Cheating on Standardized Tests

It seems that I only get the bug to blog when I see a story on the news or somewhere in print that infuriates me! I was watching the news last night, when I saw a story about a very publicized principal in Denver. This person had "turned a low performing school around". They were featured nationally in stories touting how fantastic their curriculum, teachers, students, etc. were. (I am not saying anything negative about these people, trust me)... So the story last night discussed how this principal was caught changing answers in multiple student test booklets. That is why their scores were so good and had grown so much...This person has been fired and, I am sure will have to pay back any "performance pay" that they had recieved in the past. What I find so interesting is that the news shows this story, and then cuts to children from the school who say they want this man back in the building, as he brought them all together and created a community of trust, and that he is a really good guy who they can't believe would do this. So what made him do this? Pressure maybe...Performance pay and standardized testing...Lack of community support? What do you think will happen when teachers/administrators jobs are on the line in the future? Do you think this will be a one time occurance? Is everyone going to be honest??? As much as it pains me to say this, I really believe this is just the first of many stories that will start coming out due to the unrealistic pressures put on schools today. I believe schools are underperforming...But creating more pressure for teachers, in a society that does not value education seems ridiculous to me. There is little support at home. Period. Without support, teachers have very little hope of reaching all of these goals. Yes, teaching is their job. TEACHING. Not babysitting, not making sure kids are fed, not dealing with bullying...TEACHING. However, this is not what teachers are doing. They are babysitting, they are feeding and loving all these children, they are dealing with bullying...They are overstressed and underfunded. It is ridiculous to think they can do it all.