As a teacher, I would like to respond to Richard Sabine’s letter (Sept. 2).

I believe his opinion of our public education is uninformed. If Mr. Sabine would like to point the finger of blame, point it at the federal government whose decision-making skills concerning education rank right up there with those concerning our economy.

Wouldn’t Mr. Sabine like to see students prepared for jobs that require critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

Continuing on our punitive path where No Child Left Behind holds the whip will never lead our youths in a direction where they will be challenged with these skills. Teachers are practically forced to test-prep their students all year long in order to get them ready for these ridiculous, decontextualized tests that measure lower-order skills.

Besides terrible policies, many students in Maine have to battle with homelessness, broken families and abuse. I couldn’t imagine being in one of those positions and forced to fill in the correct bubble on a standardized test.

For those like Mr. Sabine who are simply looking at the numbers that are being delivered by the media and assume that our schools and teachers are failing our future generations, I implore them to look at a host of other factors that need to be considered before making such a broad generalization.

We all want schools, teachers and students to be successful, and I hope that the policy-makers will one day consult educators when creating new and better ways for students to learn.

Matthew Weber, Auburn