This story is heartfelt and it makes me very sad. It also makes me angry. What are the politicians and policymakers doing? Why aren’t they giving teachers the support and respect they need to do their work? When I read this, I wonder if the Rhees and Kleins and Gates and Broads and Waltons and all their buddies can look at themselves in the mirror and feel good about what they are doing to education in this country.
| After 27 years, I, too, retired last August. Yes, it was a legitimate choice. I had always thought I’d teach at least 31 years; that was my unspoken goal. Teaching has been my passion, having told my principal three years prior to my retirement that I had the best position in the district (elementary art teacher, pk-4). At the time, he argued, saying that he had the best job as the newly assigned elementary principal after having been a teacher only a handful of years. We laughed as we argued, and I told him with his leadership, our school would soar. Unfortunately, this same man was soon named superintendent. Transitioning from teacher to principal to superintendent in such a short span of years, changed the person I thought I knew. Or maybe it just opened my eyes. As superintendent, his new theme at last year’s opening inservice became “Get on the treadmill with me or get off.” Honestly. Together, the district staff watched a ten minute motivational youtube video of “Will Smith’s Wisdom” in which Smith (the actor) urged listeners to “get on the treadmill” as he stressed work ethic and journeying for success. I had never thought of the parallels of education and treadmills. However, as I thought about the idea, the treadmill connection was apparent. So many of us are running ourselves ragged just by trying to stay on the treadmill. Even Race to the Top is a treadmill…state against state on the treadmill, with only a few winning those precious carrot-dollars. After the third day of inservice last year, I submitted my request for retirement. I had to get off the treadmill. This was the day before the official school start. I had a 2 1/2 hour meeting with my superintendent (and NEA Uniserve Director) sharing with him my reasons, my concerns, and my fears for education locally and at state and federal levels. I’m not certain he actually heard me, but I said my piece. It felt good. I highly recommend it. I packed my 27 years of teaching and moved out by midnight that very night. Of course, before I locked my room for the last time, I left a lesson plan for each grade level for the next morning with each level’s supplies set out, the all-so-mighty curriculum book that I’d put my blood, sweat and tears into developing, a brief statement about how to use my filing system of three filled five-drawer file cabinets, the updated inventory, the short list of new inventory, blank seating charts for each class, the class lists—if you’re a teacher, you know the routine. It IS all about the kids, even as one is leaving. Now, after a year of retirement, I know I’ve done what I needed to do for me and for my mental health. In the nick of time, I might add. Next week, my district begins implementing a four-day school week. Oh, all the money we’ll save, AND it’s “all about the children.” Who are we kidding? And thus, I can be an advocate for children in other ways. I am. I will forever be. |
Diane Ravitch's blog 
As superintendent, his new theme at last year’s opening inservice became “Get on the treadmill with me or get off.” Honestly. Together, the district staff watched a ten minute motivational youtube video of “Will Smith’s Wisdom” in which Smith (the actor) urged listeners to “get on the treadmill” as he stressed work ethic and journeying for success. … You’ve left us speechless (and that’s hard to do)
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Reply for Students Last~
This event (having to sit through the Will Smith treadmill youtube video–which, by the way, is still available for viewing by running a Google search) was nothing compared to the inservice the year before in the same district. That motivational speaker’s presentation consisted of a discussion of our positive and negative energy, which was then demonstrated by having all 100+ of us holding a fishing bobber suspended by a chain. We “worked to move our energy” using our bobbers in both small and large groups. Depending on the swing and speed of the bobber, it could be determined (!!!) whether or not we we possess good, positive energy.
From the speaker’s own website: “Participants are instantly affected as they learn to bring positive energy to their relationships and daily lives.”
Thank goodness we were not tested and scored individually on the swing of our bobbers, because I was fit to be tied by the time the presentation ended. The most disturbing thing was listening to some teachers the next day praising their own “successes” with the bobbers. They’d actually gone home and practiced! I, in turn, was reprimanded for my criticism regarding what I saw as the frivolous use of inservice time when I filled out my required end-of-session evaluation. I wrote something like, “Perhaps we can follow-up this ridiculous activity by bringing in tea leaves or pulling out the old Ouija Boards.”
Oh my gosh, do you think bobbers, tea leaves, and Ouija boards will soon be teacher evaluation tools? Egad.
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First it was bobbers and then treadmills.
This is the first time in 27 years that I’ve not been at the opening inservice (retired last year AFTER the inservice days). I was anxious to hear what I missed this year–the theme, anyway. The first thing a teacher friend emailed me following the opening was this:
“[The superintendent said] IF YOU ARE RIDING A DEAD HORSE, GET OFF. I started laughing because all I could think of was the treadmill. I told [a colleague] isn’t that like the treadmill. Then we both were giggling. So funny.”
At least the teachers are hanging in there…by mere shreds of sanity, it sounds. RIDING a DEAD horse? Hmmm, makes me wonder…
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This is madness. I fear this is coming for many of us, but it may also be a relief.
How much more can we take?
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I am saddened, but not surprised, by this story. I have many former colleagues who had similar experiences. They, too, would have loved to continue teaching if it weren’t for nonsensical, ineffective, flavor of the week directives and programs we were told to implement. Since the directives just kept coming and no one cared whether or not they were working for the kids, these dedicated, passionate, veteran teachers chose to retire.
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This story makes me sad also. In my school and district we are losing some really great educators who take with them a wealth of experience. They are not the tired old teachers who “need to go”. They are the ones who know how to manage a class and how to achieve results. They are the leaders who have taught us how to be better teachers. They are the role models. Experience does count. They don’t worry about test scores, yet they have the best results. Go figure. We can all learn something from them. Sometimes young teachers don’t understand, but those of us who have been here a while recognize their worth. There is a lot of turmoil in education right now. Lots of great teachers, both young and old, are leaving because they are tired of being disrespected by adults in high places. It’s hard to believe this is happening. We have to keep speaking up until the truth is finally heard.
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I second that here in Ohio. A mass exodus of those caring, dedicated teachers leaving before they are ready and with still much that they could contribute to educations. So very sad.
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The sadness of this story is that it is occurring all over the country–some officially eligible for retirement and some taking early retirement.
However, there is a positive side to this travesty. Now these retirees can speak out without fear of retribution. They can use their expertise to educate the public on what our kids really need without fear of reprisal. They can be the voice that needs to be heard. They can rally the parents. And, most important of all, they can get people like Diane Ravitch fired up.
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You are right, Donna. The one thing that those still in the classroom need to remember, is let the retirees have a few months off to recoup and get their mental and physical self back to some normalcy.
I speak from experience. Once I regained my sanity, I have found other ways to show support to educators and to public schools. I have never looked back and wished I was back in the classroom, but I will do what I can to see that teacher and student rights stay in place. When I run into former students who now have classrooms of their own, I want them to have what I had for the years I was in the classroom. I don’t
want them to leave because they feel as if they are under attack
each day they hear or read the news. I want them to be able to do what they want to do, teach.
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Fortunately for me, my last five years wherewith one of the best principal I ever had. The year after I retired, the district changed the school boundary lines & effective dismantled everything she’d worked to build. Had to have been hard on her. My issues were not with my district or principal, though we did have our disagreements. It was with my fellow dept members, several of whom reneged on their promise to work on improving our curriculum & program. Stayed one more year after that & then retired.
Reading other people’s comments, I’ve come to the conclusion that I was pretty lucky.
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I’m a teacher educator and I feel like I have to leave too . . . It’s constantly depressing to be working in this environment. But more important than my own feelings is my sense that I am complicit in this madness by sending my students out into schools, as student teachers and as beginning teachers. Try as might to introduce high quality teaching my students still know that once they get out into the schools it’s all about the tests. I’ve been working in K-12 and then Teacher Ed for 37 years (and I’m only 58) but I’m ready to quit . . .
I’m always speaking out..to my students, to our campus administrators, to my colleagues, to the legislature . . . but it’s like talking to a brick wall. Mediocrity and senseless “reformy” ideas continue to carry the day.
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That is very sad. I really agree with Bridget when she said that we have to keep speaking about education.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
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This is extremely unfortunate. It seems a lot of really good and effective veteran teachers are retiring earlier than planned for their own sanity. In fact, I just wrote a post about my own favorite high school teacher who, similar to this teacher, is on his way out soon. Something needs to change.
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I understand the impulse to leave, to say enough is enough, to avoid personal burnout and the physical toll it takes. I just thought I’d share that my friend Maxine Greene, an internationally renowned philosopher of education and passionate advocate for the arts (who’s still active and involved well into her 90s) says that when things are tough is when you are needed the most.
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We have to stay. Someone has to be there to pick up the pieces and carry on after all of this privatization garbage falls apart (and I’m pretty convinced it will). We are the only ones who will stand up for those who count the most: our students. A mass exodus only opens up places for the reformers to fill with their minions. It’s not going to be easy, but if we find strength from within our ranks and bolster each other up as things get worse (and I’m pretty convinced they will) we’ll persevere.
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I’ve got a little juice left in me, but I don’t fit the profile. I’m not young, I have a Masters in special education, and I have six years credited experience in the classroom. There are much cheaper options out there. So, those of you who have tenure (still) and have administrators who will allow you to really teach, hang in there.
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I retired in 08 after 32 years of special ed. It was the right time with all the changes coming. It is sad to see the new teachers coming to the HS. Some were excellent but others are the new breed I guess. They check in right at last minute and check out on time. Never seem to take anything home. On the phone more than the students. It is a job to most of them. They change jobs at the drop of a hat. Tenure will disappear and the new teachers don’t really care.
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Yes, that is why the Gates Foundation has created several organizations of new teachers to testify and advocate in opposition to tenure and seniority. They have no long-term commitment to teaching as a career, and if they work for the new organization, they make far more than teachers do
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I’ve thought a lot about why younger teachers would be willing for forgo tenure (to the point of testifying against it??) and this might be a consideration: the youngest people who are able to teach have grown up with the idea that employment isn’t permanent. They watched their parents lose jobs in tough times. They heard predictions that the future generations of workers (them) would have not one or two jobs in their lifetimes, but maybe seven or more. Careers are not associated with security because for some, they’ve never seen it. Instead, you fend for yourself, you just make money while you can and then move on to the next gig. This perception plays well into the hands of TFA, Rhee’s model, and what Gates thinks education should be. This is certainly not meant to be a generalization, but I’m thinking this could explain why we see more young people willing to jump on the reform bandwagon..
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Many young people try teaching for a while, then leave. The turnover in the first five years is high. So people who have no intention of making a career of teaching don’t care about tenure or seniority or salary steps. Also, don’t forget that the faux teacher groups created by Gates Foundation get millions of dollars to advocate against veteran teachers and unions.
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I too retired as soon as I could (early October) Before leaving I made sure all the paperwork was up to date. All conference notes were filled in. The class binder had all relevant information. All test papers and writing pieces were marked, and a new bulletin board was up. I worked with the teacher taking over my class. I taught him the routines, showed him the daily paperwork, etc. Since this was a new grade I had taken over, I had to redo the whole classroom library (genre, leveling, labeling the baskets) knowing I would be retiring in a few weeks. I spent many days in September staying late getting all this done. I always felt whenever I left a classroom or grade, the new teacher should find it in good order. (My Italian mother always said we should clean up the apartment whenever we moved because we wouldn’t want the new tenants thinking we were dirty.)
It would have been easy to leave him all that work, but I didn’t. I knew he would have a lot more (senseless) paperwork ahead of him. All he had to do was prepare the week’s lessons. I left feeling I did my job even if it was only a few weeks.
Teachers do care even though no one seems to care about us. This system is forcing out many good teachers–young and old–out the door.
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I’m 52, I’ve taught high school math for 7 years, this is career #3.
I partially blame myself for a lot of this crap, because for decades I’ve been voting for these “moderate” Democrats who CONsistently chuck some pennies on the floor for us to all scramble after, while they allow they betray us to the 1% so the 1% can take a buck or more out of our pockets, and they define these sell outs as “compromises”.
The betrayals through these “compromises” have been there for decades – and when 0bummer picked those wall street slimeballs of Geithner and Summers in Nov. 2008, I started to smell a stench. When all the kabuki dragged on for months over health care access, which is also health care security, and we ended up subsidizing the slimeballs who’ve been living large from ripping us all off, I knew that decades of voting FOR these compromising sell out ‘moderate’ chamerberlains … made me ill.
How many of us teachers keep voting for sell outs, and, keep getting sold out?
(Pst – the righties do NOT count … they’re liars, so they can steal – and they do their jobs. They ARE and always have been the opponents of the 99%, and they ONLY give up a little when they’re going to lose a lot more – read The Prince or 1984, turn off ‘Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.’)
Ummm… so what does my rant about Wall Street and AHIP and sell outs like Clint0n-0bama have to do with teaching? Whether I was a cooking in Boston or Seattle between ’82 to ’95, or workign in software in Seattle from ’97 to ’02, ALL working stiffs have been under attack by the righties, and the attacks have been enabled by the sell outs.
When ‘they’ get rid of 1000 senior teachers making … $80k a year, and replace them with 1000 teachers making $30k a year, that is $50,000 * 1,000 dollars floating around. Guess what, that spare 50 million is NOT going into hiring hundreds of new teachers, it is going into the pockets of parasitic management and parasitic consultants. I worked at Microsoft, I cooked for yuppie scum in Boston – they know how to use spreadsheets and they KNOW how to do this kind of arithmetic, and they KNOW how to siphon that spend into their pockets. ALL across the American job market, for decades, this simple math has resulted in tens of millions of people with careers & homes being chucked to the curb with little more than ‘You’re fired’ and a brouchure from some for profit “retraining” mill.
What they’re doing to teachers has NOTHING to do with healthy communities, or training our next generations to have the skills to be productive community members, or training the next generations to invent the next railroads or steam engines or electronic circuit or disease resistent crop, or … anything FOR the community. What they’re doing to teachers is ALL about lining their own pockets.
We need to STOP voting for sell outs. We need to STOP treating selfish adults as misguided adolescents. We need to STOP supporting the Van Weingarten sell outs who are little better for or kids, for us and for the 99% than Geithner, Robert Rubin, Bernanke or NewtMitt PerryPalin.
rmm.
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