In response to a
post about a teacher’s last day of teaching first grade,
this retired teacher wrote the following: I read this
while sitting on the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard and soon was
sobbing uncontrollably. My husband returned from the deck, saw me
reading on my phone and asked if someone died. It’s been one year
since I retired after 34 years of teaching. Last Day’s letter
rekindled all the powerful mixed emotions I felt on my last day-
tremendous relief that I could leave just before the CC and its
testing arrived in full force, and heartache at leaving my middle
schoolers and the magic that happened in the classroom. And there
is grieving and loss. So, yes, I told my husband- something is
dying. Teachers and students connected in the joy and intensity of
learning together will be a dying art if the scripted, robotic
factories take over. Like First Day, I’m now retired but still a
teacher. My new job is to fight against the
machines.
A site to discuss education and democracy
13 Comments
Leave a comment
-
Diane Ravitch's Blog by Diane Ravitch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at dianeravitch.net.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thanks for your comment; I too am retired and I feel that something of value is being lost. Reading the comments on this blog help to make me feel less isolated as I don’t hear the anger from colleagues that I would expect when a profession is being destroyed (I remember Regan going after the unions at the time of the airlines discussion and his fighting the controllers because they were “union” and we have seen a lot of this .) I started a “retrospective” of educational change with documents and resources that I had preserved from work ; it helped a little and I found ways to post things on research gate etc. In my neighborhood/ part of the state i am the only one with an Elizabeth Warren sticker (and a sticker for “nuns on the bus”) and I feel a confrontational attitude from neighbors because of that. We need to keep supporting the young people in these efforts and your comment does help a lot. I was on BU campus during the 60s and I felt the energy of the people who were anti-war; I can remember going to meetings and feeling less depressed. The energy today reminds me of that time and the mission especially when I read Diane’s blog and the comments here. Thanks again
I had to leave my 12 year career of teaching high school mathematics three years ago due to a rare disease. I experience this same sorrow. I miss my students, the times we shared, all that we learned together and watching them grow into educate young adults. Last week, I caught up with a colleague who presented me with lesson plans she had been sent from the CCS to review before starting this year. I didn’t have too much time to review them, but they were SO scripted and so dense I wondered where the time was for teacher/student connection. I wondered if there was any consideration given to the art of teaching for esteem, empathy and equity within the content areas. I hope that these lesson plans are “suggested” plans and not scripts the teachers are expected to follow verbatim, but I am not sure. There is so much more to teaching than just relaying the intricacies of a particular content area. There is so many “hidden lessons” that don’t necessarily find themselves delineated in our curricula. I hope CCS still leaves room for these essential lessons.
I left the classroom 10 years ago. For the first few years, the sight of a school bus would often bring me to tears. I am still involved in education, but more with teachers than students. I get to see the destruction of our profession and our national treasure – public education – from a state and national perspective. Frightening. But being part of those fighting back, including the national and state Badass Teachers, helps me cope. Having Dr. Ravitch’s knowledge and wisdom nourishes my soul and fighting spirit. Retired – but not tired – staying strong and speaking/acting out!
I am not old enough to have gone to anti-war meetings, but I love the idea that Diane’s blog is our virtual anti-war meeting. Much-needed gathering of information, resources, ideas…and an opportunity to feel legitimized.
This reminds me of an ESL teacher who retired last year, singing a song he wrote about Data, that was funny but sad. He cried. He had a picture of himself with his 3rd grade class behind him. This man had gone back to school to be a teacher as a second career and only stayed in 3 years. He said what many of us could not because we are very much in the thick of being tied to certain mandates and trying to do the best we can in the midst of it. It takes those on the outside looking back, perhaps, to say what those of us on the inside might not be able to.
I retired from teaching music K-5 two years ago. Still cannot read the children’s goodbye letters and artwork. When the children heard (from a snarky colleague) that I as leaving they cried and protested for 2 weeks. I remember a 3rd grade boy in his music class who spontaneously dropped to his knees and said, “You can’t leave! You are our only hope!” The person hired after me phoned to ask questions about the position said she thought they were hiring my assistant. As a graduate student she’d read my articles and research on teaching children music… Since leaving my wonderful students, I turned again to writing. The manuscript is under review. Thank you, Diane Ravitch for your advocacy.
Retired teacher is right, something is dying and many someones are dying. Make no mistake about that. Extinguish the light in the eyes of a learning one, make her believe that she cannot learn like the others and never will…yes, something important is dying. The promise of a vibrant public school attends its own wake whenever and wherever the test-driven one-size-fits-all does not fit. Now inflict this on a poor community already fighting off racism, neglect, violence, unemployment and social isolation, are you kidding?
Now is the time for you to go to work and take those feelings and fight to stop this. You are now retired and they can do nothing to you. Use your expertise and friends to fight. Do not give up that is just what they want you to do. Never give in that is how they win. Germany and Japan were winning for the first two years and then what happened. These billionaires and bought and paid for politicians cannot take factual heat by those who can communicate and know what they are talking about.
So use your over 30 years of commitments and continue the commitment by helping to stop the destruction of all of those young youths futures by the billionaire destroyers and their lackey politicians.
I retired 4 years ago after a 37 year career, mostly in third and fourth grade. I loved the family atmosphere in my classroom where I had couches and tables (rather than desks) and we put on a play every year and I read to my class every day. Yet, the emphasis on testing (and this was before NCLB!) was wearing on me so my last 8 years were spent as a middle school library media specialist where I could design my own curriculum and there were no standardized tests. I really missed that closeness you feel when you have the same kids all day all year, yet I was in heaven as I could be as creative as I wanted to be. My last year there was no room in the schedule for my 6th grade students to take my research course as a class which was graded so I pulled them out of study hall. A colleague asked me how I got them to do “the work” when they weren’t being graded. I just smiled. It’s amazing how even middle schoolers will “do the work” if they see its value and it’s interesting and fun, and there’s no pressure for a grade.
Two years ago I was elected to the BOE in the town where I live and worked. I have tried in vain to fight against policies that I know are harmful such as increasing the homework load for our students, especially our youngest ones (I’m a big fan of Alfie Kohn) and the new teacher and administrator evaluation plans. I decided to withdraw as a candidate this election because I just cannot be a part of the bureaucracy foisting these mandates on our students and teachers.
I think the only way to effect change is raise public awareness about what is really going on and that will be my focus and mission now. That’s why I so appreciate you, Diane, for your leadership and I am so glad there is a group like the Badass Teachers Association.
Kathy CT, are you in Connecticut? I’d like to get in touch. Long story short, I ran for BOE in my town to get the word out. I didn’t win, but am slowly creating a forum to explain what is going on to parents. Please email me if you don’t mind: sixofusplus2@yahoo.com
I feel much the same way, though for me this is the start of my fifth year of retirement.
Now that you have some free time, please do fight against the EduVultures who are destroying public education in this country!
Adding another voice to the chorus, after 31 years as a teacher: http://ahlness.wordpress.com/2013/08/29/what-i-miss/
What a beautiful, moving statement. Thank you, “Retired, but Miss the Kids”!