Bill Maher: New Rule: Let's Not Fire the Teachers When Students Don't Learn -- Let's Fire the Parents

Huffington Post by Bill Maher | Mar. 13, 2010 (Opinion)

Last week, President Obama defended the firing of every single teacher in a struggling high school in a poor Rhode Island neighborhood. But according to all the studies, it doesn't matter what teachers do. What matters is what parents do. The number one predicFiring all the teachers may feel good - we're Americans, kicking people when they're down is what we do - but it's not really their fault. Now, undeniably, there are some bad teachers out there. They ... Full Story »

Posted by Chris Finnie - via OneRiot, Huffington Post (Featured), Fabrice Florin (t), Jon Mitchell (f)

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Subjects: Politics, Education
Topics: Sarah Palin, Education Reform
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# Diggs: 8 (as of 2010-03-14)
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Posted by: Posted by Chris Finnie - Mar 12, 2010 - 6:13 PM PST
Reviewed by: Chris Finnie (review), Lynn R. Willis (review), Randy Morrow (review), Patricia Blochowiak (review)
Content Type: Article
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Chris Finnie
2.4
 by Chris Finnie - Mar. 13, 2010

While I agree with much of what Maher says, his snotty tone doesn't do much to help the situation or his argument. He offers few alternatives, and little evidence. He is, after all, a comedian--not a journalist.

More books and less TV is a good idea. But I also think we need to look at the school boards who set the curricula and the state boards who set the textbook standards. They have as much or more to do with what children learn--or don't.

Chris posted this story.
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Lynn R. Willis
3.1
 by Lynn R. Willis - Mar. 14, 2010

This is opinion. Maher is a comedian, not a journalist. Journalism it isn't. Indeed, Maher's snide sexual asides detract from an otherwise reasonable argument. If he's going to delve into the journalistic realm he'd best take some lessons from the professionals. Otherwise, he's just another tiresome voice a la Beck, Limbaugh and O'Reilly.

The distasteful nature of the messenger aside, I agree that our lackluster educationees aren't that way primarily because of their teachers. Every one of the teachers I know (or knew) were not in education to make money; they are/were there to teach kids, and most of them went above and beyond the call of duty to do that. That some teachers are better than others goes without saying, but parents, school boards, and not least, students, must bear most of the responsibility for the ... More »

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Randy Morrow
4.1
 by Randy Morrow - Mar. 14, 2010

Mr. Maher's comments certainly correspond with what I have observed and heard from teachers.

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Patricia Blochowiak
2.5
 by Patricia Blochowiak - Mar. 14, 2010

This isn't journalism, it's comedy.

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