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BAD TEACHER! How Blaming Teachers Distorts the Bigger Picture, by Kevin K. Kumashiro. New York: Teachers College Press, 2012, 104 pp., $14.93, paperback.
Ours is certainly a bad time for the public school system globally. "Who are those culpable for the abysmal failure of students in schools?" It is the oft-repeated question in discussion circles. Wait a minute; the world is inundated with a concocted answer, that, "Teachers are responsible for students' failure in schools." Is it the "evil" handiwork of the "noisy," mainstream media that fails or proves unable to get to the bottom of the problems steering our public education sector on the face? Or, can it be the refusal, to put it mildly, of various public officers and other elected officials to see the root cause and genesis of the crises affecting schools in our countries (Edet, 2013, p. 10). Does it help to put the blame squarely on the doorsteps of public teachers, at least not even exempting those who, the society has proven and tested, and are sincerely battling to salvage the perceived situation?
Years ago when I was teaching, before opting out of this "terrible" profession teachers rarely had a unified voice to push forward their agendas no matter how plausible, for fear they might be held by those who see them in contempt. (Ironically the general public also was part and parcel of the hands which pointed blame on teachers, and make no mistake; it is still a part in the blame game today!) Most of teachers hardly regard the "profession" as a profession because of the treatment meted out to them. When students do not perform well in schools it is the teachers who are hammered, "for failing to teach very well." Yet when it is a time to reform education (or for instance, bring in new textbooks or a teacher guide, and so forth, for use in schools) hardly do you see teachers consulted ahead by those who claim to speak on behalf of public schools. Surely the blame game affecting the public school sector and its performance varies; it depends on the country in focus. But generally what Kevin K. Kumashiro's thought-provoking book, BAD TEACHER! How Blaming Teachers Distorts the Bigger Picture seeks to provide...