This is a book written by John Owens, who left his own comfortable job in publishing to become a teacher in a high-poverty school in New York City. His eyes were opened by what he saw. This is his story of what he learned.
“An explosive new look at the pressures on today’s
teachers and the pitfalls of school reform,
CONFESSIONS OF A BAD TEACHER
presents a passionate appeal to save
public school education, before it’s too late.
“When John Owens left a lucrative publishing job to teach English at a public school in New York City’s South Bronx, he thought he could do some good. Instead, he found an educational maelstrom that robs students of real learning to improve school statistics at any cost, cons parents and taxpayers into thinking their children are being educated, and demonizes its own support system: the teachers.
“The situation has gotten to the point where the phrase “Bad Teacher” is almost interchangeable with “Teacher”. And Owens found himself labeled just that when the teaching methods that were inspiring his students didn’t meet with the reform mandates.
“With first-hand accounts from teachers across the country and practical tips for improving public schools, Confessions of a Bad Teacher is an eye-opening exposé of the dire state of American education and galvanizing call-to-action to embrace our best educators and incite real reform for our children’s futures.”
Open the link to order the book.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Diane, have you considered making a book of your blogs and responses? So many people are involved from all across the nation. It would be fantastic to get these thoughts out for the public to see. But so many have no idea. This bridges the ideology of politics on both sides of the aisle, with equal contribution from all persuasions. This blog reflects what has gone awry in our society as a whole, not just in education. Many people are so caught up in “self” that they pay no attention to the bigger picture. America is being eroded away by corporate decions on how to “work the system” to their advantage to the detriment of all who stand in their way.
Thanks Deb for this idea…I agree.
Again this weekend I spent time with some highly educated people who are in non-profit fields such as social work and healthcare, but none of them really had much information on public school privatization both locally and nationwide, and shockingly, as Los Angeles residents, did not even understand Parent Revolution and the parent trigger law impact on our community, plus the multitude of non-profit, independent, and for-profit charters in California and in LA.
Nor had anyone heard of InBloom and data mining.
And no one had heard of Pearson, and only had a vague idea about Common Core…but they did know that LAUSD had spent “a fortune” for tablets so students could take the tests.
They did not know about the proliferation of charter schools in California, and were surprised to learn about charter businesses such as owned and run by Gulen, Pitbull, and so many others.
It would be great to compile the shared information from Diane’s blog site and make it available in paperback form, so that many of us could buy bulk copies and make sure it is in every library, as we should also do with Reign of Error.
At first, when I do community talks on this subject, some folks accuse me of being a “conspiracy theorist” but with facts and stats at hand, they, at very least, start thinking. I also am using handouts of blog sites such as Ravitch, Cody, etc., that most of us read each day, but that are unknown to the general public.
It would be a boon to publish here 6 of the best blog sites for information on these issues which we could then forward to others and to our print media so that the general public could find them easily.
I welcome any other suggestions to get the information widely publicized.
JoiningForces4Ed@aol.com
NOTE: Thanks Diane for the link to buy this book. I just bought two copies, one for me to annotate, and one to lend out. Did the same many weeks ago with Reign of Error. Wish I had my copy before my two talks on privatization at the university in the second week of Sept.
ellen–I agree with Deb, as well. I was at the Chicago ALEC Protest on August 8th, and some of the people (I was one) stayed out to have a chat with people who happened to be out and about downtown (lunch hour, tourists, etc.). People asked us why we were out there, and we explained the entire kit-&-kaboodle to them.
Almost to a person, they said, “Wow, that’s TERRIBLE–I didn’t know that! We can’t let this happen!” And, always, “Thanks for the good info.!”
Bottom line–not everyone. of course, is going to read this blog or others that tell the truth. Therefore, it’s up to us to keep spreading the word, so it would be great to have a book about “a site to discuss better education for all.” And, because we can’t get enough (after devouring Reign of Error!), we’ll want another book from you, Diane!
My dear colleague “retired”…exactly. If particularly retired teachers who no longer work in the imposed culture of fear, can approach Chicago folks on the street, and educate them, it is a great service. When the brave Chicago teachers went on strike, I had hoped that LA teachers would stand up with them, but there is too much fear that their jobs will dissolve into the ether.
I always feel silly addressing you as ‘retired’…so how about a name or a nickname since we have become friends over these many months of Ravitch ineraction?
Deb, my book serves that purpose. The blogs would be verwhelmng. I have posted nearly 6,000! And the best part is the discussion that follows.
There are lucrative jobs in publishing? Who knew.
You’re a bad teacher if you teach in a poor school district. But once you move to the suburbs, or to a magnet school with shiny new facilities and some non-poor, non-low-achieving children of the right color, then you are teacher of the year.
George Schmidt of Chicago/substance news (scourge of Paul Vallas) mentioned this a few weeks ago. What a way to begin the school year–so much stress for children, parents, and teachers.
What are your thoughts about “American Education” by Urban and Wagoner? Is it worthy reading? Just want someone’s opinion, so I do not waste time and resources. Do the writers have a bias toward interpreting educational history to the Right or Left?
Thank you.
I’m reading this book right now for a class that I’m taking. I’ve enjoyed the perspective that it provides as I believe it is providing a very balanced view of education provided in the US starting with the precolonial days.
Thank you.
you are welcome.
Just finished it recently, and he nails the life of a teacher perfectly. The best part for me was the chapter entitled “What I Learned.” For the short time John was in the classroom he was super-observant. I think it might have been because he spent so much of his life in another area. It’s really worth reading.
My first reaction was, I don’t know if I can read this. I can only take so much bad news about education. When I read the excerpt, though, I found it comforting to know that someone else had faced the same issues (I think he somehow had the same AP; maybe she moved to NY from Philly). So I just placed my order. Thanks, Diane.