We're from the government and we're here to help....

I understand the desire of parents to be free from meddling.

I also understand the desire of teachers, social workers, etc. to make sure that kids are raised in safe environments.

the desire of teachers to take over parenting duties from parents they dont approve of does not mean they should do it, nor that they should be allowed to do it. so very often teachers dont even do their day job well, they should work at being better educators before looking to take over other peoples jobs.

I don't think teachers wanted that role, but rather had it thrust upon them.

listen to how teachers talk about their students as "my kids"....they long ago were driving outside of their lane looking for do good projects for themselves.

Strange is it not that the in class room current behaviors and the level of school work done of a student is not good enough indicator we need non proven surveys to uncover hidden problems to offer them social-emotional supports whether they or their parents wish for it or not.

After all people are earning tens of millions of dollars preparing and using this nonsense.

Hmm I was label an evil overachiever in high school for cheerfully being able to outdo the honor society kids in advance math and science courses and my father was told I was not nearly as bright as I thought myself to be by such an expert.

Strange as my IQ tested out at 127 so I wonder how bright they assume I thought myself to be.............

School systems and the experts hired by them do not deal well with kids that do not fit the mold and there seems a strong desire to pound such kids into the acceptable molds no matter what harm might be done as a result.

I talk about "my desk" and "my servers," too, but I'm well aware that I don't own them.

Seriously. What drugs are you on, and what kind of brain damage have you been diagnosed with?

My architect, my doctor, my fortune teller..

seriously....listen to them, teachers very often talk like they have temporarly adopted the kids they are supposed to be teaching. "I care about them SO SO SO MUCH!" is assumed to be a good thing. it is not, it leads right into neglect of parental rights. as we see in.this case they did not even care to get parental consent before asking " their kids" to self identify as criminals.

This year we had a teacher that did not care about the kids in her class.

Trust me, a teacher that cares about the kids is a good thing.



I realize this goes against the "rugged individualist" fantasy you have in your head. But it's a fantasy.

in my experience one can not build a strong collective with out strong infividuals which requires strong families. I am strongly opposed to all efforts to depower the family unit that are not absolutely necessary.

This survey really doesn't have anything to do with teachers.

The teachers were the only ones who spoke out against it. They're the good guys here.

I think that for the most part teachers are great and I think they really do care about the kids and I think any one of them could have told the district which kids were anxious, depressed or on drugs -- which is one of the reasons I think this survey was really about collecting data instead of helping kids.

For a lot of kids teachers are a lifeline.

Some parents/families are monsters and a teacher is often a child's first confidante. I sometimes think the mandatory reporting laws eroded the trust that kids could have in their teachers. I'm sure they don't feel as free to discuss social problems they might be having since they have to fear a lot of other people getting involved. In our zeal to make teachers more "professional" we have tied their hands in a way that prevents them from being helpful to many kids.

I love teachers and think they could/should play a role in the social and emotional development of kids.

teachers drive the culture in schools....understanding them is criticle to understanding how caring turned into the assumption and presumption of rights over the kids and their families that do not exist.

I dont think that teachers are assumed to be allies by parents at anywhere near the level that they used to be. partipating in screenings that ask our kids to self identify as criminals does not help their cause any.

the correct response here would have been to refuse to pass out the screen until the legality of the order could be confirmed.

I dont know as much about how kids feel but I suspect that teachers are not natural allies of kids like they used to be either.

edit. the response to teachers in Wisconsin indicates what I am talking about...teachers assumed that they would have all the support they would need to roll back the states cuts and attack on their union. not so much.

I don't think teachers drive the culture at all. I don't even think administrators do. Politics, business and money drive the culture of schools.

I don't blame teachers for not speaking out about the draconian policies being shoved down their throats. They want to keep their jobs.

But they aren't happy with what is happening in education.

They all thought, as I did, that Obama would get us out of the education mess but he's only made it worse.

School sucks but teachers are great.

just like Congress sucks but my Congressman is great!

The only vote that teachers have regarding eduction policy is the same ones you and I do -- political elections. You're mistaken if you think they have more power than that.

Bullshit. You obviously know nothing about schools.

I have not seen a dictator princpal in a very long time, schools are run as a collaborative effort with most of the support staff having little say. this is why principals put so much effort into hiring teachers who will fit into the organization....excellence in teaching is almost an after thought.

I have worked in some very political joints, but the worst was when I was a volunteer TA in 4th grade...the knives were always out.

my school was run by the principal, a half dozen senior teachers, the shrink, and a person who had the power to unlock special ed money...I dont remember her title. even being on the inside one day a week it took me half the year to figure out how things got done, whos opinions mattered and whos did not, and it was not on any flow chart.

my teacher had been there five years, and she told me that she was a long way from having any say in anything.

Your post about the school closings, and who they hurt, came to my mind when I read this article. It also highlights how some good teachers really strive to find the best way to instruct their students. I thought you might be interested in it.

Grouping Students by Ability Regains Favor in Classroom
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/education/grouping-students-by-ability-regains-favor-with-educators.html?hp