fail when I was in high school. I choose not to, while others around me did. For the most part, they too were allowed to fail. As one might expect, some teachers didn't always have the option of failing a kid. Some kids parents would whine to the administration. And if that didn't work, the School Board would hear it at the next meeting. I saw the School Board step in only a few times. But it was enough to keep them from being re-elected. The parent body and the local teachers union stepped in to make sure of that.
I also can see that teacher with more experience would have a harder time finding a good job. At least here in Michigan the unions have a minimum salary that comes with a set number of years experience. The more years of experience you have, the more you make.
I guess that I was lucky enough to have parents that were involved not only in my education, but in my extra-curricular activities (ie sports, OM, ect).
Brendan Bohnhorst