RateItAll: The Opinion Network

Let me see if I've got this right... You want a teacher to go into that room with all those kids and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning. Not only that, they are expected to instill a sense of pride in the students ethnicity, behaviorally modify disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and T-shirt messages. A teacher is to fight the war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check students backpacks for guns and raise their self-esteem. They are to teach kids patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, how and where to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook and how to apply for a job. A teacher has to check kids heads occasionally for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of potential antisocial behavior, offer advice, write letters of recommendation for student employment and scholarships, and encourage respect for the cultural diversity of others. A teacher is required, by contract, to be working on thier own time, summer and evenings at their own expense toward advance certification and a master's degree. After school, they are to attend committee and faculty meetings and participate in staff development training to maintain employment status. A teacher is to be a paragon of virtue larger than life, such that their very presence will awe the students into being obedient and respectful of authority. A teacher must pledge allegiance to supporting family values, a return to the basics, and to the current administration. They are to incorporate technology into learning, and monitor all Web sites while providing a personal relationship with each student. A teacher has to decide who might be potentially dangerous and/or liable to commit crimes in school or who is possibly being abused, and they can be sent to jail for not mentioning these suspicions. A teacher is expected to make sure every student passes state and federally mandated testing and all classes, whether or not the student attends school on a regular basis or completes any of the work assigned. Plus, a teacher is expected to make sure that all of the students with handicaps are guaranteed a free and equal education, regardless of the students mental or physical handicap. They are to communicate frequently with each student's parent by letter, phone, newsletter and grade card. They are to do all of this with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a 45 minute more-or-less plan time and a big smile, all on a starting salary that qualifies a family for food stamps in many states. Is that all? Oh, wait, there is one more thing. They are expected to do all this and NOT PRAY!