Teaching In Texas: Voices From The Classroom

Here's an interesting roundup of teachers who don't hesitate to share their opinions about the state of public education in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Here's a sample:

"Student attitude toward learning is the biggest obstacle in teaching right now. ... Students won't even complete work that is done in class, much less homework. Many teachers have eliminated the giving of homework because the students just won't do it. ... These problems exist because the students do not see the relevance of their classes. ... I once had a parent back me up against a wall at a campus 'open night' asking me 'who did I think I was making these boys learn vocabulary?' "

Suzanne Ashlock, speech/drama, Central Junior High, H-E-B school district

Heh. So I guess teachers aren't supposed to teach vocabulary any more.

If teachers are willing to sign their names to these, I wonder how bad the reports would be if they were anonymous?