Good Teacher Bad Teacher

I have been hearing a lot about good teachers versus bad teachers within the US school system. Even Obama is talking about programs to get rid of the "bad" teachers. Maybe there is a lot more to this situation than just bad teachers.

I am not a teacher, but I am a mother of three preschool and school age girls, PTA president, school volunteer and I do teach first graders (as a parental volunteer) a class once a week for thirty minutes at one of the local public schools.

Yes, I am sure there are good teachers and bad teachers, just like there are good employees and bad employees, good and bad students, good and bad everything. I seriously have a hard time believing a "bad" teacher is the one to make a whole school's grade percentage to fall below.

This has become a blame game and no one wants to take responsibility. So, therefore, the fingers are pointing toward the so-called bad teachers. What are the schools doing to support their "bad" teachers? Are teachers getting annual workshops on learning newest teaching methods to adapt to the needs of children today? What else are the schools doing to support their teaching staff? Are these schools with "bad" teachers reaching out to the families to get them involved in their child's education?

Maybe this is a family issue; a problem that starts in the home. When these reports go out about the "bad" teachers, are they looking at the students' home life, parental involvement, how much time does this student spend on homework and studying?

From my personal experience in both the public and private school system, it is the same. The more involved the parents are in their child's life, whether it be social, school, extracurricular, or personal, makes a huge difference in the child's academic career.

Parents, get involved in your child's life. See what's going on with them. Volunteer at school. Help out with homework every night. Decrease television, computer, and game time. Do more things as a family. Eat dinner together as much as possible. I know kids can be difficult and don't necessarily want you around, but let them know you are there for them. I feel like if we, as parents, take these small steps in our child's lives, it won't make a difference if they have good or bad teachers. They will learn to strive for the best and do well, regardless. We are the ones that have to lay down a solid foundation for them and be a good role model.