BOOK/MEDIA REVIEWS

Abstract

BAD TEACHER! How Blaming Distorts the Bigger Picture, by Kevin K. Kumashiro. New York: College Press, 2012, 104 pp., $14.93, paperback.Ours is certainly a bad time the public school system globally. Who are those culpable the abysmal failure of students in schools? It is the oft-repeated question in discussion circles. Wait a minute; the world is inundated with a concocted answer, that, Teachers are responsible students' failure in Is it the evil handiwork of the noisy, mainstream media that fails or proves unable to get to the bottom of the problems steering our public education sector on the face? Or, can it be the refusal, to put it mildly, of various public officers and other elected officials to see the root cause and genesis of the crises affecting schools in our countries (Edet, 2013, p. 10). Does it help to put the blame squarely on the doorsteps of public teachers, at least not even exempting those who, the society has proven and tested, and are sincerely battling to salvage the perceived situation?Years ago when I was teaching, before opting out of this terrible teachers rarely had a unified voice to push forward their agendas no matter how plausible, fear they might be held by those who see them in contempt. (Ironically the general public also was part and parcel of the hands which pointed blame on teachers, and make no mistake; it is still a part in the blame game today!) Most of teachers hardly regard the profession as a because of the treatment meted out to them. When students do not perform well in schools it is the teachers who are hammered, for failing to teach very well. Yet when it is a time to reform education (or instance, bring in new textbooks or a teacher guide, and so forth, use in schools) hardly do you see teachers consulted ahead by those who claim to speak on behalf of public schools. Surely the blame game affecting the public school sector and its performance varies; it depends on the country in focus. But generally what Kevin K. Kumashiro's thought-provoking book, BAD TEACHER! How Blaming Distorts the Bigger Picture seeks to provide readers with is a rare glimpse into the contemporary predicament of public education in America. By extension these same findings can apply to many countries; including ironically the democratic countries the world so cherished in the dawn of this century which is acclaimed to be the Age of Science and Technology.In any determined, meaningful society students no doubt are the leaders of tomorrow and the school system is the catalyst or back with which they ride on to become leaders. The teachers' good reward is to see students passing tests which are being offered to them. But schooling has been narrowly defined to the axis of competition and nothing more. Kumashiro opens up with a fact that politicians and pundits today seem to be unable to talk about educational reform in terms other than competitions among and between students even though no society wants any of them to lose (P-3).This is the crux of the matter. What really is happening? Society tends to manipulate the rules and hence the reasons why the question of, 'who made the rules?' is not directed at the appropriate place. Many things are shrouded in our societies with secrecy including public policies that ought to be plain in the spirit of democracy but others are taking advantage. No one seems to care, what truly is occurring as 'consciousness' is shaped toward predesigned interest, remotely of a certain section of the society in which we live. This is precisely what is happening today with public education, according to Kumashiro. Calls are being made to reform public education along the line of 'higher test scores' which nowadays is the only alternative learning yardstick. The argument has been carried further as the author asserts as those who merit incentives in schools should be the teacher who 'raise their students' scores' and all the bad ones should be 'fired. …