I was reading this article on the Harry Potter books, and one paragraph particularly got me thinking:

"Good or bad, the books are a social phenomenon of considerable significance, especially in their impact on children. For a start, they disprove most of the facile notions about the shortened attention span of modern children."

A good friend of mine has often told me about how, when he was in grade school, a particularly bad teacher of his advised that he be placed on one of those mood altering drugs. He was precocious enough to ask the teacher more questions than he could handle and was, therefore, diagnosed with an attention disorder.

Needless to say, he didn't need the medicine. He was just intelligent enough to ask good questions at a young age.

I was like that as well, though I'm grateful that I had teachers who cared about me enough to listen and offer answers. I'm still stunned that they remember me all these years later. Grade school teachers I hadn't seen in years turned up at my father's funeral in January, which really touched me.

I also went to a private school. Though not the best school, it was one of the bedrocks of our community. Parents would send their kids to the same school they attended as children, where they would often be taught by the same teachers, a little grayer and a lot wiser.

Some of those teachers were, I have to admit, quite lacking. However, what they lacked in wits they made up in heart. The pay was low and yet they stuck it out because they cared about the community and they cared about their students.

I went to a public high school. The intelligence level and education of those teachers was noticeably higher, and many did sacrifice for their students (it was one of those high schools you needed to pass an entrance examination to attend).

However, there were some exceptions. There were some smart teachers that just didn't care. And I know for a fact that around the NYC public school system (not to mention the rest of this nation's failing systems) there are way too many teachers who don't care and who don't have the brains to lessen the severity of their callousness.

These are results of a deep-seated problem, which finds expression in teacher unions and their endless blathering about higher pay (which comes from the view that "teacher" is just another job worthwhile only for the check) and the like.

I can't find it now, but I recall reading a study that found that private school teachers generally make less than their public school counterparts (I know two recent college graduates teaching at private schools who can attest to that). And yet, private schools (and private learning centers, tutors, etc.) generally do more good for their students.

Much more.

Bottom line, it is the culture stupid. It's the difference between treating an inquisitive child as a pain that must be medicated and as a tiny person whose questions are best served with honest answers.