Stupid in American Journalism

This is new for me...actually writing down my opinions. I believe teaching is the final frontier for the chronically caring. Did you see the 20/20 report on "Stupid in America"? Although I have been a fan of John Stossel in the past, what I saw of this report was the end of my fanship. As a person in education, I was completely incensed by the biased, one-sided view taken by Big John (who shall forever be referred to as BJ from here on out), and his crack reporters there at 20/200. BJ and his condescension about a teacher doing "nothing" when a high schooler got up in class and danced around was almost too much for me to take. I had to switch to my Tivo list to keep my television safe from a violent incident. What was the teacher supposed to do? You can't yell at them, punish them, or otherwise crush their fragile self-esteem. So how to handle such a situation? Counsel them on the inappropriateness of their behavior. What if they laugh in your face? Ask them to stop. What if they don't? Tell them to leave. What if they don't? If there is an education crisis in this country, where is the evidence that shows these teachers raise the students who darken the doors of their classrooms every day? How about we ask about a parenting crisis in this country? It seems in other countries, respect for authority and the value of education is alive and well. That's not always the case here in the greatest country in the world. If we are so stupid and our educational system so deplorable and inadequate, how is it that most of the medical and technical innovation comes from here? Why is it that immigrants flood into this country to attend our schools? I don't give a flying flip about Belgium...I don't see much of a powerhouse there. Japan's culture is one that values family and education, they should be more ahead of the game than they are already. But I'm not thinking I'll be moving to Europe because I'll be much smarter for it. They survive because of the United States, so they can look down their noses all they want. Those same noses are permanently lodged in Uncle Sam's ass behind closed doors. Not every country even allows the entire populace to get an education! Enough! Yes, we have some reform that needs to happen in our educational system. Here's hoping that with such a report, the push for true reform intensifies. However, putting more tests on the school calendar will not make us smarter as a nation. Hey BJ, were you a child prodigy who taught yourself and awarded yourself college degrees? I'm sure in your designer suit smugness you would never have thought to train and prepare for a job where you are shamefully underpaid, underappreciated, and touted as the root of all evil when things go wrong in our culture. Yet teachers get up and go to work everyday so that they can make a difference.

So tell me, did anyone watch the entire show? Please tell me BJ turned things around to what's good about education in this country. I need to know, damn it! But then again, I'm just a lowly, inadequate educator. I deserve less than the BJs of the world. I think we know that "Those who can't" are reporters.