Fire the Teacher!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/fire-the-teacher_b_374126.html
Headline, The New York Times, November 26, 2009, page 1: “Mayor to Link Teacher Tenure To
Test Scores.”
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Brian (or Amir, or Jose, his name does not really make a difference) failed the ninthgrade math level one Regents. The mayor says, “Fire the teacher!”

Brian had seven other teachers as well. Why didn’t they do their jobs? Fire them all!
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Brian didn’t do so well in math in seventh and eight grade. Fire all those teachers too!

Brian did okay in math in elementary school according to scores on the standardized
tests. But maybe those scores were inflated or even falsified. Fire the teachers, the
administrators, the test makers, and the company that designed the math curriculum
package!

Brian didn’t study. He didn’t go to extra help after school. He was often dozing in class.
Fire his parents!

Brian was working, just not at school. He has a part-time job as a delivery boy at the local
pizzeria (bodega, dry cleaner). Fire his boss!

Brian has to work because his dad was laid off from his construction job and his mother’s
low-paying job and his father’s unemployment check don’t cover the mortgage and the
family’s monthly expenses. Fire their bosses!

Brian’s dad and mom are in trouble because the mayor put a freeze on all city projects
and hiring because of the budget crisis. Fire the mayor!

But the mayor had no choice because the governor cut state aid to municipalities. Fire the
governor!

The entire economy is in crisis. The federal government bailed out the banks and major
corporations but left 10 percent of the workforce on the unemployment lines. Fire the
president!

The economy is in crisis because Wall Street gambled with everybody else’s money,
because nothing is made in the United States anymore, and because big box stores drove
local merchants out of business. Fire the bankers and capitalists!
But of course, Mayor Bloomberg only wants to fire Brian’s ninth-grade math teacher.