Today's Washington Post has an article about the AFT's efforts to rebuild an impoverished school district in West Virginia. The AFT has found several partners to help address the myriad of social issues that afflict the community.
Ed "reformers" say that ineffective teachers and unions like to use poverty as an excuse for under performing students. Take a look at McDowell County and try to ignore the impact of social factors.
While this may be an extreme case, these same issues impact students all over the country and even here in Montgomery County.
Teachers unions have been helping to improve teaching and learning for decades. There is nothing unusual about it.
Ed "reformers" say that ineffective teachers and unions like to use poverty as an excuse for under performing students. Take a look at McDowell County and try to ignore the impact of social factors.
"The poverty, broken homes and isolation mean that most McDowell students start school behind. By 3, the average child in this country has a vocabulary of 12,000 words. In McDowell, that child knows 5,000."There is a high rate of unemployment in the county. Drug use is a such a problem that the two major employers in the county, a coal mine and a federal prison can't attract enough employees due to the inability of many applicants to pass drug tests. 80% of students are defined as poor by the state. The drop out rate is triple the national average. How could these not affect a child's ability to learn and succeed? But Bill Gates or Michelle Rhee would likely say that the unions are making up excuses to cover for the teachers who weren't working hard enough.
While this may be an extreme case, these same issues impact students all over the country and even here in Montgomery County.
Teachers unions have been helping to improve teaching and learning for decades. There is nothing unusual about it.
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