Many to blame for the woes of public schools

According to one public schoolteacher, educators can never be paid enough--and parents don't always know what's best for their children.

By EUGENE WILLIAMS JR.

Date published: 5/29/2005

IN CASE YOU didn't know, the first week in May was Teacher Appreciation Week.

As corny as it sounds, I must admit that as an eight-year veteran of the teaching profession I was moved by the flowers, free lunches, and other tokens of appreciation that were provided to me and my colleagues by the administrative team of our school.

However, after the temporary luster of the week had worn off, I realized something. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, teacher appreciation wasn't confined to the first week in May. In fact, there was a time in American history when teachers were among the most appreciated, respected, and revered people in communities throughout this great country of ours.

Long before brand-new fathers were hanging miniature footballs on the mobiles that hung over their sons' cribs in the hopes that the toys would lead to million-dollar signing bonuses one day, most kids wanted to become teachers.

Long before thousands of untalented American young adults waited in line for days just so some British hack could tell them how horrible their voices were, most kids wanted to become teachers.

Long before college dropouts were running multimillion-dollar computer conglomerates and record companies, most kids wanted to become teachers.

Unfortunately, nowadays, it seems that, for whatever reason, public schoolteachers are tragically misrepresented as little more than glorified baby sitters, who have the unmitigated gall to whine about low pay despite the fact that they "get summers off" and have the daily privilege of dealing with the "angelic" students of the American public-school system.

After much soul searching, I've come to the conclusion that the decline in teacher appreciation hasn't been caused so much by what's going on inside our schools, as it has by the petty, destructive, and ridiculous societal forces that lurk outside of them.

As much as we hate to admit it, regardless of the NCLB Act, there is no amount of "every child can learn" Bush rhetoric that can refute one inexorable fact: Most Americans don't care about education unless it affects them directly. Unfortunately, in central Virginia, it appears that some of the biggest enemies of public education are the elderly, the media, and the working poor.