Submitted by arlenegloria on Thu, 03/04/2010 - 02:10

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Obama's unfortunate comments on RI teacher firings

By Valerie Strauss  -  March 1, 2010

I have an uncle who was for years a Chicago public school teacher. Passionate and articulate about his subject, biology, Arnie cared a great deal about whether the kids learned in his class.

But here’s the disturbing thing he recalls about his career:

In the years that his classes were filled with kids from poor, broken homes who didn’t eat or sleep with any regularity, he worried that he wasn’t nearly as effective as he wanted to be. He reached some of the kids, sometimes, with some material, but not enough to his liking, no matter what he did or how hard he tried.

When he changed schools and suddenly was teaching kids from middle-class families who valued education, he instantly became a brilliant teacher. His students progressed at a fast clip, and everything he did seemed to work.

Please visit Washington Post to read more:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/education-secretary-duncan/obamas-unfortunate-comments-on.html