> All youngsters need to believe that they have a stake in > the future, a goal worth striving for, if they’re going to > make it in school. They need a champi

> All youngsters need to believe that they have a stake in > the future, a goal worth striving for, if they’re going to > make it in school. They need a champion, someone who > believes in them, and that’s where teachers enter the > picture. The author then goes on to throw out all attempts to measure and improve education and say it needs a personal touch everywhere. When I was a student I hated all my teachers because I just read the books, aced all the tests, and ignored the the homework. I skipped class as much as I could without violating official graduation policy and read books under a tree or at a rest stop. Teachers just got in the way. Any personal touch by the teachers would have just slowed me down more than they already were and made me hate them more. Let's stop with this touchy feely nonsense and measure and improve. If you go out and run every day you may feel good about yourself, but you'll never turn in good times unless you measure your time and work on improving it each time. You'll do even better if you compete with teammates and rivals during practices and meets. I think this article is what happens when you let an English major or similar comment on process, something they really didn't need to get their near worthless degree.