A volume in Studies in the Philosophy of Education
Series Editor: John E. Petrovic, The University of Alabama
There is a story going around about the public schools and the people who teach in them-
a story about how awful our nation's teachers are and why we should blame teachers for
the poor state of our public schools. But is the story about teachers right or fair? Why do so
many people point fingers at teachers and seem to resent them so much?
Blame Teachers: The Emotional Reasons for Educational Reform examines why many people blame teachers for
what they understand to be the poor state of our schools. Blame comes easily to many people when they read about
poor student performance and how "protected" teachers are by teachers' unions and tenure policies. And with
blame comes resentment, and with resentment comes demands for all kinds of educational reform-calls for more
standardized testing, merit pay, charter schools, and all the rest. And we expect teachers to like and accept all the
reforms being proposed.
Conceiving educational reform out of blame and resentment aimed at teachers does no good for teachers, students, or
schools. Blame Teachers outlines many of the strange and unacceptable
assumptions about teaching and the purposes of education contained in these
educational reforms. Intended for teachers, teacher education students, policymakers
and the larger public, Blame Teachers suggests much better and more
productive conversations we can have with teachers-conversations much more
likely to improve teaching and learning in classrooms. The book argues for
conversations with teachers that don't begin or end with blame and resentment.