My Chosen Profession

I just finished reading and responding to the above-headlined Atlantic article discussing the President's contention that teachers "must be accountable."  This was my response:

As an elementary school teacher with six years experience who came into the field after a long career as a small businessperson, I have a few observations pertinent to the current debate about public school education.  My college's teacher training poorly prepared me for the classroom.  A “rigorous residency” would have helped me, at least, present a higher quality education earlier in my career.  However, subsequent professional development is often wasted because there is not enough time or resources for its adequate implementation.  If I could wish for one thing that would help me do my job better it would be qualified assistance with my lowest performing students in reading and math.  This worked well at our school during the year when funding was available for a single grade.  To ask one person, for six hours a day, to consistently and appropriately engage 30 or more students who are learning over a range of three or four grade levels is asking too much, regardless of the pay incentive.   Finally, I have been consistently impressed by my colleagues’ skill and hard work on behalf of their students, but it has been my observation that the most reliable predictor of a child’s success in school is not the teacher but the parents.