Open mouth, insert Apple -- I mean foot.

AUSTIN — Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs lambasted teacher unions today, claiming no amount of technology in the classroom would improve public schools until principals could fire bad teachers. ...

First, I should point out that Steve Jobs is fabulously wealthy because his company got the jump start on the market it needed because of teachers using his machines in class rooms. Second, he doesn't appear to know the old adage that goes, "Those who can -- do. Those who can't -- teach. Those who can't teach -- become school administrators." Third -- well, I guess I don't have a third point right now, other than to mention that Jobs is becoming less a forward thinking genius and more a self aggrandizing big mouth.

He claims "lifetime employment for teachers" is the reason behind the failure of our education system. Lifetime Employment is what turned several small Japanese car makers into huge companies that are slowing killing the big three automakers. And that "lifetime employment" leaves a teacher stuck at whatever school he or she is at, whether they like it or not. School districts seldom hire an experienced teacher full time -- it costs too much money. If they do hire one, they fire them at the end of the year -- so they don't have to offer them tenure. Teachers who worked at schools that have closed because of budget cuts and/or declining enrollments have an extremely difficult time finding new positions. Sometimes they get lucky and get in with a private school -- at sharply reduced pay.

Yes, there are some bad teachers, but the vast majority of them are good. And too many of them put in too many hours, and too much of their own money trying to educate kids with too little help from the parents to have to put up with a rich, greedy, bigmouth cutting them down.

He's probably mad that too many schools switched from apples to PC's...