CNN Education Reports
On CNN.com on September 6th, they posted an essay from educator Ron Clark:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/06/living/teachers-want-to-tell-parents/index.html
Which then elicited many responses a couple of days later:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/08/living/ron-clark-reactions/index.html?hpt=hp_bn8
I read both of these and I read some of the comments (not a good idea hardly ever!). I agree with some of what is being said. But...
It is mostly negative what you read in these articles. Moreover, the comments that are thoughtful are drowned out by finger-pointing and name-calling.
The most depressing comment came from one who said something like: "There are bad kids, bad parents, and bad teachers, it's just part of life." I believe this person was sincerely trying to put some sanity in the kids vs. parents vs. teachers debate/mud-slinging-fest.
Why did I think that comment was depressing? Because I firmly believe that ALL kids CAN BE good, ALL parents CAN BE good, and ALL teachers CAN BE good. I try as best I can to see the good in everyone. It may be that folks have had some negative experiences with schools, teachers, or students. But if you go by this article, you may feel as though it is rampant, and that there MUST be an adversarial relationship between teachers, students, and parents.
Teachers, parents, and students must work together. And for the VAST majority of my teaching life, this has been the case. Thank you parents, for sending some good kids to my classroom. Thank you students, for learning a few things in my classroom. And thank you teachers, especially the ones I had kindergarten through college, that helped me along the way.
My gut feeling is that CNN is not interested in publishing too many positives about education, because it's more exciting to have the sides duke it out in the comments section. If people get a steady dose of negativity, then they will think negativity is the NORM.
Enjoy your last hours of the weekend,
nb
