Nation's Report Card Shows Reading Levels of High School Seniors Are Worse Than 20 Years Ago

Kids are spending so much time (even from very young ages) texting and chatting it up with peers instead of more conversations with adults that used to take place. This no doubt affects their reading levels. Plus the games they play don't help much either. Try Http://bit.ly/FreebieHomepage for some free stuff and ideas, including some educational games that may help.

Teachers take up the profession for the hours and benefits? Please, you don't know what goes into being a teacher. The hours of class room preparation, grading papers, being counciler to childen with behavior problems. I could go on and on, most teachers don't take summer off, since they have second jobs or must go to school to keep current.

To Regina:

I doubt very seriously that a large portion of teachers are updating their credentials unless it is to further their careers in terms of compensation in grade or advancement to higher grade. There's nothing wrong with that, but in other professions it's done at night and on weekends.

You can thank administration, NOT teachers, for the lack of grammar being taught in schools these days. Every principal believes in "holistic' learning now, and grammar is 'too tough' for students to remember. This is not the belief of most teachers, though. My colleagues and I fight everyday to put grammar back in the classroom, and they never hear us out.

And to your comments about only entering this field for the hours and benefits...you must not know any teachers. I work AT LEAST 5 extra hours when I get home EACH NIGHT! This is not your average 9-5 job where when you go home, you're done for the day. Between grading papers and planning for the next day, week, etc... I easily put in a 14hr day!! Not as glamorous as you thought, huh? Oh, and our summers that we have off? Guess what? We still have work to do over the summer as well. I know...it is a cake job.

And we pay for benefits.

Please speak to an actual teacher before you make ignorant comments like that...

If blame must be placed, then point the finger at all of us. We failed to put education at the top of our priorities for our nation! We allowed this to happen while the rest of the industrialized world cared more about its young than we do. Now we turn our envy and hate on teachers? God help us all!

Bill Hurdle: In order to keep our teachers' certificate in force, there is a manatory amount of education that we have to complete. We are responsible for the cost of this education. It usually costs about $400 dollars for ONE 3 credit class. Unless you are still living with mommy and daddy, or you are married to an engineer, you can hardly afford the education to keep your certificate in force, let alone the education that can push you up the career ladder. And 3/4 of the manditory hours that are required here in Arizona, goes towards teaching the teachers how to best teach children who don't speak English. For over five years, I have taken classes that teach me the same thing over and over and over again. I attend months in classes that teach me what I can teach you in one sentence: When teaching non English learners, use a lot of facial expression, a lot of hand gestures, and spend a whole day explaining to the kids a piece of information that should only take 5 minutes to teach. This creates two problems for the classroom teacher. If they take hours to teach a concept, the teachers are unable to cover the information that is required of them to be covered during the year. Also, when a teacher spends so much time on such a simple concept, the English speakers become terribly bored and that can turn into behavioral issues.

So Bill, the next time you take classes to help you move up the pay scale, which you may or may not have to pay for (some companies pay for their employees to further their education), think of the teachers who have to pay the big bucks out of their own pocket just to keep their teaching certificate in force. One last thing. The pay for a teacher with a Masters' degree (6 years), was the same as an engineer with an AA degree (2 years). Teachers don't become teachers for the salary or the "time off". If you took a "real" interest in the educational system you might understand these things.

To Bill: In the state of Ohio, in order to renew your teaching license you must take additional college classes or participate in approved workshops. If you do not, you do not renew. Also, you must have a master's degree within a certain number of years of starting your teaching career, unless you were "grandfathered" into the program. Some schools pay for teacher's professional development, but most do not or only pay in part. My husband recently took a $1400 astrophysics class, and guess who paid for it.

tell the un informed how hard you work , i've had 3 teachers in my family even they laugh at the common i work so hard line that other teachers spew, they did and do take their summer off, they do not spend their evenings or weekends doing work off the clock for free, thats against the rules of the union, you work for free off the clock off school property you are a fool, so dont cry about it,,lol

This comment is a TOTAL lack of understanding. The parents need to ensure that the kids do their school work rather than spend every waking moment with their ipod games and TV!!!! The lack of reading is because they only CAN READ the quick e-Mail with the "let's move on" concept. Afterall, the teachers are only with the youngsters from 8-3 on M-F. Perhaps reading before bedtime would be better than merely going to sleep following "Dancing With the Stars" viewings.

I sure hope you're not a teacher RB! Your grammar is horrible, you use phrases instead of sentences and you misspelled counselor. How hard is it?