Oh, the irony of it all!

We're now seeing letters in the papers from FWCS high school students, testifying to the situation in their classrooms and bemoaning the futility of playing musical chairs with school administrators and making teachers reapply for their jobs. How can can we expect high school teachers to succeed when the problem is with the kids and their parents? How can we blame high school teachers when the administration on Clinton Street with assenting nods from the school board keeps dumping unprepared kids into the high schools with a blanket policy of social promotion and then tells us they're going to turn that around with Freshmen Academies and "High School Reinvent".

It almost makes you feel sorry for the teachers until you realize that they and especially their union are complicit in the hypocrisy. They know these programs won't work but they just go with the flow. If their superintendent and administration are incompetent, remember that almost all of them were formerly teachers. But if someone (like Mitch or Tony Bennett) suggest looking outside their profession for people to run the schools, all you hear are howls of indignation. Then remember that most of the school board members quietly going along with this charade (isn't unity great?) were elected with financial campaign support from their union (As far as I know, only Mark GiaQuinta and Kevin Brown did not get money from the FEWA).

Then try to remember how many high school teachers have come to a board meeting and told the truth about the situation in their classrooms. I can only think of one and his fellow teachers thought he was crazy. And they were right because the Wendy and Faye and the board didn't want to hear it and he got nothing but grief for his honesty. Sorry, but now they're going have have to go along and see how it plays out even though nothing will improve.