Column 60 for November 5, 2000

Harry Truman, where are you? Passing the "buck" has become an American icon. "It’s not my fault!" Find someone else to blame.

It’s as easy to see as visiting your local convenience store. The price goes up on something and you make a mild complain to the clerk and what do you get in response? They never blame the store itself. The gas companies raised the price… or worse, "the distributor sets the price." Isn’t that price fixing? Against the law? Doesn’t the owner decide what price to charge? Distributors and suppliers can offer a "suggested" retail price, but the storeowner can sell at any price they want to, as far as I know. I think it’s even legal to sell at a loss if the owner decides to, isn’t it? You’ve seen the distributors actually putting the price tags on merchandise, haven’t you? This strikes me as something at least a little bit illegal. At a minimum, be honest, give me a break, and tell me that the wholesale price went up and you want to keep the same profit margin, so YOU’VE decided to raise the price. Then I know whom to blame.

Education currently works in much the same way. Passing the buck. Standardized test results, now THE measure of success, are solely the responsibility of the classroom teacher. Students take no responsibility for passing or failing. Parents are no longer responsible for their children doing their homework, or getting a good nights sleep. If the students fail, it is exclusively the teacher’s fault. All part of the new "accountability…" We have to explain "our" failures to our bosses. If we, the teachers, are to "succeed" then every child will be above average, which is a mathematical impossibility, but there are still those, mentioned during the recent impeachment trial, who are "educated beyond their intelligence" that insist the buck stops with us. I have no problem with doing my part, but, jeez, it’s supposed to be a joint effort!

The "buck" stops with teachers in a lot of other ways too. The key phrase here is "sign-off." For almost anything we do, we have to "sign-off", whether it is acknowledging a "special needs" student in our class, attending a medical seminar, reading the copyright policy, or understanding the small print in the code of ethics, the liability is shrugged off by management from the state level on down and passed on to the classroom teacher. Teachers are the only ones in education required to "sign-off" on anything. We are the bottom rung in the ladder.

Harry Truman indeed, where have the simple civilities gone, such as watching out for the child down the street, reinforcing the lessons learned during the day, helping your neighbors, and most importantly, taking responsibly for your own actions? Education once began at home and ended at home. Teachers contributed a very important part in the middle of the day as part of the team, but we had our own children to raise. Now so many people expect us to raise their kids too. Why? You tell me.

Peace. tomiswho@mindspring.com