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My Thoughts On Public Schools

I am a strong proponent of good public education But restrictions on classroom teachers is unsettling, Much of what I have to say is purely speculation And, I wouldn’t want to be accused of meddling, My experience teaching in an elementary school Was long ago, hmmm, sixty years ago, in fact, But I am convinced of one important, golden rule Parents should be supportive, not classrooms hijack. Well-trained teachers are not free of mistakes And the large percentage want what’s good for the kids, Frankly, most all teachers have the skills teaching takes Disgruntled parents can put excellent teachers on the skids. Good teaching requires patience most parents lack But, occasionally, even the best teachers lose their cool, Teachers must know administrators have their back For the best teaching atmosphere in the public school. An adversarial student does not always tell the truth Parents should know that their children occasionally lie In fact, many things children say to teachers are uncouth A student told me he prayed every night I would die! Unfortunately, we have firebrands with little education Who want to run classrooms according to their “thinking,” Who have neither proper orientation nor basic foundation And, many of our public systems have wound up stinking! I say return public schools to local elected school boards Seems big government and politics make poor overlords, Good education should not be tainted by survey and poll Put the classroom back under the skilled teachers’ control.
written March 12, 2022

Copyright © | Year Posted 2022




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Date: 3/14/2022 10:28:00 AM
"Put the classroom back under the skilled teachers’ control." Oh, yes please do!
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L Milton Hankins
Date: 3/14/2022 11:18:00 AM
I've been saying this for years! If there is a bad apple among the teachers, get rid of him/her. But, by-in-large, people who go into teaching go into it because they love children and want to see them learn and grow into fine adults. I encountered a few bad apples in my teaching years, but very, very few. Leave good teachers alone to do what they do best!
Date: 3/13/2022 9:37:00 AM
Well said Milt, and well written.
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L Milton Hankins
Date: 3/13/2022 10:18:00 AM
Thank you, Terry. I didn't expect to get much comment on this "rant" about public education. Unfortunately we are allowing dissident parents, bureaucrats, and, frankly, unruly disrespectful kids to undermine our educational system. That's my opinion, which I was less frank about in my poem.

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