Dear Editor,
I have found that there are three
”
absolutes
”
in this world:
a) Death
b) Taxes
c) Any statement, letter, or utterance from Mark Zappa will have
at least one disparaging comment somehow attached to, tied onto, or
welded alongside the word
”
left
”
Dear Editor,
I have found that there are three “absolutes” in this world:
a) Death
b) Taxes
c) Any statement, letter, or utterance from Mark Zappa will have at least one disparaging comment somehow attached to, tied onto, or welded alongside the word “left”
While it seems to be “boutique” to slam teachers on a personal basis, as Zappa does in his Feb. 21 letter, I believe he, and others with “attitudes like and unlike his”, severely miss the point.
The point is that teachers are merely instruments in the toolbox utilized in the pursuit of educating our children. I do not doubt there are bad teachers under the Gilroy Unified School District umbrella. I also do not doubt there are bad police officers, bad citizens, bad politicians, bad organizers, bad Republicans, bad Democrats, bad Independents and bad paper-carriers under the Gilroy umbrella. Does the failure of any of these people make them a bad person? No. It merely makes them bad at what they have chosen to do for a living or hobby. There is no need to indicate that their professional failure is a personal failure as Mr. Zappa did.
Teachers are hindered by several things in their pursuit, which I feel is a noble pursuit, of educating our children:
a) A system that is under-funded.
b) A system that promotes and protects individuality at the expense of a cohesive and proud country of individuals.
c) A crop of students more inclined to tell a teacher where the student thinks the teacher should “stuff it” rather than simply use their ears and listen to the teacher.
d) Parents that feel the responsibility for their child’s education lies entirely and solely upon the school with total disregard for the fact that children learn by example.
e) Administrators who have bit onto the “politically correct” version of civil ethics hook, line and sinker.
Imagine a garbage collector without a truck to collect the garbage with. The people on his route are enraged because only one house gets its garbage collected each week. The collector can only walk to that one house, to the transfer station, and then back to the house to return the can. If the garbage company won’t give the collector the proper tools, is it fair to throw stones at the collector? If he lacks the tools to properly do the job, is it a personal failure when the garbage stays in the cans on the street? I think not.
Bad teachers, like bad administrations, are the exception not the rule. Personal failure in a work situation implies that all the tools were there and the worker, whether garbage collector or teacher, failed to use the tools correctly or lacked the skill to obtain the expected outcome.
I suggest all the needed tools: money, parental support, respectful students, clearly defined objectives and procedures are not yet hanging in the shed. Making the argument personal serves only to cloud the original issue, cap and gown, and display severe bias.
Ben Anderson, Gilroy
