Rambling

Dear Anyone,

I don't understand why pubic school teachers are vilified. I shouldn't take it personally but I do. I am saddened by Obama's rush to pat the collective back of the people who fired the Rhode Island teachers. O.k. I get it. The education system is a mess. There are teachers out there who are absolutely terrible. But, firing the whole staff? There wasn't one dedicated teacher among them? There wasn't one teacher who dragged him/herself to school determined to reach kids who seem unreachable? Where else does a failing system call for the firing of all those involved? My recollection is the bankers who brought this country to its knees were paid bonuses and/or huge salaries to maintain the best and the brightest? Our student's scores fail to reach the nebulous benchmark set by politicians (not educators) and that is cause for dismissal?

Let me explain to those of you who may not know. The standards determined by NCLB are...how shall I put it...bogus. See the states get to determine the test and the benchmark for passing. So, let's say, hypothetically, State A and State B give the same test. Well, State A says 80% is what they are going to consider "exceeding standards." State B decides 36% is what they consider "exceeding standards." The students take the test. The results come in. Drumroll please. 50% of the students in State A achieve 80% or higher, the other half all get a 75%. In State B, 50% do not even make 60%, a score considered "failing" by most educators. But, based on the criteria of NCLB, State B, whose students did not even get a "passing" grade met standards. State A students did not meet the benchmark. Fire all the teachers in State A.

Reread that paragraph a few times to get your head around it.

Here's another thing that I don't understand. At a party yesterday there was talk of dismantling the Teacher Unions. Here is an argument I hear all the time. "What other profession gets a pension?" Let me answer that for you. The professions that are entitled to social security. The professions where you can individually negotiate salary. The professions where personal performance is weighed more heavily than the collective whole who is measured by whether they reach an outside agency's standard.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I happen to be a union representative. But, when my fellow co-workers came to me to ask me to represent the staff, I said I would represent the good teachers and my job would be to focus on our school. Not the collective whole. Because I don't want to speak for someone's performance I am not aware of. Lo and behold. I got elected. Because most teachers don't want bad teachers in the mix. And it is ridiculous that bad teachers can continue to teach and/or move from school to school. It is tantamount to my own religion's insane policy of moving molesting priests from church to church and not defrocking them.

But, should all priests be fired? Should all teachers be fired? No. No. No!

How can I get you to walk a mile in our shoes? How can I get Obama and other politicians to understand the world of education?

Last week, during our 15 minute lunch, my fellow teachers and I were talking about Johnny. We buried Johnny last year. He was pulled into gang life and was shot by rival gang members who had driven into the city from a SUBURB! (It's everywhere.) He had been on our minds because his death happened around ISATs and we noted how the students' scores were more than likely affected by the tragedy. How can you sit and concentrate when you just buried your friend? But, we teachers, we took the challenge and ran with it. We all went to the funeral home. We all talked about honoring the good parts of Johnny by doing the best for ourselves. Even Johnny had said he didn't want to be a gang member but didn't know how to get out. (Just saying you want to get out puts your life at risk.)

And all to similar to Johnny, is Michael. Michael shines in math. But, he has a hard time concentrating in school. He has been to 12. 3 times at our school. He is an 8th grader. He is being pulled into the gang life. When I assist him with his math, I want to shake him by the shoulders and scream, "Please don't join a gang!" But, I just teach math.

This week, we had a gang intervention assembly. There were 4 former gang members, one in a wheelchair. The men reenacted the scenes from the wheelchair-bound man's life. It was dramatic. The men used a gun prop. Before the reenactment occurred. They warned us. It would be loud. The play went on and what ended up happening was, one guy walked over to another, shot him in the back and as he lay on the ground, shot him again in the head. There was stunned silence in the auditorium and tears just instantly streamed down my face. That's how Johnny died. And although I fought the thought and the image as much as I could, I thought, "that's how Michael could die."

Maybe not. But when I look at the faces of the 8th graders, he is the one I worry the most about. Michael ended up talking privately with the men and that is a great sign of hope. And after the assembly while we were waiting for the bell to ring, he and I shared our "education" handshake--a silly thing that started earlier this year when I called him out on doing gang signs. I told him I only wanted to see the "education" sign and we made up a goofy shake that basically is a hand shake, two pumps to the chest, and a peace sign in the air, with a shout-out to education.

Maybe my scores won't be the best this year. Maybe the school's scores won't be the best this year. But there are so many factors that affect the outcome. Even if all our scores go down, I don't think firing our staff will help. And it would only devastate the children who have been devastated enough.

XO
Chalkboard weary