Judging by responses to a recent NPR report on a lawsuit to make it easier to fire California teachers, many members of the public seem to see public school teachers as a species of self-sacrificing missionaries dedicated to acting as surrogate parents to every child who enters their classroom.

See if you agree with Dr. Maddox that this attitude reflects a profound misunderstanding of the purpose of public education and parental responsibility.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art39676.asp

Visit schoolreform.bellaonline.com for more content about School Reform. Visit my teaching site at http://www.americanenglishdoctor.com for specific teaching guides for parents.

Come air your own views and concerns about education in the BellaOnline School Reform Forum:

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=302

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I want to write about what concerns parents most about changes in public education.

Maeve Maddox, School Reform Editor
http://schoolreform.bellaonline.com

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