I try to write clearly, because I understand that words matter.
In the aftermath of the terrible tragedy at Newtown, I posted dozens of statements from readers expressing their sorrow and shock and sympathy.
I wrote a tribute to the principal for her valor as an educator and a courageous person devoted to her students.
The next day, as I learned more about the other five members of the staff who died that day, I wrote a tribute to them, called “Hero Teachers of Newtown.” I expressed my hope that what happened in Newtown would quiet those who had been saying that unions and tenure were bad, since the teachers belonged to a union and some had tenure.
This statement led to a barrage of complaints that I had “politicized” the tragedy by referring to the fact that the staff at Newtown belonged to a union. Some said I insulted teachers who don’t belong to unions, which frankly was far-fetched. The outrage began with a tweet from a VP at Teach for America, who demanded that i retract the post. He probably thought I was criticizing TFA. I was not. The post did not mention TFA. (A number of TFA alums contacted me to let me know they did not agree with the VP.)
Critics claimed in some comments and posts on other blogs that anyone who tried to draw a lesson from the tragedy was politicizing it.
This is bizarre.
We now are having a national conversation about gun control and mental health. People are rightly asking how to change the laws to keep assault weapons out of the hands of non-law enforcement personnel. Others are wondering what might be done to intervene to help those with mental problems. Some ask how schools might be made more secure to protect them from deranged intruders.
They are trying to draw lessons from what happened. They are not politicizing the tragedy. They are trying to learn from it.
Teachers, at least all those I know, have reacted with sorrow for the children and their colleagues. Some have said that they felt proud to be a teacher because now the public understands that they are first responders to the needs of their students and their communities. Let’s hope the public doesn’t forget.
No one has said that only union teachers would react as the teachers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School did. Certainly I did not. I believe that those who teach are committed to help, educate, and protect children; that’s an essential part of their job.
The point I was making is that it is time to stop the attacks on teachers and on our public schools. This is not the time or place to document the frequency and inaccuracy of these attacks, though I promise to do so in the future. The narrative of “bad teachers” has been hurtful and demoralizing to many teachers.
It is time to respect teachers and the teaching profession.
It is time to grieve for the children and their educators.
And, yes, I hope we learn and draw lessons from this tragedy.
Regarding the above discussion, I’m starting a new comment – still can’t figure out why comments keep getting shoved to the right and unreadable on my screen.
Anyway, trying to return to a point of neutrality, for the educators here, I believe we owe it to the kids we work with to attempt to work together on positive solutions. I have always found it more helpful to address specific points folks make, as opposed to making interpretive statements about motive and character. If you feel I’m wrong about something, by all means call me out. However, you take us off track when you call names or make interpretive comments far beyond the scope of what’s been said. Michael and others, I don’t presume to know your thoughts on every educational topic simply because of how you’ve worded a post – I expect to the same level of respect.
I’m not sure if there were other outstanding comments/points of disagreement with my previous statements I haven’t addressed. If so, please feel free to point out.
“we owe it to the kids we work with to attempt to work together on positive solutions”
Maybe this is a news flash to you, but I do that everyday and so do thousands and thousand of unionized and non-unionized public school teachers. What the heck do you think we do all day? We are on the front lines. We see children and adjust day by day, period by period, minute by minute. Maybe you should work in a school so you can become more knowledgeable.
Teaching is a human interaction based upon relationships and developing relationships. I don’t consider them assets and I don’t live for testing and test scores. I find positive solutions every day to academic difficulties, social problems, behavioral issues, family problems; the list is endless. Evidently, you haven’t a clue what we do.
Linda – what in my comments suggested I don’t think you do that? My comment was related to how we are speaking with each other in this thread – not whether you do that in schools. Could I ask you why you’ve chosen to interpret my comments in the way you have?
I’ve also worked in a number of schools in a number of states over a number of years – I’m quite familiar with the dedication and effort teachers put forth, and could probably count on one hand the number of teachers who aren’t genuinely invested in doing the right thing. Again, what about my comments has indicated otherwise to you?
I wasn’t referring to your posts within this thread, but the theme of your posts overall. They do not support the diligence, commitment, dedication and the love of lifelong professional k-12 educators.
Could you be specific?
Why would TFA have a gripe? Their teachers when hired like any other public 4 yr degree teacher is part of the union. Our school is loaded with TFA, and they are also part of our union. I don’t get the gripe.
I don’t think it was the union thing that TFA necessarily was complaining about, but the tenure and professional parts, since TFA is neither concerned about long term or tenured teachers.
That being said, their complaints are all much ado about nothing.
Oh how I wish ‘politics’ didn’t become disparaging word. Unfortunately when campaign payouts are tied to policy it defines the current state of politics ~ Dirty
Hang on as we all go over the cliff together due to politics.
The tenure debate is based in policy decisions based on campaign funding- Look at StudentsFirst’s political contribution – That’s politics
Union bashing is based on campaign funding- we all know about the Koch Bros- politics
NYS has an arbitrary 2% tax cap- more policy based of politics- Wait til this Spring when the devastation of NY’s school districts begin all because of the political aspiration of Gov Cuomo- more politics
My heart aches for NewTown- we need to recognize that political posturing will not address and correct the underlining issues here. However we need to recognize that it is the cause
I completely agree. Our politics is broken, corrupted for years by selfish big money. We need to fix it by organizing and voting. The re-election of Obama is hopeful, in spite of his terrible education policy.
But when was it not broken? When the only people that could vote were male? Where white? Landed?
It was less broken 1950-80. The concentration of money in organizations, news and think tank is corrupting the national dialogue. A conservative friend agrees. It’s really bad. Demint thinks he has more power at Heritage, which really sums it up.
Oh, so when women could vote but not get jobs outside if a few approved occupations and African Americans knew their place.
The stakes are too high to be neutral. We’ll all look back on this blog as being the simmer to the boiling point.
If you step back from this – it speaks to the broader issue and picture. The point that Diane mentioned support for teachers in other arenas besides protecting children is a sign that teachers are under outrageous attacks. In a different era perhaps it would not have come to mind or be necessary to make the point. That’s not politicizing – that’s 2012. The point that teacher for awhilers are offended means she’s struck a chord and that, too is significant. None of this diminishes the pain of last week and staying focused on the tragedy.
There was once a time (the ’60s) when the police were not in good favor in most eyes. I am sure somewhere in the aftermath of 9/11 some writers made note of that “maybe now the police will get the respect they deserve as our first responders and protecting us.” Vietnam veterans faced hell upon return until there were wake up calls to the those who spewed first and thought about it later. And, whenever there has been a group that has oppressed or demeaned and then representatives of the group shine a light on their true proud character and contribution – the tenor changes and it is natural to remind people of that.
Teachers are under attack. Public education is under attack. The point that Diane mentioned it in her tribute to those heroes in CT and those who protect kids every day highlights that the critics and quick fixers don’t have a clue what a teacher does, what a teacher loses sleep over, and what it means to be a professional teacher, especially in 2012.
This is to address the critical issue brought up by rrato, which is that our current politics are broken, and a lot of bad things have been happening. TeachingEconomist questioned when this has been better, and I said 1950-80. He responded that that was when “african americans knew their place.”
First of all TeachingEconomist, I didn’t say that everything was peachy in 1950-80, so your comments are irrelevant. I said the political process was less broken. For example, we were able to pass the civil rights legislation of the ’60s.
There is a very important point here, which is central to the education debate. As Joseph Stiglitz documents in his book The Price of Inequality, the increasing inequality means a corrupting influence on politics. In the 1950-80 period our society was much more equal economically, and the political process was less corrupt.
Stiglitz quotes fellow Nobel-prize winning Economist Paul Krugman on this point: “Extreme concentration of income is incompatible with real democracy. Can anyone seriously deny that our political system is being warped by the influence of big money, and that the warping is getting worse as the few grows ever larger?”
And in poor countries a key thing keeping them poor is extreme inequality, and the corrupting influence of that inequallity, as my economist wife, Isabelle Tsakok documents in her book Success in Agricultural Transformation (Cambridge UP 2011).
When I hear those who are in the trenches on this issue, like Diane Ravitch, I keep hearing of the outsized influence of Gates, The Broad Foundation, Walmart and other super-rich people and their organizations on politics and public institutions, especially the schools. Do none of them know what they are talking about?
I think counteracting the misguided concentrated wealth by organizing large numbers of people is the critical task of those who want to improve education. The path to educational improvement is through regaining political strength through organization.
And we are also able to pass civil rights legislation in 2012!
If there is some conspiracy to keep the poor poor, it is failing miserably as the number of poor people in the world continues to decline, both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of the world’s population.
In the words of Carol King, “there are the good old days”.
You took a chance with your reputation allowing folks here to know that your spouse worked for the World Bank. When I have cited statistics or studies produced at the Bank, they have been dismissed because the Bank is seen as part of the conspiracy to exploit the poor.
This is not about the world; it’s about America. If you don’t believe there is a conspiracy, Google ALEC,, read their “model” legislation and watch Bill Moyers’, The United States of ALEC: http://billmoyers.com/episode/encore-united-states-of-alec/
TeachingEconomist, you are not addressing the point I am making, the impact of wealth inequality on US politics and education.
Some things are better now, and some things are worse. In the US what is worse is the inequality of wealth. This is just a fact, indicate by the GINI coefficient measures, as I’m sure you know. In addition our politics have become much more polarized and dysfunctional, as many people working on the Hill, as well as Senators—most recently Susan Collins—and Members of Congress have said over and over. You are not addressing these realities, which as I said are impacting education in a profound way.
As for the World Bank, my wife in her book has a lot of criticisms of it, as well as appreciative remarks. The views in her book are not generally speaking Bank views.
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Certainly the income distribution in the US has become more unequal, but I would not list that as my top explanation for increasing polarization in the legislature.
The top of my list is much more effective gerrymandering of districts by the state legislatures. My favorite policy change to address this would be to require legislative districts to be convex.
Correction, the quote from Krugman should read: “the warping is getting worse as the wealth of a few grows larger”.