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04/05/10 - An Idaho Reader Wishes The U.S. Were Like Australia—Surrounded By Shark-Infested Water

From: Francine Fandetti (e-mail her)

Re: James Fulford's  Blog: Not The Onion:"How I Joined Teach for America–and Got Sued for $20 Million"

The last words spoken to an education major before he graduates and enters a K-12 public school classroom should be: "You cannot make a difference."

The odds against success for new teacher, or veteran teachers for that matter, are overwhelming.

While state bureaucrats, the local school district, the principal and parents all claim to be working with you, your every step is undermined.

This is most evident when working with non-English speaking students who need an endless number of special services and whose parents are often the most demanding. Your superiors will be all over you if those students don't achieve.

The best that can be said about public education today is that it is like a holding cell where, if everything goes well, the worst students can be subdued and the best many pick up a few shreds of learning while the teacher tries to control the mob.

Fandetti, whose previous letter is here, teaches middle school in a major North Carolina city.