This Explains so Much...

My wife (a truly gifted teacher who gave up and retired...) had this happen more times than you could imagine. Sometimes dozens of cases per year. So when the kid can't figure change, cannot answer a phone or take a message and becomes unemployable... you now know who to blame. Yep - them damn teachers should grow up and become men - err, uh or women... there is no reason at all to expect anything from the kids. Dammit, it's America and the Gubment gonna take care of everyone... If they fail they can blame it on 'the man' or corporations or Bush or the school or the gangs or the - ah, hell... anyone but themselves.

Now where would they get such a notion?

A Teacher Grows Disillusioned After a ‘Fail’ Becomes a ‘Pass’ - New York Times: "Mr. Lampros, disgusted, did not come to school the next two days. Miss Fernandez meanwhile took the test and scored a 66, which still left her far short of a 65 average for the semester. Nonetheless, Mr. Arocho tried to enter a passing mark for her. When he had to relent after objections by the teachers’ union representative, Mr. Lampros was allowed to put in the failing grade. Ms. Geiger promptly reversed it.

Samantha Fernandez, Indira’s mother, spoke on her behalf. “My daughter earned everything she got,” she said. Of Mr. Lampros, she said, “He needs to grow up and be a man.”"