When I became a teacher it certainly wasn't to rake in the big bucks or leave my name upon the pages of history. It was because I might be able to help people with something that is intensely meaningful to me.
There is a new breed of persons now rushing into the field of education, however. They are entirely different. I do not recognize them. They do not seem to be here so much to help the children as to build their own personal fortunes. Some have salaries of half a million dollars. They are the self-anointed "reformers." Do you see the dollar signs in their eyes? If a public education can be privatized, it's the equivalent of a twenty-first century gold rush. Witness the recent audits revealing $28 million worth of questionable expenditures made by NY Charter Schools.
No need to hitch a wagon and drive the team to San Francisco over some pretty rough terrain or catch a Yankee clipper, all you need do is strangle your nearest public school. Help from Washington or the state capitol is always appreciated. Write laws to define success by test scores. Create horrific tests; call them Common Core. Punish the Common People and their public schools. Close them. Write laws to open more charters. Send the rejects back to the public schools. Close even more public schools. Deal out huge grants to ed. companies and strip the protections and rights of teachers.
In this Gold Rush, why wait for the winds of fortune when all the big bucks in your pocket can be used as sails (or sales) that redirect the winds? Have you noticed that in this Gold Rush, the rich will strike it richer. There is little to no concern for the poor man or the common laborer. It's a bust for mankind, and probably fool's gold in the end.
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