tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997519179796849230.post484870378191149958..comments2024-02-14T06:30:27.643-05:00Comments on A Teacher on Teaching: How About Better Parents?John J. Viallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355223708051895485noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997519179796849230.post-20957046109916604212012-02-12T12:54:35.473-05:002012-02-12T12:54:35.473-05:00I heartily support your right to home school your ...I heartily support your right to home school your child; I believe evidence shows it to be a good option. <br /><br />I will also say, that since you sound like a concerned parent, your child or children should probably do fine.<br /><br />My problem is that all the "experts" in education talk about vouchers as salvation for ALL children; I'm sorry, but I think they are blind.<br /><br />I wish you the very best for your children. But as a public school teacher, I had to be concerned about every kind of child.<br /><br />That's a different perspective, I think, than yours.John J. Viallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05355223708051895485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997519179796849230.post-46696182773535703072012-02-12T11:26:08.875-05:002012-02-12T11:26:08.875-05:00The point of vouchers is not to save boys and girl...The point of vouchers is not to save boys and girls in abusive homes, like Powell's children. No one ever said that was the point of vouchers. There are other, failing, gov't organizations to do that, like we saw with the Powell children. That is another issue, and you confuse the school choice issue with it when you bring up abusive parents.<br /><br />So let's get back to the point. Why should the parents who do care and who are good parents lose their freedom to make healthy choices for their children because of the criminals who are scary and abusive? We haven’t taken away the parent’s right to send kids off to school because some teachers are dangerous, have we?<br /><br />Here is another question. Why should I be coerced into sending my helpless children into an environment that is filled with people, adults and children, who I would never dream of inviting into my home? A place you remind us is filled with children from homes that are dangerous and abusive, making those children much more likely to be abusive and dangerous as well?<br /><br />You bring up a lot of individual stories, and I do respect those stories and their implications, I really do. They just have nothing to do with vouchers. And you do not seem very interested in the stories that do not fit your narrative or that others have experienced.<br /><br />I doubt you would have any interest in my stories, the ones of cruelty I saw in school or the one about a young woman I know, a teacher, who was systematically sexually abused by an administrator. I doubt you want to hear about how I was ignored as an interested parent. They had already selected their volunteers, and I was not needed or wanted. What about the story of how I ended up home educating my own children? I’m sure you would tell me the standard line that it never works, that all you have ever seen from home schooling is social misfits (they are because highly literate, thoughtful young people generally are social misfits these days).<br /><br />Sadly, we can't fix all people using systems and institutions. I admire those who have given it their best for so long. They are all to be commended, not shamed or blamed. But there does come a time to admit that one approach alone is not enough, and alternatives must be given a chance. And you really need to face the fact that no matter how vehemently you argue against school choice because of bad parents, you have no right to restrict everyone’s freedom because of the bad choices made by some. It is anti-freedom straight up, equivalent to saying we should all be incarcerated because some of us commit crimes.<br /><br />But wait, that is what you are suggesting. More incarceration for children and no choice for parents. Please, please, think about it. Your input into this dialog matters. Stop being so afraid. There will still be a place for teachers. A better place, perhaps.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997519179796849230.post-38659006012033520622012-02-12T09:43:03.698-05:002012-02-12T09:43:03.698-05:00Ah, Mr. or Ms. Anonymous, what can I say? I'm...Ah, Mr. or Ms. Anonymous, what can I say? I'm not into scare tactics. I wonder if you are a parent or not, based on your first question. Parents should strive to be better for the sake of their children, in all circumstances, regardless of any outside considerations. Nothing I ever thought, heard, or imagined about the role of schools ever influenced my decisions on how I related to my own four kids.<br /><br />I've never been one to say there aren't bad teachers out there, either. I simply find the "pro-voucher" argument to be a little thin, when we look at statistics that show not all parents really care about their children. For example, I find it interesting when I see that more than half of all parents who owe child support fail to pay. Or I wonder, how vouchers might help the 1.5 million U. S. children who have a parent in jail at any given point in time. You might not be concerned about helping such boys and girls, but good teachers know these are almost always the children most in need.<br /><br />Good teachers deal with good parents most of the time. So, if you are a parent, like most, you are probably good. Such parents rarely send children to school with serious problems. <br /><br />Unfortunately, Good teachers also get to see parents like Josh Powell, the father who just set fire to his own home and killed his sons, Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5.<br /><br />If you can tell me how a voucher would have changed their lives, had they lived, I'd love to have you share your wisdom.John J. Viallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05355223708051895485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997519179796849230.post-78201569464715980152012-02-11T23:51:52.023-05:002012-02-11T23:51:52.023-05:00Basic question. Why should parents strive to be &...Basic question. Why should parents strive to be "better" when society has taken the job away from them for most of the day for most of the year? Compulsory education is supposed to do it all for them. Stop blaming parents for believing the lie that schools should and could do their job.<br /><br />In the real world of institutional education there are no fairy-tail godmothers either. Some teachers are Mr. Radley, and they feed kids their sperm on a spoon. Now, wouldn't most parents like to have a voucher to get away from that Mr. Radley?<br /><br />Scare tactics work both ways, John.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com