Thread: Teaching my daughters English

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I'm just curious. How has the union stifled learning so as to cause the students to fall so far behind?

The AFT determines what they will allow their teachers to teach and sublimating those that want to teach. It has created a "society" of poor quality by requiring that bad teachers be allowed to keep teaching. Had I the financial ability to do so I would have either home schooled or sent my children to private schools.

Originally Posted by guitstik

The AFT determines what they will allow their teachers to teach and sublimating those that want to teach. It has created a "society" of poor quality by requiring that bad teachers be allowed to keep teaching. Had I the financial ability to do so I would have either home schooled or sent my children to private schools.

There is no district in the country where the AFT determines the curriculum. That comes from the state. The union protecting the bad is another straw dog issue. it's the union's responsibility to protect it's members and it's management's responsibility to make sure teachers teach. If management refuses to do their job it sounds to me like the school admins need the firing. The union is doing their job well. if a teacher does not teach , like any civil servant you build a case against them and then you axe them. Most states have done away with tenure protections and even where it still remains you can still get rid of them for gross incompetence.

One of the problems with learning a second language in the US is that if you don't use it, your proficiency will deteriorate quickly. While any learning is good exercise for the brain, languages are less useful here than in Belgium, which is a small country with many countries nearby speaking different languages. So not only is it practical, the language skills will likely be used regularly, keeping them sharp.