The vast majority of people have opinions on things like childcare, education and the school system overall.

After all, what’s more important than knowing the absolute utmost is being done to safely and correctly nurture the next generation of kids as they navigate arguably the most pivotal stage of their lives?

That said, of all the people ready to pick apart and be critical of aspects relating to education, few can can say that their opinions are as resounding as a certain retired teacher who went viral a few years back.

The educator in question, one Lisa Roberson, wrote an open letter published in a newspaper named the Augusta Chronicle in 2017, and her words continue to spark debate about whether parents or teachers are to blame for the current perceived issues with the school system.

It’s important to note that this letter was penned pre-pandemic, and so came before the time where sweeping changes were implemented to ensure that education could continue in the face of COVID.

Many of said changes during that difficult time were met with divided reactions among the people of the US, so it’s clear that folk have a good deal to say on the state of the education system and what might be done to fix it.

For Lisa Roberson, however, the problem lies not with teachers – as has been claimed in certain sectors over recent years – but with the parents of the kids themselves…

As a retired teacher

“As a retired teacher, I am sick of people who know nothing about public schools or have not been in a classroom recently deciding how to fix our education system,” read Lisa’s letter.

“The teachers are not the problem! Parents are the problem! They are not teaching their children manners, respect or even general knowledge of how to get along with others.

“The children come to school in shoes that cost more than the teacher’s entire outfit, but have no pencil or paper. Who provides them? The teachers often provide them out of their own pockets.

“When you look at schools that are “failing,” look at the parents and students. Do parents come to parent nights? Do they talk with teachers regularly? Do they make sure their children are prepared by having the necessary supplies? Do they make sure their children do their homework?

“Do they have working telephone numbers? Do the students take notes in class? Do they do their homework? Do the students listen in class, or are they the sources of class disruptions? 

“When you look at these factors, you will see that it is not schools that are failing but the parents. Teachers cannot do their jobs and the parents’ job. Until parent step up and do their job, nothing is going to get better!”

Needless to say, the letter penned by this retired teacher caused quite the stir, and it certainly raises some very valid points that are worthy of at least being discussed.