<p>Just to re-iterate by personal knowledge/example:</p>
<p>Several years ago (this century!) I responded to a teaching ad for a local public middle school, teaching English. Meeting all of the qualifications, I was interviewed by the Principal and Vice-Principal. They asked me what my goals were for the class and how I would meet those. I stated that my goal was mastery of the subject matter, and I explained how I would execute that. They both stared at me with disbelief on their face. The Principal spoke up: “But they’re not going to do that. They’re simply not going to read, nor will they do any of the homework you assign.”</p>
<p>I was astounded that this person was the school “leader,” as that hardly represents leadership in my book. It would be as if your private doctor “assumed” that you would never bring your Rx slip to the pharmacy, or that a hospital administrator had no “assumptions” that that his or her medical staff were competent enough to achieve results against difficult odds. </p>
<p>I’m 100% committed to English literacy and fluency, for 100% of the student population. I’m telling you that I am not the only exception in education, but definitely an exception.</p>