Thursday, May 19, 2011

We Have Forgotten

 I have discovered a wonderful blog over the past few months entitled "The Relentless Teacher" (you can find it in my "Blogs I Follow" column in the right hand column).  There are frequently posts that make me think about what it is that I do for a living, but the post that I read today was one that should make all of us think.  As a nation, we need to remember why public schools are so important for the future of the republic.  That from time of our founding, the United States has relied on education to ensure that future generations would understand what it means to live in this country.  All of us, educators, parents, students, general public, would do well to remember that the students who come to the public school everyday are all of our "children," not just some one else's.  That we need to be concerned about what happens to them in as they become thinking human beings and, hopefully, contributing citizens to our society.  I will be using this post with my students to start next year in an effort to make sure they understand why they are in school and how fortunate they are to be receiving the opportunity they have to learn what it means to live in this republic.

2 comments:

Jenna D said...

Did you know that in the US, teachers make 96% of the GDP per capita, while in Korea, teachers make 221% of the GDP per capita? And American teachers work an average of 1100 hours per year, while Korean teachers work an average of about about 550 hours per year. Sounds like a good discussion topic to me - can I join? ;)

According to:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/teacher-pay-around-the-world/

Unknown said...

You are always welcome in the discussion.