Katie Osgood asks, who are the bullies?
We have mayors and governors who think they should look tough.
So they bully people.
They pick on people who look weak instead of helping them.
We have faux education leaders who show how tough they are by beating up on teachers, cutting their pension and their healthcare, making sure they can’t organize to fight back.
They are bullies.
So many bullies.
Look around you.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I don’t think that are too many of us who haven’t dealt with bullies. “Do what I say or else,” has become a more frequent, not always unspoken component of the teaching contract in recent years. The only difference between tenured and non-tenured teachers is that they have to threaten tenured teachers (i.e. allow for remediation).
At my middle school, we teach our students that bullies rely on predictable behaviors. They bank on their actions eliciting certain reactions. Teachers, on the whole, are nice and accommodating. Many of us follow the rules and eschew conflict. So, the expectations are laid down (common core, acceptance of charters, busting the unions, lowering wages and benefits) and the threats are applied (“If your students’ scores are not acceptable…”) because the ed deformers know teachers will say, “Yes sir/ma’am. Right away.” We’re predictable pleasers, as a group, and the bullies are counting on our collective obedient nature. I’m sickened when I hear teachers praising the common core, claiming it is the best thing that has happened to education. We simply cannot, as professionals, stand aside and allow that mess to march into our classrooms and dictate what our students will read and how our students will write. I’m alarmed at the number of teachers who are not even questioning the genesis and the possible outcomes of the common core. We are right where the bullies want us. It’s time for a rebellion, and I think it begins by simply saying, “No.”
Bravo Teacher from the West!! You should read the statement I am sending to the SIO in response to …(long story).
Saturday tutoring they demand (Yoda voice)..?
My arse. I will not give them my life to drill and kill with their packets!!! Nooooooooo! It’s called prior confirmed commitments! Infer HISD bullies—it means NO
Principal called a meeting to say, “the released [standardized] test results weren’t good,” clasping her hands together, pursing her lips, glaring at her “team,” she continued saying, “instruction is not happening.” She brings out the test charts, pretty red colored columns with each teachers’ name below it. Hmm, those weren’t my scores; I’ve been to school. Those are the scores of students who are sick and tired of testing and don’t give a crap about doing their best. Through relationships and good teaching, we just hope on THE test day they they pull out effort for us, their teachers if not for themselves. It’s always heartwarming to see them rush ip after a torturous week of only testing to tell us, “Miss, I did good. I did good.”
How dare she tell the majority of hard working teachers that “instruction is not happening.”
She continues to threaten us about write ups in order to cover her arse, CYA. Then declares, “You CHOSE to come here. You CHOSE to come here.” Yes, a Title I Urban school— Yes, I wanted to say. Yes, moron, you have teachers with doctorates and masters and professional degrees that chose not to take a fast track principal course to escape a classroom filled with 40 students, 10% of each class holding students that won’t hesitate to professionally curse out Michelle Obama –Condi Rice–or Hilary Clinton– much less their teachers, taking the majority of students and teachers hostage.
Bullies is almost an understatement. Executioners, vile inquisitioners who have no vision because they can’t get past the fear of losing their jobs… Tyrants. “Going school” will surely replace “going postal” one day.
5 teachers will be resigning in 2 weeks! Wonderful young teachers—naturals in their art and craft. Sadly, a couple veterans too.
I totally agree that the privatizers were the ones cracking kids in showers with a rolled up towel. They see teachers as pushovers and wimps and I am sorry to say in many cases they are right.
Diane’s description of a bully perfectly applies to the governor of NJ. Christie is a ruthless amoral bully. Sadly, he is currently very popular in NJ and will most likely win re-election in 2013. He certainly won’t get my vote.
Isn’t it ironic too that Christie has all ready admired obama’s attitude towards teacher unions and then he fell in love with him after the storm. They are truly birds of a lousy privatizing feather. And all of the nitwit teachers who voted for Obama and ran around in Educators for obama t shirts should be sent to remedial common sense sessions.
When teachers do stand up to bullies, they are too often seen as pushing their own agendas… as if what is good for teaching is not good for students. When will we begin to recognize that teachers’ opinions of policy should be taken into consideration? For some reason TFA opinions are. We are dealing with our own bully here in NY. Gov. Cuomo has the ability to do something about inequitable school funding , which is driving an even deeper wedge between the rich and the poor. Let’s see if he has the political will to do something about it.
It’s funny in a way: the more they dump on our plates, the less I want to do. I was already giving my all to my students. There is nothing left to give, but they still want more. My strategy for the Common Core? Close my door and teach the way I know is right for kids. I may be found out eventually, but hopefully it will buy me some time until retirement.
I’m with you on that.
From the president on down that is what they are. Who has been promoting privatization, corporatization and judging teachers and not administrators since 1995. Well, it is Obama. What a shame. More Orwellian reality. He started with charter schools in Chicago in 1995 with Daley and Vallas during Renaissance 2000. It is all in the record. Duncan is also a big time loser. You should have seen him freak out in Pico Rivera after he used me and other friends there from all over Southern California and he tried to leave after only 15 minutes. He should have never tried that. He paid a price in embaresment that was well deserved. 1/2 of the people walked out. I am so glad Karen Lewis is in Chicago and head of CTU if only N.Y. and L.A. had teachers union heads like her what could happen? I think Emmanuel has met more than his match this time. After all his whole life has been made by bullying people to get what he wants and with CTU it does not work anymore.
I am starting a creative writing group for kids in the psychiatric facility where I teach because they asked if we could. Common corpse can kiss my ass. There is no negotiating with bullies. They can simply piss off and that’s the end of it.
You teach at a psychiatric facility too?? Would love to swap ideas!! You on twitter?
Left teaching because I could no longer stand being bullied, seeing colleagues bullied, and needs of children pushed aside…
The universal essay topic for all high school seniors is bullying. Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2012 03:44:55 +0000 To: rke25@hotmail.com
My governor, Scott Walker of WI is a great example of a bully. Faced with a need to balance the budget, rather then demonstrate real leadership and call for everyone in the state to pitch in with increased taxes and reasonable cuts in government services, he did it by cutting the pay of the only people he could push around legally. Teachers and other public workers balanced the budget single-handedly with pay cuts upwards of 10%.
Everyone needs to remember the Truth of the Schoolyard: scratch a bully, find a coward.