"A Girl From The Projects" Gets an Opportunity to Live the American Dream

A previous posting reported the upcoming leadership change - and why - at the Textron Chamber of Commerce Academy, a charter school. Here is a related letter to the editor:

...Rick Landau has announced that he will step down as chief executive officer of Textron Chamber of Commerce Academy, in Providence. All because the teachers'-union leaders are furious at him for trying to protect the school's role as an engine of innovation...

Textron, and other schools like it, work best for inner-city youth. They give students special attention. They raise test scores, and the confidence of students. These kids can then go out and get good jobs, because they had a caring teacher who told them that they could do whatever they wanted to do. My friend went to Textron, and now she works at a well-known law firm. She is a girl from the projects who benefited from these teachers.

So I agree that we should work, through changing the law or contract negotiations, to do away with "bumping" and let educational leaders give precedence to the best, most dedicated teachers.

The right recommendation, for sure.

What can inspire pride more than hearing that "a girl from the projects" now has an opportunity to live the American Dream?

Now contemplate how many children from the projects will not have a similar opportunity to live the American Dream - all because the teachers' union insists that teacher seniority is more important than teacher merit.

Doesn't that make you sad? Angry?

It is our moral duty as Americans to ensure every child has a similar opportunity to live the American Dream. To be successful, we must rid our society of the ills which stand in the way of fulfilling that obligation.

It is a duty we must never shirk.