This post was written by a young teacher in New York City. A law school graduate, she teaches special education in the Bronx in one of he city’s poorest neighborhoods. She requested anonymity, for obvious reasons.
She asks: Is it worse to be called a bitch (by a student) or to be treated like one (by politicians and bureaucrats)?
She is what The New Teacher Project would call an “irreplaceable.” When the New York City Department of Education released the names and ratings of thousands of teachers earlier this year, she was rated 99%. She was not at all happy. She wrote a protest against the whole rating system (which organizations like TNTP love). She knew that this year she might be on top, and next year at the bottom. And she knew that many of her colleagues with low ratings were hardworking teachers who did not deserve to be humiliated. When people wrote to congratulate her, she thanked them and said the ratings meant nothing.
Her new post expresses her outrage towards the system and the politicians who shortchange teachers and students.
She asks, Why do teachers have to buy their own supplies? Why must they beg or borrow the most basic resources?
She understands why a student may call her names, but why does society?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Just read this article this morning. http://theeducatorsroom.com/2012/10/the-no-excuses-parent/ It talks about hanging all responsibility for the future of children, and the country even, on teachers. The tenuous and arbitrary rating/ranking numbers game is just one of the ways it’s being done. Rating a teacher and testing a student are not ingredients in useful learning.
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Honestly, I don’t think the rheeformers care enough about teachers to even call them “bitches”. A bitch is a threat because she has power. I think the rheeformers see teachers more like fast food wrappers – temporarily useful, but perfectly disposable and certainly not threatening.
But the thing is, all these food wrappers we’re throwing away will eventually come back to haunt us. Eventually our “garbage” is going to take over the planet.
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The people who get caught up in the public vs. private debate typically don’t think everything through. The teachers I know work their tails off. They are smart, dedicated, and tireless. If society continues to degrade these people, they will leave, and they will easily take the jobs of all the private sector workers who are doing the mudslinging. Be careful what you wish for…
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The .com individuals with deep pockets have been haphazardly elevated in to a position of power by our society. Sure, Bill Gates has some great ideas, but I am not convinced he should be weighing in on how education should be conducted or attaching strings to money he is giving to support the cause. Many of the current reformers past efforts have not been successful. Take a look at CPS schools under Duncan. His model of reform did not work and has caused, in some cases, neighborhood culture clashes that can be common in Chicago and most large cities. Teachers not having the supplies to do the job is an awful commentary on the condition of schools today. Unfortunately, it is an accurate perspective. Perks at these large companies seem nice, but it is an insult when schools are lacking in the most basic of supplies.
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The Hazards of Loving What You Do or don’t read your local reports on Best Places to Work in _________towne.
Magazines such as Forbes, Fortune and other entities release the results of yearly surveys of the Best Place to Work nationally and local papers often do the same. The Houston Chronicle recently did the same and divided business into large, medium and small. All those ranked had a host of benefits both material and mental from gym memberships and breakfasts paid for by the employers and respect accorded to all involved in the enterprise. Benefits are usually mentioned that are generous and comprehensive (surprisingly luxurious in some cases!), but the element that marks all the winners is that employees feel respected and that their input is valued and incorporated in the companies operation.
Only one Houston area school district made the cut-the Clear Creek Independent School District that serves the NASA area. Beaumont ISD did too, but that city lies over an hour to the east near the Louisiana border. The Houston Independent School District did not make the list.
All things being equal, scanning the report on a Sunday morning may not be the best emotional lift for an educator. However, seeing a kid overcome a challenge, create a piece of work that surprises himself and us gives the adventure of teaching its special quality. Things are not equal at all and when the new appraisal system rolls out, the paperwork deducts from teaching, the rankings result in public shame, that company paid retreat and on-site daycare start to be appealing.
You can check the Chronicle’s report here:http://www.chron.com/business/top-workplaces/article/See-if-your-company-ranked-among-the-top-4020752.php
After checking out a few companies, you will never listen to how financially squeezed private industry is especially the energy sector.
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Words have weight. What would think of me if I said I took drugs? What would think of me if I said I got all my drugs from Walgreens? You will get a lot more public support for stepping on roaches than you will on puppies. How much support will they get if they report that for 50 years promises were made “to attract the best” while almost every year the pension was under funded. Who is the real villain? Then I see the debt obligation look like it is due today, rather than as a mortgage. The debt obligation needs to be reduced now so they can borrow more and kick the can down the road again. Who will be the next villain?
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