Received as a comment on an earlier post about the collapse of public education in Philadelphia due to lack of state funding:
“As a nobody teacher in Philadelphia, born and raised here, I am truly stunned by this event at the Union League, the priciest, most snobbish, insulated institution in our city. There is nothing “public” about the place, and, in fact, they barred Catholics from being club members for many years. Who pays for all of this? Is this not actually being funded indirectly by taxes handed over to private concerns? One can almost cry, thinking about the education of kids who are no more than statistical entities on a balance sheet for these people.
“They are taking a tour of a private Catholic vocational school where they must prepare students for minimum wage work, because that is all that will be left in our city for our students to look forward to. They want no more unions and no more Blue Collar wages, no more living wages for college educated teachers, social workers, counselors, librarians, and the like. As all these opportunities disappear, what exactly are we preparing the students to do after school?”
“I am sorry to say I agree with Jo Marley. Packing classes full of 33 students, crowding them in like cattle in a pen, with no resources, little supervision in the hallways or lunchrooms, is a formula for bad things to happen. We are not like charter or parochial schools where you can just refuse entry to a young person because they are troubled or needy.”
“This is a disgrace.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I like the Beatles’ song about “Nowhere Man”
and Emily Dickinson’s poem…. I always felt in good company as the “nobody” in those themes
Dear “Nobody”: As you now know, they want bad things to happen because that further verifies that these students aren’t really students and don’t deserve to have public dollars spent on them. The gentry then uses this engineered atrocity to give the appearance of being vindicated. They are right and correct to demand privatization and removal of all social funding for public goods like supervised recreation, tutoring, summer work programs, settlement house camps. It is okay for more money to flow to them and theirs because why spend it on riff-raff who won’t behave themselves.
For all the nobody’s by Emily Dickinson…
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!
As another Philadelphia teacher, I completely concur with my colleague except on one point…you aren’t “nobody” except in the way that Odysseus was. Even if it takes ten years, we’ll finally win through to the schools we all thought we’d get to teach in. It’s just going to need heroes like you to keep up the fight.
Pointed comment about how this affects the future of the city:
http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2013/08/19/school-crisis-problem-parents/?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Philly%20Post:%20Philadelphia&utm_content=Philly+Post+AM+8%2F19
I wish it would turn around more quickly than 10 years. I’d like to get to witness it.
That was my reaction (except I would like to be part of it).
Where is the US DOE? If the state will not help, why won’t the DOE do something???SAD
Unfortunately, the DOE is sitting back and waiting for public schools to fail to promote the charter expansion it claims will be good for kids.
Dear Nobody Teacher…When all us ‘Nobodys’ show up at the Rally on August 22, all the ‘Anybodys’ and ‘Somebodys’ will have to acknowledge that we ‘Nobodys’ are ‘Everybody’ who really matter to the children. Without us, the district ‘Somebodys’ can do Nothing…not Anything! …And, in that is our power! That is the BIG Something that we ‘Nobodys’ can do! Stay strong. Solidarity!
Dear Nobody:
Sometimes I can be something of a Pollyanna, and that can be obnoxious. My state is not as far along in the education privatization experiment as yours is, but we can see the clouds.
As I eat my lunch at my desk on our first day back, I have read your words and there is a pall that cannot be denied over public education everywhere. Those who wanted to jilt public school traditionalists, have. Those who wanted to wake lifelong educators up, have. From this blog, I know these groups of folks will not be silenced, and for our democracy’s sake I am thankful for that.
The mental exercise I am using to remain positive (which is absolutely necessary in order to maintain enthusiasm for learning and teaching for the children’s sake) is one taught to me by a special education professor from the University of South Florida (long retired). If you are going to affect a behavior, a ratio of four positive statements to one negative/constructively critical statement ensures the best success. Each day we must think of four things that are going well, and one that we can work on (this is for our own self-evaluation). And, as hard as it might be, we must look at the changes being made that seem to be beyond our control at this point and list four positives about the motivation or approach, to the one negative. This way we are not overcome with fear or grief, and some of the emotion can be taken out of the conversations that must happen in order to preserve (or some instances restore) public schools that are for all children.
As cheesy as it may sound, I have always valued the advice and life philosophy of Mary Kay Ashe. We must look at everyone as if they have a sign around the neck that says “Make me feel important.” We do this for our students. I think it might be worth considering this mindset when we approach those whose ideas we oppose. Even Arne Duncan wants to feel important. What four positives can we say about him and his approach before the negative? Are there any (there have to be–no human is completely loathsome, unless they eat people or something)? What are the positives, even if only in motivation?
Our superintendent talked to all of us this morning (we are all trying to stay positive) about the inevitability of competition. He asked us to consider how we would market our own schools. And while I found the ice-breaker activity the teachers did (making a quick “commercial”for our school) to be more reminiscent of when I sold undergarments at Victoria’s Secret for $7.50 an hour back in graduate school and the “sales team” did activities like this than an educator’s training, it really brought things home.
We do have to stand up for what we believe and what we want to protect, and depending on the state we live in this can look different ways. If we know we are a little late to the party, then maybe we need to make those who have brought us here feel important while we suggest a different course. Even if they have not been in the habit of making teachers feel that way, I believe the better part of valor is to use the golden rule in our thinking. It helps keep us calm so bold conversations can take place.
We have to do this. Giving in to despair precipitates more despair. Public schools have their hands tied. Let parents rally for what they want. Those of us still in the teaching game must remain positive.