"Waiting for Superman"

I watched the documentary Waiting for Superman this week. If you haven't seen it, I would definitely recommend it. It was a bit slow, but it was a documentary. I was a bit infuriated after watching, inspired, and motivated.
Did you know that once a teacher is tenured there is really nothing they can do to get fired? An extreme of the situation is that there is a room where sex offending teachers go to in New York state and sit and play cards and read and get paid their full salary because they can't be fired.
Teachers are just about the only profession that are not paid based on performance. A teacher can neither get a raise for doing a job well done or a pay decrease for performing poorly. Also, schools run on a system of the last teacher in is the first teacher fired. Even if that last teacher in is the best teacher in the school and there are some that don't teach well because they are tenured. Some teachers have the attitude of "I am getting paid whether you learn or not, so I will just sit here and read..." <- a summarized quote from the film.
The reason for all of this is teachers unions. They are so strong and powerful that not much can be done to change anything because of their control. Teachers unions are the biggest campaign contributors, having the government in their pockets.
Something needs to be done to change all of this. I want my children taught by teachers who want to be teachers and are doing their job teaching my children. I have heard of a teacher in my child's school who other teachers say "shouldn't be a teacher" or "I would not let him/her teach my children if they were in this school". Those were direct quotes from another teacher. Some parents are transferring their kids from the school because they are afraid their children will get this teacher. She's tenured, so she can't be fired.

Here is a link to some local Amsterdam schools and with this link you can find out how your school's test scores compare with others:  Education Nation Scorecard for Schools. I was not very impressed... When I went to a PTO meeting and asked about it, I was told "if you don't like it, transfer your children to another school". I was told this by someone on the PTO board.

Here is a link with some ideas for you to get involved with your school, with changing the system, or just to take action and do something:   Get Involved Locally.

Text "POSSIBLE" to 77177, they will text you back asking for your zip code. Once you supply them with your zip code, they will send you a voucher for $15 to use towards helping a local school. You can use the voucher at this site:  An online charity connecting you to classrooms in need.

Take the pledge to watch Waiting for Superman and text "POSSIBLE" to 77177. Help yourself get educated about our education system... or lack thereof.