Finally, A Contemporary Hollywood Film About Education That Doesn't Scapegoat Teachers

Usually whenever the clown show that is Morning Joe takes on the education issue, it's a teacher bash festival.

But Adrien Brody, the lead in Tony Kaye's new film about a substitute teacher in NYC called Detachment, brought some reality to the Morning Joe set by explaining teachers do not have the sole responsibility for educating and bringing up children - parents and communities have the responsibility for that too.

I haven't seen this film yet, but I'd like to.

I particularly identified with the teacher character healing his own emotional pain by helping others to heal theirs.

How do you measure that with a value-added score, Governor Cuomo?

How do you assess that with a standardized test, Mayor Bloomberg?

Do you realize that millions of children are coming to school each day heart-sick and hurt from the awful things they see and experience daily in their homes and neighborhoods, President Obama?

Do you think adding dozens of standardized tests to the curriculum from K-12 is going to solve these socio-emotional problems children are facing?

Will these tests help relieve the fear and anger so many children carry around in them?

Do you think holding teachers accountable for scores and taking counselors away from counseling and making them bean counters for graduation is going to help, Chancellor Walcott?

Does replacing a human teacher with a computer help this, Mr. Gates?

The truth is, Bloomberg, Cuomo, Gates, Obama, Rhee, Klein, Walcott, et al. - these are all emotionally-stunted and detached people themselves, so of course they do not value socio-emotional education or learning.

They must be emotionally stunted and detached to promote the heartless, mindless education policies they are pushing on the nation.

But I will tell you, until this society and culture comes to the realization that so many of our problems are spiritual and emotional, not financial, academic or intellectual, we will continue to go down the road to destruction.

We are a nation without a heart and without a soul and all the technological innovation in the world isn't going to solve that.