So many news media have thoughtlessly or knowingly jumped on the bandwagon of corporate reform that it comes as a shock to encounter one saying simple truths.
Te Baltimore Sun wrote, in response to the massacre of innocent children and educators in Newtown, that it’s time to stop the vilification of our nation’s teachers and principals.
Today the Sun joins our honor roll of Merican education for writing in support of our nation’s educators in this time of sadness.
They wrote (read the link for the full, excellent editorial)
“We don’t know how many lives were saved by the alert and brave actions of the faculty and staff at Sandy Hook, but we suspect they were many. Yet how many among us should stand ashamed today for showing so little respect for such public employees — mocking teachers, in particular, for their cost to taxpayers in salary and benefits — and failing to appreciate how willingly many educators stand prepared to lay down their lives for our children?
“Rarely are teachers given the kind of respect afforded soldiers, firefighters or police officers, but how else to describe Principal Dawn Hochsprung but as a first responder? We now know that it was she, school psychologist Mary Sherlach and Vice Principal Natalie Hammond who first confronted the heavily armed Adam Lanza in the hallway. Only Ms. Hammond survived that initial effort to subdue the intruder.
“Four other employees, all teachers, died in the shooting. Anne Marie Murphy, a special education teacher, was killed attempting to literally shield her students with her own body.
Meanwhile, stories continue to emerge from Sandy Hook of teachers who helped lead their students to safety, who hid them away and remained level-headed despite the threat, who calmly instructed them to be brave, who stood ready to defend them until they were certain the knocking on their locked doors came from police and not the perpetrator.
“That the shooter had to smash his way into the school and not simply enter an unlocked door was due to the security precautions instituted in recent years by the late principal. The school had practiced a “lock-down” drill before the fateful day. Ultimately, Ms. Hochsprung helped provide both the first and last line of defense for her students.
“How many among us are certain we would behave so bravely in a similar situation? The military train for that kind of sacrifice, but the faculty and staff of Sandy Hook had no such preparation. What code of conduct informed their choices?
“It is common these days to bemoan the state of public education and question whether the next generation will be able to compete in the global economy. Among the concerns are wide disparities in educational outcomes based on wealth, race and class; high dropout rates; and low science and math achievement compared to other industrial countries. Meanwhile, the economic downturn and the strain it has put on the financing of government, including public education, have made educators easy targets for scorn.
“Not all teachers are saints, any more than all police officers, corporate executives or newspaper editorialists are. But what happened in Newtown — and what continues to happen in schools across America as faculty comfort and care for students unnerved by the events in Connecticut — ought to be a wake-up call to America.
“Last August, it was a guidance counselor named Jesse Wasmer who was chiefly credited with wrestling a shotgun away from a Perry Hall High School 15-year-old who had taken it to school and seriously injured a fellow student. Somehow, he also chose to put himself in harm’s way in order to protect the lives of the innocent youngsters around him.
“Teachers and other public school employees deserve more respect than to be vilified as lazy, overpaid union thugs, or any of the other various taunts that have been hurled their way in recent years. In some states, they are been stripped of bargaining rights. Often, they are cited as a threat to public education and not its chief asset.
“We adopt standardized testing of students, in part, because we don’t trust that teachers are doing their best. Too often, we judge them harshly for not achieving the near-impossible: creating a model citizenry from the imperfect products that show up at their doorstep.
“Next time we discuss the state of education, let us also recall those images of teachers leading children out of harm’s way in Newtown or those half-dozen adults who died in the line of duty. Public educators deserve our respect, not just for what happened in Sandy Hook but for their extraordinary, daily devotion to the education, health and welfare of the next generation.”
No one dare call this distinguished newspaper “reprehensible” or “obscene” for eloquently stating simple and honest truths about our nation’s educators.
Love our teachers—–many are practically “pseudo” parents
to their schoolchildren !!!
Kudos to the editors of The Baltimore Sun for bravely stating the truth!
Yes, all professions have some in their ranks who should not be there, including education, but many more educators across the country are like those at Sandy Hook: committed to maintaining the well-being of students, on a daily basis, and ready to risk their lives to protect children from harm. America’s teachers do not deserve the mistrust, ridicule and public maligning they have been subjected to over the past several years.
I commend you for impugning the inappropriate attacks on teachers that have become so common place. Thank you for acknowledging that a great deal more appreciation and respect should be given to these dedicated professionals, who have dedicated their careers to making a difference in the life of each student and are willing to die to ensure our children’s safety.
A wonderful Christmas gift from the Sun.
Chris Christie has been one of the worst offenders of the teacher bashing brigade/gang. No previous NJ governor has so demeaned, so vilified public school teachers. He claims that he only is against the union and the union leadership which he describes as thugs. But Jersey Jazzman documents all the Christie quotes specifically against teachers, calling teachers greedy, selfish and not caring about their pupils. Christie really opened the door to a huge escalation of the war on teachers, their unions, salaries, pensions and health benefits. No other NJ governor has been so disrespectful of regular unionized public school teachers.
Thank you, Diane and Baltimore Sun for standing up for
public education and public educators! At least some people are
wise and well-educated enough to not be brainwashed by the corrupt
journalists and privateers who spew their hateful messages. Even
our so-called leaders believe the negative hype about teachers and
unions. We seem to be racing towards becoming another “Mexico” with
the rich that have it all and the rest who barely earn a
living.
From those fighting standardized testing in New Zealand
“ Those who can – teach. Those who can’t –pass laws about teaching.”
Thanks to the Sun, and thank you for posting it. As you’ve
been asserting, it’s way past time to stop demonizing teachers. But
there’s more to what happened, when you consider the mass shootings
in the U.S. We’re too reactive — this latest murder spree involved
guns, so we’re all talking gun control. But in Michigan in 1927
(yes — 1927), a member of the school board who didn’t like paying
school taxes used explosives to blow up his home and then a school,
where 38 kids and several adults died. I’m no supporter of the NRA
and the black helicopter crowd. But guns, like explosives, are
tools. We need to be having, perhaps, a broader conversation than
one centered only on the tools. What else is involved? What sets
these people on the paths they take? Are there other issues,
approaches, we should look at? One thing we definitely should not
look at is arming teachers, and we should not be turning our
schools into armed camps, with guards at the doors. How do we have
the discussion?
Thanks to the Baltimore Sun, and thanks to you for posting
it. It’s way past time to stop demonizing teachers. But we’re too
reactive, just responding to the latest outrage. In 1927 (yes —
1927), a school board member in Michigan who opposed school taxes
(Slate ran the story) used explosives to bomb his home, and then a
school. He killed 38 kids and several adults.It’s not just guns
(I’m no friend of the NRA and the black helicopter crowd.) We need
to be having a broader national conversation about what measures
might be useful, whether it’s more gun control, mental health
issues, etc….But definitely not turning our schools into armed
fortresses, and definitely not arming teachers….
I wouldn’t put the Baltimore Sun on the honor roll just yet. They have towed the reformy line of virtually all newspaper editorial boards in the past. It is a refreshing change for them, however.
Perhaps Sandy Hook was an eye-opening experience that caused people on The Baltimore Sun’s editorial board to closely examine their assumptions and negative perceptions of teachers. Hopefully, that will result in new perspectives and changes in behavior. They did own up to participating in the demonization of teachers and I thought their mea culpa sounded genuine.
I’m hoping that Duncan’s moving words were the result of gaining new insights into teachers as well…
Here is a link to another example of teacher heroism that happened in my hometown of San Mateo, California in 2009. The teachers who chased down and tackled the attacker were members of CTA, the California Teachers Association, an NEA affiliate.
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/school-attacker-had-10-pipe-bombs-sword-chainsaw/nK4cq/
Here’s a sweet article honoring teachers from In These
Times, After Newtown, Teachers Are the Heroes. “As we honor the
teachers of Newtown, let’s take a moment to honor all teachers.”
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/14328/after_newtown_teachers_are_the_heroes