A Thought About the Media Maligning of Teachers

I have been thinking of something that has disturbed me of late. As we know, the media have been in the forefront in the destruction of public education in this country. It's not just the print media but also in the broadcast media and in the oddest of places. One such media outlet is the tabloid HLN. It appears as of late shows like Nancy Grace's and especially Dr. Drew Pinsky's have been going on and on about teachers who "misbehave," and it's not limited to sex with students. They often show teachers behaving badly toward students like manhandling them or even beating them or using bad language, most of which is recorded on cell phone or surveillance video. Night after night this garbage keeps being pushed, and I believe it has nothing to do with people's right to know or that it is newsworthy. The aim, I believe, is to undermine support for the teaching profession.

Teachers who behave illegally or improperly with students are a tiny, tiny minority out of something like 3 million teachers, yet this propaganda tells the public that teachers are out of control and our schools are no good.

Anyway, if BAT or other groups want to monitor media outlets, HLN is one to pay close attention to.