When I was a kid education was in a state of decline. At least that is what my parents were always talking about. There was "new math" and different policies on discipline and class sizes that convinced my parents that my generation would be doomed to mediocrity. I believe my parents nightmares did not come true because teachers were still allowed to teach.

People who choose to teach for a living are some of the most dedicated and passionate people I know. God knows it is not the money that drives them. Teaching is an art form. We all can remember that one teacher that sparked us to go above and beyond our comfort zones. It is a shame that kind of teacher is not being encouraged to find the diamond in the rough like so many of the teachers of just a few years ago were allowed to do.

The enemy is the system. That is my opinion.

Teachers were once allowed to expand the boundaries of knowledge and push the envelope of conventional wisdom. It was the teacher's task to create an environment of passion in his or her students. That passion would fuel the desire to learn. That creative and passionate environment is becoming more endangered than the tropical rainforest.

The bulldozer and clear cutting of the educational forest is the standardized test. This test designed by politicians to grade schools and teachers has created a false atmosphere of success . While many schools show high marks in their results, their students show below average marks in the laboratory that is life outside of school.

What can we do to stop this relentless pursuit of average? We can demand greatness from our schools, our teachers and our kids. But in order to do that we must give those school systems the tools and the funding they need to be great. Poor teachers need to be shown the door and educators with the ability to instill a passion for learning must be hired and compensated. Our focus shouldn't be athletics but academics, there should be no crack large enough for any student to fall through.

This video attached to this piece speaks very eloquently about the real life trials and tribulations of today's educator. I am afraid teachers of this caliber are slowly going the way of the dinosaur. It is we the people that are allowing this to happen and we should be very ashamed.

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