The State of Education....or is it de-education?

Being a teacher, I have a unique perspective on how the state of the education system is in this country, especially in lower-economic areas, since I've taught in them. The education system is royally screwed up if you ask me. Too much money being allocated for sports and not enough to basic subjects such as Reading, Writing, Math and Science. When there's more attention paid to "Friday Night Lights" than there is to academic decathalons and educational achievements, then there is a serious problem.

Granted I know that there are things like the National Spelling Bee and a variety of academic competitions, but they don't get the press coverage that the state football championship games do. They likely won't, unless a change in the way this country thinks occurs!

Be more concerned with how your tax dollars are being spent in the classroom than they are on the football field, basketball court, or golf course! Push for better textbooks, more school supplies, more opportunities for teachers to train in areas that this country needs to excel in, like science, math, technology, and for improvements in the basics as well.

Quit worrying so much about teaching to a standardized test that isn't fair to Special Education students, and instead work on fostering a creative environment that gives teachers the ability to give all students an avenue for their creativity. The environment of educational regurgitation that we currently have is putting us further and further behind our economic competitors, such as China and Japan.

Push for educational reform, and that means letting the unions support their teachers, who are abused enough in the classroom as it is, in too many places. I speak from personal experience on this one, trust me. Teachers have so much on their plates, and so much information is out there about what a teacher's schedule is-my personal favorite is the absurd idea that we get summers off....we don't. We spend summers training and updating our education, to try and give our students the best possible education possible.

I welcome any and all questions and comments, and hope that together, we can begin forming a more perfect union...which we definitely need. Hope to hear from you soon!

-Carrie