I know we have several teachers or spouses of teachers here and I've been meaning to start a thread on education for a while now, so when I saw this article, I figured it was a good time to start discussing things.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/public-education-facing-crisis-epic-165738265.html
I've been teaching for 23 years now and I've seen things continue to head in one direction - testing. EVERYTHING is tied to testing. Diagnostic, benchmark, interim, end of course....tests, tests, tests. Of course, all of that testing isn't free. We're spending a fortune on testing fees, equipment to test with (because all testing has pretty much moved online), etc. School performance scores are based heavily on test scores. It's too much, especially in Covid times when you've got so many kids in and out of classes for a week or two at a time. But how do we stop it? I don't think there's a way. The lobbyists and politicians are the ones running this show and making all sorts of money off the education system.
Meanwhile, you've got teachers who are having to cover classes because nobody wants to sub these days or there just aren't enough subs to adequately cover everyone. Teachers are burning out in massive waves and college students aren't going into education in large enough numbers. Those who do may stick around for a little while, but they quickly discover they can't handle all of the BS.
There are just so many things wrong with our education system and it's the students who are suffering the consequences, whether they realize it or not. Sure, you're going to have those students who do well, no matter what. You're going to have those students who don't give two flips, no matter what. It's the in-between students who make up the largest portion and they're the ones getting the raw end of things.
As for me, I plan on going at least another 7 years to make it to 30 and then 3 years of in the DROP system. I may end up just sticking it out until my full 40 years are done. I don't know yet. I roll with the punches, but I've seen many people come and go in my years.
I know we have discussions about education here and there in various threads, but I wanted to have one that keeps education as the main focus. So, let's discuss.