Teachers are losing their jobs and I blame President Bush and his emphasis on endless testing through the No Child Left Behind Act.
Here in Texas, school districts are being exposed for something that has been going on for years and that is cheating on the state mandated test. The TAKS test(formerly the TAAS) is not just leaving children behind, but it is leaving teachers behind as a result of the cheating. Just like the children teachers are under tremendous pressure from administrators and the Texas Legislature to pass the test. If their students do not pass this test, teachers are being told they are not good teachers and their jobs are being threatened. School district administrators have responded to the recent public scrutiny (it all started when a Houston teacher exposed cheating in Houston schools to a Dallas newspaper)by firing teachers. Now let me make it abundantly clear that cheating by an adult or student on any test is totally unethical and unacceptable. Teachers caught cheating (students have reported several instances where teachers have given them answers to questions and allowed them to change their answers) should be severely disciplined, but not fired. When someone is put under this tremendous pressure it is no wonder we see this scurge of cheating revelations. The administrators who run the school districts act as if they have no culpability when nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is cheating has been going on for years and school administrators have basically looked the other way. Why? Because administrators ( mostly principals) have traditionally benefitted the most from cheating. They have in Houston ISD received large bonuses when a school does well on the state test. While teachers have to beg for a two percent raise every year. If you suspend someone for a month without pay and give them a stiff warning, that is sufficient punishment, but don't fire the teachers. They are really the victims of a ridiculous culture of endless testing. I blame President Bush and his Leave Everybody Behind Act.