Atlanta's integrity is burning, and its students are the victims
Here is one reason American education is in the sorry state that it is. And speaking of sorry states, how about that Georgia?
After revelations of a massive conspiracy among teachers and administrators across Atlanta’s schools to fix the scores on state-mandated tests, parents at least one of the schools vocally supported the teachers involved. At a town hall meeting, parents praised the education their children received from the cheaters.
“We’ve been extremely pleased with the instruction my children have received,” said Quinnie Cook-Richardson, a parent at the West Manor Elementary School. Her child’s teacher had him reading within a year, she said. “They are an example of what is right with Atlanta Public Schools.” Cook-Richardson was among a many parents who defended the school, teachers and the principal who has been asked to resign as a result of the scandal.
Why are parents defending cheating school personnel? They are defending them because the parents don’t care about cheating, ethics or integrity; they just care about their children getting good grades on the tests. They care about results and credentials and their children succeeding, and if cheating helps, that’s just fine with them. This why their children cheat, as they almost certainly do and will; it is also why the teachers and administrators cheated. It isn’t the culture of the schools that is corrupt; it’s the culture of the entire community, parents and students included.
And are we so naive that we can believe that this corrupt culture, in which education is seen as nothing but marks on a transcript, and values like integrity and honesty are seen as impediments to “education” rather than part of it, is confined to a few schools, or Atlanta, or Georgia?
This our nation’s culture in 2011.
We had better start recognizing it, and repairing it.
Fast.
Ethics Alarms 
THE NERVE!!!! These are the people who will also complain about cuts in education, entitlements and anything else. They will also support the unions that drain the education coffers of funds to build their personal benefit packages and “golden parachutes” themselves. what HYPOCRITES!!! This truly speaks to the attitudes our country shows when it comes to elections. The thinking (if any) is so shallow and self-centered. THOUGHT IT WAS “ALL ABOUT THE KIDS”? OBVIOUSLY NOT!!!
Herein lies the problem with imprecise sarcasm. I have absolutely no idea what you think you are trying to say.
Anyone?
I don’t think that’s sarcasm. Just imprecise outrage.
Could have fooled me!
It appears to me that Warren is merely making the connection to the larger problem. When corruption becomes not only endemic in the education circles, but accepted and condoned, all these other ills follow and fall into pattern. The recent infamous statement by an NEA boss openly proclaiming that it IS all about teachers- and not kids- makes the case. The professional standards that those unions should be upholding as part of their purpose has become cosmetic at best. Therefore, is this sort of thing in Atlanta and elsewhere truly surprising? What makes the Atlanta case noteworthy is the numbers of parents who are in vocal support of all this. And, if both the parents and the teachers are corrupt to this degree, what is to be expected from the children over whom they have authority? Big problems down the way for the next generation of Americans. “Hypocrite” is actually too mild a word. Try “criminal”.
This is truly a very unfortunate thing. The cheating scandal in a way has been the pressure and disjunction there is in our American education system and something must be done.
To me this speaks of the “you owe me” mentality. No,I have no integrity,no will to succeed but I want all the rewards just the same.
So everyone is incensed by John Edwards cheating on his dying wife and having an illegitimate child by his lover; by using campaign funds to support his lover and love-child? Jeez, where did he learn to be this kind of unethical, lying SOB? Apparently he learned it in childhood, in school, and from his parents. Edwards is not an anomaly, or part of a subculture of such anomalies. He is one of us… of millions of us who are learning the cheating, lying lesson in elementary school and even earlier, from the likes of the Atlanta parents who supported the cheaters.
If the Atlanta School Board does not summarily fire the cheating teachers, if the Board does not publicly embarrass (as a group) the parents who actually supported cheating teachers, then we are doomed. That Board has a grave responsibility and one can only hope they are up to it.
One can also assume that Atlanta, like John Edwards, is NOT an anomaly in our culture any more. Not only are we producing an entire generation of lying, cheating, “anything to get ahead” adults, we are simultaneously producing a generating of know-nothing morons, who may have credentials but haven’t learned a thing — academically, ethically, or morally.
Our representative democracy depends on an informed electorate; on leaders who will vote their conscience (or at least have one); on the basic precepts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the ethics, dreams, and foresight of our Founders. We aren’t anywhere close to that anymore, and the Atlanta cheating scandal (teachers and parents) promises a totally different and evil definition of what “freedom” means.
And this is not “usual,” “typical,” or “widespread” in other cultures. Why do you think some our best scientists, doctors and citizens are (legal) immigrants from China and India? Because in those cultures, true education is revered, where the acquisition of knowledge is a lifelong goal, and where “face” and reputation are critical drivers of good and honest behavior, and, at least for India, “karma” is a real, live concept. Personally, I think it’s more than a concept there: it’s a truth.
Not so in the US, where clearly appearance has become everything, and having some meaning in life is barely on the screen. America will die if this kind of approach to education and life prevails. We all know the country is sick, but this really deathbed behavior. The Atlanta cheating scandal should be the story of the year, because depressions and economic downturns come and go, but a nation of liars and cheaters will not evolve into something better on its own over time. It can only evolve into something even worse. Karma.
This reminds me of a movie. It is a movie everyone should watch.
Idiocracy.
It has crude language and behavior but it is worth it.
You don’t need to watch all of Idiocracy, just the first 30-45 minutes. You will get the idea and anything beyond that probably falls under cruel and unusual punishment.
I’m am not positive that the education system can be fixed anymore. The teachers don’t feel that teaching is their job and they are proud of it. In many cases, they feel their noble goal is to teach only the amount of material the slowest student in the class feels like learning. The flip side of their mission is to make sure that no one else in the class learns more than that student. We can’t have people getting all ‘uppity and learnin’ or anything like that. The principals believe this is the way to go, the school boards think everything is hunky-dory, and the parent’s like the fact that their kids are all getting good grades. Any teacher that actually wants to teach the children is drummed out by the other teachers and the students. Our school system stopped using books. Why, you might ask? Because they are only teaching the parts of the subject covered on the state test. They know what will be and what won’t be covered and they just don’t bother teaching what won’t be on the test. They stopped issuing books so no one would get suspicious as to why they were only on chapter 4 of 12 at the end of the year. The attitude this breeds in the children is horrific. Check out the links below if you want to ruin your week. They may be cartoons, but they aren’t that far off the attitude some students have.
The terrible thing is that they are ruining these students for life. When you are young, your brain is set up to learn. This becomes harder later on. We waste all their learning years sitting them in a classroom learning nothing. Then they go home, watch reality TV and text. When they are in their late 20’s and they don’t know how to do math, not much can really be done.
Caution: Some foul language (especially the last one)