Why all the 'remedies' never improve schools
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I am more and more frustrated by "experts" trying in vain to create a remedy for struggling schools. I have taught in Montgomery County for 16 years, and I have seen my fair share of failed strategies.
The Nov. 10 article "Bad teachers in D.C., Maryland are shielded, report says" was one more example that few people are able to acknowledge what is really wrong. I have come across very few "bad" teachers in my career, and rooting out such "bad" teachers cannot turn around a whole school system.
Often, struggling school systems blame students and teachers, but that is not the heart of the problem, either. Children struggle because the curriculum does not match their learning styles and, most certainly, does not match the developmental milestones that students must reach before they can move on. Pushing students too fast, robbing family time with homework and focusing on standardized tests all turn students off to the natural process of learning.
We teachers are doing the best we can with what we have. Give us a curriculum that is designed for the students and not the tests, and students may actually be able to learn for a change.
Christian Harriot, Bethesda
