This much is clear: the teachers and staff at the Sandy Hook Elementary School reacted with astonishing courage to the unthinkable, the terrifying intrusion of a man intent on murdering them and their students. With no thought of their own safety, they defended their children..
Everyone of them is a hero, those who died and those who survived.
Six of them died protecting the children.
We don’t know the names of the survivors, but we know who made the ultimate sacrifice. For their courage and selflessness, they are heroes of American education.
The principal, Dawn Hochsprung, 47, and the school psychologist, Mary Sherlach, 52, ran towards the intruder to try to stop him. They both were killed.
The killer went in search of defenseless babies and teachers. The teachers heard the gunfire, tried to hide their children, hid them in closets and cabinets.
Vicki Soto, 27, put herself between the killer and her children. He killed her. Somehow some of them escaped. Six ran to a nearby house. They told the surprised homeowner,, “We can’t go back to our school. Our teacher is dead. We don’t have a teacher.”
Anne Marie Murphy, 52, was a special education teacher who was devoted to the children she taught. When her body was found, little Dylan Hockley was in her arms.
Rachel D’Avino was a new teacher, who was getting her doctorate in special education. She was a behavioral analyst. Her boyfriend planned to ask her to marry him during the Christmas holiday. Like the other teachers, she died shielding students.
Lauren Rousseau, 30, had joined the faculty in November. She was thrilled. All her life, her mother later said, she wanted to be a teacher.
Every one of the teachers was a career educator. Every one was doing exactly what she wanted to do. They’ve worked in a school that was not obsessed with testing but with the needs of children. This we know: the staff at Sandy Hook loved their students. They put their students first, even before their own lives.
Oh, and one other thing, all these dedicated teachers belonged to a union. The senior teachers had tenure, despite the fact that “reformers” (led by ConnCAN, StudentsFirst, and hedge fund managers) did their best last spring to diminish their tenure and to tie their evaluations to test scores. Governor Malloy said, memorably, to his shame, that teachers get tenure just for showing up. No one at Sandy Hook was just “showing up.”
Governor Dannell Malloy has led the effort in his state to expand charter schools and high-stakes testing. He appointed a state commissioner of education who co-founded a charter chain. He said, memorably, that he didn’t care how much test prep there was so long as scores go up. Sandy Hook is not that kind of school.
Let us hope Governor Malloy learned something these past few days about the role of public schools in their communities.
Newtown does not need a charter school. What it needs now is healing. Not competition, not division, but a community coming together to help one another. Together. Not competing.
As I returned to school today, I looked closely at my fellow teachers. Each one of them would do whatever was necessary to save their students. I do not express often enough how great it is to work with such experienced, dedicated, and knowledgeable professionals.
Thank you, Dr. Ravitch, for honoring the teachers of Sandy Hook. Their heroic actions are awe-inspiring … true love in action.
I received some wonderful emails from parents thanking me and the other teachers in my school for providing their children with a warm, loving, and positive learning environment. They were very touching and go to show how appreciative of teachers parents are. The reformers are not speaking for them when they criticize us. We need to remember that.
Diane, you said, “Oh, and be other thing, all these dedicated teachers belonged to a union. The senior teachers had tenure, despite the fact that “reformers” (led by ConnCAN, StudentsFirst, and hedge fund managers) did their best last spring to diminish their tenure and to tie their evaluations to test scores. He said, memorably, that teachers get tenure just for showing up. No one at Sandy Hook was just “showing up.”
Who is the “he” in that paragraph? I may be missing something, but I can’t tell who you’re referring to.
BTW, you’re going to be slammed for “exploiting” this incident to advance your cause, as I’m sure you are quite aware. It’s a fine line you’re walking, along with the rest of us who want to scream “Here our your union thugs” while pointing to the brave souls who never deserved that name and who, in the space of terrifying minutes, put quit to the claim that they were “showing up.”
The hell with them. We are only pointing out the truth: The faculty and staff at Sandy Hook were not atypical.
They were the teachers one finds in abundance in every public school in America. If no less a figure than the President of the United States can say that this tragedy implores us to rethink our understanding of gun control and treatment for the mentally ill, then it seems to me both fitting and necessary to add to that message the need to rethink society’s view of teachers.
I fixed that pronoun.
It was Governor Malloy who said that teachers get tenure just for showing up.
Kevin, I’ve been slammed for all sorts of things. If those six could take a bullet for their students, its no big deal to be slammed by critics who can’t bring themselves to apologize for smearing hard-working, dedicated educators.
I’ve never been so proud to be an educator in my life. What an incredible group of public servants who demonstrated to the world what real integrity, courage and character looks like. It feels like a tipping point for all things good…decent human beings showing by example what the world needs to see. Despite the evil nature of one person, goodness shines through those angels’ lives that were taken from us. I believe hearts will be changed from this experience. All heroes, all angels, all our children and fellow educators.
How horrendous to twist this tragedy to be a plank in your turncoat platform.
What “turncoat platform” are you talking about, “Dave”?
Is this just Hate Speech directed at Ms. Ravitch because you disagree with her views?
Specify this so-called “turncoat platform”; if it really exists.
We’re waiting, “Dave”.
Dave,
I think you might seriously be twisting this. What post are you reading??
As I looked at the smiling faces of my first graders today, I realized that I would, indeed, do whatever I could to protect them while they are in school. One colleague today had all her students see if they could actually fit in the bathroom and lock the door. Too many sad faces today – the faces of despair and not knowing what we can do to ease the pain of the parents and colleagues of those suffering. Too many discussions about what “we” would do if it happened to us over lunch.
Our superintendent sent us a compassionate email with many links to help kids and help ourselves and offered to do whatever could be done for anyone in our school who was having trouble dealing with the heartache.
The mother of one of my colleagues works at Sandy Hook. He grew up in Newtown. His mother doesn’t work on Fridays, so he’s a lucky one- but this has touched every educator and every parent. I told him today that he needed to do what my 17 year old son did on Friday – hugged me tight and said “Just because…..just because of today Mom.” as soon as he gets home for break. We shared a knowing smile, and then went back to our classrooms to give our best to our students and to put our grief aside for a few more hours. We’re teachers – it’s what we do.
I was highly offended by your post…as usual. I am a career educator that happens to work at a charter school. We love our children deeply and all the same as any district school. How dare you politicize this event. You had one thing right, Sandy Hook did not have to think about test scores, because it is one of the most affluent communities in the country. More than likely, those students are coming to school with a host of experiences that allow them to access their schema to critically think about reading, math, science, and social studies. Other students, especially from lower socio-economic regionsm do not always have the same privilige. Not all charters are obsessed with test scores. Not all charters are meant for poor students. Charters are meant to provide choice to families. What we (charters) are obsessed about is educating children to be literate citizens of society. When so many schools are failing, it is easy to point blame elsewhere. However, the fact of the matter is some schools (not all) are protecting bad teachers that are failing large numbers of students. This is not about unions, test scores, or money for that matter. It is about high quality education. Nonetheless, I digressed. Again, your post was highly unneccessary. Teachers in charter schools still want the best for their students. How dare you suggest otherwise.
JW, I am afraid you missed Ms. Ravitch’s point entirely. Her post is, to me, highly necessary and hugely appreciated.
Did you read a different post than the rest of us?
Besides the fact that you missed the point, if you’re so highly offended by her post – as usual – then why are you reading? I’m sure TFA or Students First/Last will post something you agree with.
AMEN, JW.
If what Newtown needs now is “coming together” and “not division” (and I hope we all affirm that need), then why the need to point out that these were union teachers? Diane, did you mean to imply that charter school teachers would have acted any less bravely?
I find it hypocritical of you to talk of unity while you use a horrible tragedy as just another opportunity to jam a massive and thorny wedge between union and charter teachers. I sincerely hope that was not your intent, and I look forward to the day when all stakeholders can *truly* come together in support of all teachers and all students in all communities, both in times of tragedy and in times of triumph.
Its quite obvious to see why she mentions unions, they are
the bogeyman. When a union is mentioned especially the teachers
union, its why the students are failing. Fat cat labor leaders
protecting incompetent teachers poisoning your kids. Why the
animosity about charter schools, because charter schools aren’t for
education. They are tools of the ultra rich, thru their “think
tanks” to whittle away at the last great strong union. Divide and
conquer, just like southern labor sucking away northern jobs except
that southern jobs go deeper south than they realized then east to
China. These teachers died heroes protecting your most precious
possessions. Hardly the portrait painted by the anti-union forces
that get all the airplay.
This is for Dave, JW, heathergilchrist, BP and any other readers who are making the specious and highly inappropriate claim that Diane’s (excellent and moving) post was somehow “divisive” or “in bad taste” or “exploiting” this slaughter.
Their defensiveness and their hostile tone underscores their real intent: they want to intimidate or discredit Ms. Ravitch.
Most likely, all of those posters either work for a “charter” or another privatization company. Or they are ideologically supportive of the charter/voucher/trigger/privatization mindset.
Or both.
If you don’t think that attacks against our teachers are real and increasingly vicious, maybe you need to see just a random handful of typical comments you’ll find almost anytime an education article is published.
Here you go. “Enjoy”:
James S Vining
If any of you pieces of crap cared one ounce about those kids you have been teaching, your butts would be negotiating from behind the desk. All you worthless piles of human dung care about is your paychecks. You make more money than any other teachers in the United States, yet you want MORE MORE MORE….. Pieces of crap!
Like · · 10 minutes ago near Pinson, AL
Conan Wollstein
I voted FOR Charter Schools. The reason? I know the neo-liberal, pro-promiscuity, pro-abortion, pro-marxist madness Government Schools are poisonous to the youth. Thank God I dropped out of high school, worked at real jobs with real people (not the academic intellectuals’ classes I was taught about) and then returned to college and entered Honors Society. The public schools are trying to integrate Americans into a global (read: communist / fascist ) one world system where dirty money and corrupt power are the two most important pseudo-values. As many kids as we can extricate from these re-education camps, the better!
•
Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/07/29/2232065/charter-schools-not-a-cure-all.html#storylink=cpy
———————————————————————————————————————
Thomas Landstreet
That’s the point! To reduce funds for public education. Taxpayers have thrown trillions ($660b annually) at the problem and scores continue to fall. Meanwhile, teachers enjoy a rich existence into retirement and beyond.
Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/09/20/2303018/charter-schools-would-reduce-funding.html#storylink=cpy
TonyV1
9/20/2012 8:29 PM PDT
FK Teachers Unions… they’ve been in complete control of education in this country for at least 40 years… AND WHAT GOOD HAVE THEY DONE? Not only are states going bankrupt feeding these parasites, MORE THAN HALF OF ALL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS CAN’T EVEN READ.
Teachers Unions are the scum of this country… seriously, if the US was a large human body, TEACHER’S UNIONS WOULD BE THE PUS-FILLED HEMHORROIDS.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-teachers-unions/2012/09/14/4753244e-fdbc-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_allComments.html?ctab=all_&
____________________________________________________
Again, this is just a tiny taste. It doesn’t even include the comments by a well known conservative, east coat governor who called our teachers “THUGS!”
When will the Charter/Voucher/Trigger/Privatization Crowd publicly denounce this type of anti-Teacher Hate Speech?
Or do you not want to?
John Foster, you are right. I do currently work for a charter school, but also worked for a traditional district school for many years and was a part of a very powerful teachers union. However, I believe in education for all, and that educators need to stand together for the needs of students. All schools need to work together to determine the best practices for teaching students. Nonetheles, this tragedy has nothing to do with the debate between district and charter schools. Yet, Ravitch felt the need to go there.
To those who asked, yes, I read the article…clearly. Yes, I understood her intent. Did you?
I am proud of all educators in this movement, because not enough of us get the credit we deserve. I am proud to hear about the heroes of the Sandy Hook tragedy, because that could have been anyone of us. As teachers, we are educators, motivators, psychologists, parents, defenders, the list goes on and on. I see that Ravitch feels this sentiment, as well.
But it was in poor taste to loop talk of unions and charters into this conversation. Period. It had nothing to do with this tragedy.
JW – And there will be those that say bringing he NRA into the conversation is politicizing the tragedy also as there are many assault rifle owners who don’t kick their dogs or beat their wives. There are many lessons to be learned from this horror and reminding the greedy corporate reformers that the teachers they indiscriminately and unjustifiably characterize as selfish union thugs addresses one of them. It is commendable that you as a TFA instructor have the best intentions but you and other TFAs are perfectly capable of achieving righteous goals without supporting Kopp’s organization which you either don’t understand or choose not to believe is part and parcel to the destruction of our public education system. Make an effort to inform yourself.
John,
I know they hope to intimidate me. They won’t succeed.
Diane
Ah John, John, John, Johnny Boy. What’s your issue with my post? You lump me in with people cussing out/at teachers and such, yet you actually do nothing to critique MY comments. How dare you. Your argument is that weak? I invite you to show where I verbally “attacked” any teacher whatsoever. You can’t, let me save you the trouble. However my criticism is of the SYSTEM of public schooling.
I am so surprised by some reactions to this post.
Dr. Ravitch, as a researcher, is adding more facts to the heroic story of these teachers.
The fact that they were union members does serve to dispel the “media myths” about union teachers. That is what the truth does.
There have been several inaccuracies in the media reports about Sandy Hook. Thank you, Dr. Ravitch, for the facts.
Thank “readingexchange” – I wish I could have your calm tone when defending Ms. Ravitch. Indeed, as you say, that is basis of any response on this issue – Ms. Ravitch in addition to showing the teachers great honor she is as a side note attempting to dispel the myths. How could teachers demonstrate their heroism and worth and how they should be measured any more than by what they did at Sandy Hook? After 9-11 if someone commented on the firefighters as our fabulous union brothers and sisters I doubt we would see the reaction as we see now against Ms. Ravitch.
I do not have a problem with charter school teachers. Many charters are unionized and that number is growing every day. I do however have a problem with a charter that is privately run yet publicly financed.
Many tax-payer charters around the country are exempt from VAM and other regulations that public schools must endure. The majority of charters can easily “counsel out” students. Not all have to service special needs students. They can take up valuable classroom space in a public school, including taking total control of the library, even when the community is against it. Their finances are also not regulated, and that’s wrong if they are subsidized by tax payer dollars. Many directors are now being caught doing illegal things with the money. But it takes a scandal to discover what’s going on behind closed doors.
Yes, there are bad teachers in all kinds of schools. Yet VAM is not the best way to judge them. And by the way, even students from good areas have problems. They are not exempt from emotional or academic challenges. Sandy Hook recognized that it takes more than a test score on one test to judge them. They knew it was about the progress which is a journey. For some it may take years to reach academic success, and for that the teacher cannot be faulted for that. But they can guide them through the process. And learning is a process. Sandy Hook did not believe in teaching to the test. And for that, they are all heroes.
What part of her post slammed charter teachers? ANd public schools can provide the same experience as charters…our monies should not be siphoned to for profit charters. period. It’s un democratic and charters are dividing communities and taking away monies from public schools while someone makes a profit. Everything you say you [provide can and should be provided in fully funded neighborhood public schools with highly educated and well paid teachers. What public school teachers want is to educate children to be educated and literate citizens in society. How dare you suggest differently! See how that works?
My own experience with charter school teachers is that most of you are sub-par academically, underpaid and over opinionated. The education reform movement is nothing but the vanguard of a hostile corporate takeover of public education, and charters are the tip of the spear. Charter schools are a self-serving fantasy that claims public schools are “failing” when the data suggest otherwise when they are compared equivalently to charter schools. What most charters offer as “choice” are training camps, designed to create atomized cubicle drones, tame minorities and simplistic metrics of accountability more appropriate to General Electric than to public schools. Parents don’t need the kind of choice or the de facto publicly financed privatization schemes charters offer. They need solid, prosperous communities that collectively and democratically operate real public schools
through elected school boards that negotiate with educators. represented by professional associations.
Congratulations on getting just about every lie told about charter schools into a single paragraph. Academic minds are curious and open to change. You sound about as willing to entertain different ideas as a rock. In my book, *that* is academically “sub-par”.
Thank you. Lies? Which ones did I fail to mention? How would you know whether they were lies or not? What I said was intended to make it clear that public educators have had about enough of the TFA style BS and that we can hit back hard, with facts and the same style of insults we’ve been on the receiving end of for years. Get
used to it.
Teachers need to push back on the bean counting and standards judgement and reintroduce compassion, empathy and social consciousness.
Such a powerful reflection and very much appreciated. Sadly, Kevin may be right that people may think pro-teacher advocates walk a thin line in using this terrible tragedy to advance a cause, but your words capture my own emotions perfectly. I happen to be the husband of a first-grade teacher and father of a first-grade boy. The forces you rail against are far too “unseen” by much of the population, or assumed to be “OK” since they are “reformers.” And the teaching profession is treated with a level of disrespect that is breath-taking. I’m struck at how unsurprised I have been when reading of the heroic efforts of the Sandy Hook teachers — they are indeed, as Kevin said, “not atypical.” Their actions were awe-inspiring. And the work of teachers across the country day in and day out is awe-inspiring as well. Thank you very much for your words & your work.
Such a powerful reflection and very much appreciated. Sadly, Kevin may be right that people may think pro-teacher advocates walk a thin line in using this terrible tragedy to advance a cause, but your words capture my own emotions perfectly. I happen to be the husband of a first-grade teacher and father of a first-grade boy. The forces you rail against are far too “unseen” by much of the population, or assumed to be “OK” since they are “reformers.” And the teaching profession is treated with a level of disrespect that is breath-taking. I’m struck at how unsurprised I have been when reading of the heroic efforts of the Sandy Hook teachers — they are indeed, as Kevin said, “not atypical.” Their actions were awe-inspiring. And the work of teachers across the country day in and day out is awe-inspiring as well. Thank you very much for your words & your work.
This is all very true. Had DR said “I am very proud of these teachers” and gone on to say that they obviously don’t match negative stereotypes of Waiting For Superman, etc., that would have been absolutely fine and I’d agree 100%.
But to try to score points by saying the school “wasn’t obsessed with testing”, that they were “career educators” (presumably to contrast with TFA), that they were union members, that they had tenure, etc., just has no bearing.
DR’s concluding paragraph? Not about heroism, not about the nobility of the teaching profession, etc. It was “Newtown does not need a charter school”.
With all due respect John, I don’t believe Diane Ravitch has to “score points”.
Then why mention those things and sum up saying Newtown doesn’t need charter schools?
Because Newtown does not need charter schools. In fact, I don’t know of any district that needs the “gift” of a charter school.
“…What [Newtown] needs now is healing. Not competition, not division, but a community coming together to help one another. Together. Not competing.”
All due respect, Ms. Ravtich, but I am having trouble understanding something. As it seems to me, you have done exactly that in this post, drawing lines between union and non, drawing divisions according to policy and teaching type, and competition between “good” and “bad” policy. You’ve done the very thing you expressly said Newton didn’t need-you divided us instead of consider that all of us who work with children would hopefully carry out the same heroic actions because we ALL love children. It’s lost on me how statements like these bring us together, which makes me sad and stings my heart in a place that already hurts so much for these children and this town.
While I don’t always agree with your statements, I generally have respect for how you deliver them. I recognize that this is your blog, but I think this was in poor taste and timing, and could maybe have stopped after you rightfully acknowledged the heroic acts of incredibly brave educators.
I don’t wish to argue with you or anyone else – my heart is too heavy for such a trivial act. I just wanted to express my frustration and hurt in an already deeply troubling time in hopes that we might all think differently before we politicize an atrocity.
Let’s all continue to pray for Newtown and all of the teachers-of every stripe- who stand between their students and the dangers of this world every day.
I think you misread the post. The teachers at Newtown are all union. That didn’t stop them from loving their students. Many have tenure. That didn’t make them lazy or greedy.
The message of my post: It’s time to stop the teacher-bashing. Saying so is not divisive. It is a recognition that this tragedy sets in stark relief the meanness of the anti-teacher, anti-union campaign of the past 2-3 years. Standing up against dividers is not divisive. It is standing up for career educators and public education. It’s the least I can do for those brave teachers.
Why then do you even use the word “charter”. I agree that those teachers were heroes and that most teachers are. But you clearly chose to tie their behavior to specific things like tenure and teacher evaluation that have nothing to do with their behavior. Just as you pointed out that they behaved as they did in spite of these protections, I would point out that the same people would have behaved the same way without them. I agree with JW that this was a great time to point out that most teachers are heroes every day and a terrible time to try to make political points by implying that charter schools, teacher evaluations, and education reform in general have any correlation whatsoever to the tragedy.
I think you are simply picking a fight (why???). A hypothetical: let’s say teachers at charter schools were regularly demeaned in the press. And let’s say someone had a blog that tried to advance a more positive view of teachers at charter schools. Then let’s say a group of teachers at a charter school showed great heroism. I would think it completely appropriate that on that blog these acts were celebrated as having been heroic and noted (as per the context of the blog) that these actions fly in the face of widely-propagated negative views of such teachers.
Can you understand my analogy? It seems simple. Diane is simply pointing out that this is a counter-example to the picture of tenured & unionized teachers being lazy and out for themselves. In fact, contrary to what you suggest, the post is simply demonstrating the LACK of correlation between unionized & tenured teachers and laziness, self-centeredness, etc. It makes both moral and logical sense.
I first thought people here simply misread the original post, but it is starting to look like people are trying to pick a fight. And please don’t sat “Diane is picking a fight” — yes, of course, she is — that is her life’s work. Defending teachers, the teaching profession, and public education in the face of an onslaught of negativity. It is truly noble work as is the celebration of these brave and selfless teachers. That she would comment on them w/ in this context is both expected and appropriate.
Thank you for your clarity and logic.
Diane
I just don’t see the relevance of these teachers’ union membership or their tenure to this horrible tragedy. More power to DR in her fight for teachers and union rights, but did she need to use this tragedy to do that despite no correlation whatsoever? If teachers at a charter school did the same thing, I would equally hope that nobody would use the event to imply that charter school teachers care more about their students.
I agree with BP. It reads as hypocritical to pay lip (or finger) service to unity while you use a horrible tragedy as a backdrop to jam another thorny wedge between union and charter teachers. I sincerely hope–and believe–that was not your intent.
Diane, you represent a valuable voice in an immensely important conversation around education, and I think it would better serve all perspectives in this multi-sided conversation to take pause to consider how your posts will read to those of different persuasions.
As someone who works with (and has just as much admiration for) teachers of all stripes, I look forward to the day when all stakeholders can *truly* come together in support of all teachers and all students in all communities, both in times of tragedy and in times of triumph.
Thank you-especially for your last paragraph. That is what this work needs-not more division, but more unity-for the sake of ALL who do this work and ALL our kids.
Thank you for this quote BP:
“I don’t wish to argue with you or anyone else – my heart is too heavy for such a trivial act. I just wanted to express my frustration and hurt in an already deeply troubling time in hopes that we might all think differently before we politicize an atrocity.”
I completely agree.
That may have been your intent, but I think the impact of your words landed quite differently with many people (some of whom posted here), and you are indeed responsible for that. Perhaps an addendum or some additional clarity might help to calm the flames of an already heated moment in our discourse. Just a thought-feel free to take it or leave it.
I respect your opinion and your intent, and agree that teacher bashing must stop. But I do indeed hope that be your mantra from now on, and that you’ll refrain from bashing teachers who come into the profession through other means. One can certainly disagree without being disagreeable or mean. Anything less would be hypocritical and would not acknowledge the difficult and brave work that these teachers in Newtown did, and that educators of every kind engage in daily.
Thank you.
The division is in your mind. The teachers of Newtown and their community are united. And I support them for their courage. Why are you so defensive?
I’m not defensive by any means. In fact, I’ve been respectful, acknowledged your worthy points and have not at all twisted.
I also did not imply or state in any way that there was a division in Newtown. I referred to the division present in your words in this post and many others between teachers because of their entry point. Divisiveness between adults nationwide does nothing for children anywhere.
Please don’t misunderstand me: I’d simply wish for all of us in education to not use this time to harp on our differences in background, training, or union status, but to, as you said, come together for the good of children. My prayer is for all of us to do as these heroes did – put children first and support one another as we do.
As I stated, I have no intention of arguing, as that seems most unimportant and not a reflection of true unity between educators. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I’ll stand with you as we continue to keep Newtown in our thoughts and prayers.
I take your point and I don’t question your motives, but it does look like a lot of people are defensive about this, and I think there’s something to learn from that other than just doubling down. Imagine, for example, if Sandy Hook had happened to be a charter school, and Whitney Tilson wrote that the heroic action of the teachers should be a lesson to unions and critics of charter schools. It would be in pretty bad taste. I actually felt queasy just typing out the hypothetical.
Exactly.
This makes no sense at all. I’ve never heard anyone suggest that teachers at charter schools are selfish and lazy. I *have* heard such said about unionized & tenured teachers. Can you really twist Diane’s words to suggest she was saying this was a “lesson” to anyone? She is saying that those who demonize unionized teachers are empirically wrong. If teachers at charter schools were demonized, it would indeed be appropriate to point out a counter-example. Why would that be in bad taste?
I’m beginning to see the contours of this debate more clearly. Quite frustrating to deal w/ such misinformation and illogic. Sigh.
Q. “Can you really twist Diane’s words to suggest she was saying this was a ‘lesson’ to anyone?”
A. “Let us hope Governor Malloy learned something these past few days about the role of public schools in their communities.”
*will be your mantra…
I am also thankful for the hardworking and under-appreciated teachers in this country. This holds true for teachers who work at district schools, charter schools, private schools and all other schools.
There are a lot of people here that are “missing the point” in my opinion.
http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2012/12/its-politicizing-if-you-disagree-with-me.html
“Ezra Klein, who I’ve had issues with before, describes the above phenomenon very well:
‘When we first collected much of this data, it was after the Aurora, Colo. shootings, and the air was thick with calls to avoid “politicizing” the tragedy. That is code, essentially, for “don’t talk about reforming our gun control laws.”
Let’s be clear: That is a form of politicization. When political actors construct a political argument that threatens political consequences if other political actors pursue a certain political outcome, that is, almost by definition, a politicization of the issue. It’s just a form of politicization favoring those who prefer the status quo to stricter gun control laws.’
That is exactly right. What bothers Rosenberg and TFA is that Diane Ravitch is calling the reformyists out for the policies they advocate and the statements they make. Ravitch is making the obvious point, in contrast to their reforminess, that the brave teachers who died in Newtown were career educators and union members. TFA doesn’t want anyone to think about this; thus, Rosenberg gets indignant, because he has no response. She’s right, he’s wrong, and that pisses him off.”
To be succinct: those of you who accuse Diane of exploiting a tragedy are MORE guilty of exploiting it, because you are using it to shut down debate.
Sorry, that comment made no sense.
Try reading it slowly…
This makes no sense whatsoever. A gun control debate is 100% appropriate because guns were a key part of this tragedy. Tell me what possible connection the tragedy had to education reform and then you would be making a point. Neither DR nor you made any point whatsoever except to hang your political agendas on a convenient hook in a truly in a truly tactless and inappropriate way. If you had a point about how ed reform caused this problem (which to me makes as much sense as the lunatics who say gay marriage caused it), then make your point. This could have happened in any school and I would hope you would be as sympathetic if it happened at a charter, but your actions here lead me to believe that you would try to find a way to hang it on the school.
Are you even familiar with Diane Ravitch’s work? Do you know the context of this blog?
Sorry, John — we call what you are doing “trolling,” and it is a waste of time for all involved.
I’m quite aware of the context and am a regular reader. As you can see, many people took offense to this and we are entitled to express our opinions. If you only listen to people who agree with you, you will learn nothing.
What I see is that the people who don’t like what Diane and I and many others say are very well-coordinated.
You’ll notice that Diane hasn’t taken down ANY of the comments that have raked her over the coals. So let’s not pretend that she’s not letting you express your opinion.
I respect Diane for posting these comments. I was responding particularly to pkeane, who thinks I’m trolling and wasting everyone’s time.
Wait–can anyone explain what union membership has to do with this at all? I think we can all agree that there are great teachers both in and out of the union that would have done exactly the same thing.
These teachers are people. Their union membership didn’t prepare them for this moment. They are human beings who were brave in the face of danger.
Had this been a non-union school, would the first 2/3 of this post been any different? Would the conclusion have then been “but they weren’t union, and so their heroism doesn’t count for much?”
I just don’t understand the logic here. Let’s remember these people as people, as great teachers, and honor their memories.
You may not be aware of this, but teachers’ unions have been under attack as greedy and self-serving, as organizations whose members care only about themselves, not their students.
Because you don’t know this (did you see “Waiting for Superman”?), you are unaware that teachers support their unions. 98% of the teachers voting in Chicago authorized the strike there. the union is the teachers.
Maybe you won’t know that anti-union billionaires are funding anti-union campaigns, so teachers have no rights at all, no due process.
My post was a response to this well-funded reactionary campaign. And you may not have noticed, but last week, Michigan became the 24th state to undercut collective bargaining rights.
You might be misunderstanding me–it seems to me that you’re implying that had this school been non-union, these teachers might not have been there and so the outcome would have been different. That non-union teachers might have acted differently. As I said above, what I’m confused about is your logic.
I know a lot about unions and work in education myself–I have friends who are in unions and some who aren’t, and I think that they are all wonderful people. My opinion of them has nothing to do with whether or not they pay dues.
I don’t know a single education reformer out there who would say that all union teachers are terrible people. Most of them would agree that the majority of union teachers are fabulous, professional educators. I don’t think I know of a single union member who would say that all union teachers are perfect. There are some teachers who are better than others, but only a small sliver of them are bad teachers.
All anybody is trying to do is make sure that our children get the best education and support they can. These teachers obviously agreed with that, and I believe that their union membership had absolutely nothing to do with their heroism.
You are being defensive.
My post responded to politicians who attack unions and tenure.
It’s not about you.
Jen – You said: “it seems to me that you’re implying that had this school been non-union, these teachers might not have been there and so the outcome would have been different.” That’s not even remotely what Ms. Ravitch meant to say or even remotely implied. Here’s what was intended (I’d say “I think was intended” but it seem quite obvious to me): these teachers are heros — there willingness to sacrifice there own lives for there children is awe-inspiring. It’s notable how different those actions are from the caricature of unionized & tenured teachers as self-serving and lazy that we hear so often. I do not sense even a hint of any implications beyond that, and certainly none aimed at teacher not affiliated with unions.
It is a powerful and completely appropriate reflection, esp. given the context within which Ms. Ravitch works and the context in which it is presented (this blog).
Wow,
To use this tragedy to promote Teachers Unions is amazingly egoistic and shameful
To use the low test scores of students who live in poverty to attack teachers’ unions is shameful. Unionized teachers work in great school districts and in impoverished school districts. They belong to a union because they want to have a voice in working conditions that affect teaching and learning and their ability to have a decent living. Why is that a problem?
if you justify bad behavior by pointing to other bad behavior, you are no better
@Peter–if that’s all that was intended, then I wholly support it. It just seemed from her original language that she meant something different.
@Dr. Ravitch–I was not trying to be defensive, though it was challenging considering the tone you took with your comments towards me.
This tragedy seems to me to have nothing to do with pro- or anti- union politics. Dr. Ravitch is painting with very broad strokes–anybody who talks about any union reform thinks all teachers are terrible, in essence–and thus prevents a real conversation from happening.
“The senior teachers had tenure, despite the fact that “reformers” … did their best last spring to diminish their tenure and to tie their evaluations to test scores.” My guess is that all these teachers would have kept their tenure and passed with flying colors.
I just still don’t understand what this tragedy and what these people have to do with the fights over unions. Let them just be teachers and heroes.
“My guess is that all these teachers would have kept their tenure and passed with flying colors.”
My guess says otherwise.
Those veteran teachers—i.e. the higher paid ones with 10 or more years on the job—would have been targeted and fired. The principals would have had pressure applied to them to cut the line item of salary on their school budgets by doing whatever is necessary to find fault with. and interpreting / concluding in their observations of the veterans—through cherry-picking, exaggerations, and outright lies—that those at the higher end of the salary scale were lacking and thus, should be fired… while excusing any deficiencies in the low-paid teachers—those with say, 5 years or less seniority.
In cities like D.C. and elsewhere, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAS HAPPENED after tenure has been eliminated or severely gutted.
At this point, if any of the parents objected—i.e. they were looking forward to a younger sibling having the same superb veteran teacher that their older sibling had—the “reformers” in charge would tell those parents, “Tough luck, folks… this is how it’s gonna be. We don’t give a sh– what you parents think.”
They take their orders from their corporate, privatization masters, not from the citizens whose taxes pay their salaries, and whose children attend the schools they have managed to take over.
Keep preaching the truth, Diane!
Don’t think for one minute that the rest of us have not noticed that YOU are using this tragedy to promote “union reform.”
I am a non-union teacher and, unlike you, I did not twist Diane’s words and claim to take offense at what she wrote. It was very evident that she was pointing out that, contrary to all of the negative statements that have been made repeatedly in the press characterizing union teachers as lazy incompetents, it was union teachers at Sandy Hook who were the heroes.
And since you either don’t understand or just don’t care about why union protections are needed for teachers, just wait a few years until what has happened in higher education across this country reaches into lower education. You will then learn that people trying to save a buck have figured out that non-union teachers can be hired as independent contractors, every term, i.e., each marking period –and not paid until the term ends, with no benefits or academic freedom. It’s not necessary to fire teachers under this set-up. They just don’t hire teachers again the next term.
They did this at my school and, for years, all teachers had to sign contracts stating that we agreed to be available to our jobs 24/6 as well. When we had few students, they paid us a low per student salary. When we had many students, they filled our classes to the brim and paid us a low per course salary. They are wizards at figuring out how to exploit teachers who are not protected by unions.
Enjoy what lies ahead as a result of your “union reform” advocacy campaign –which we all know really means union obliteration.
Read about the CT charter schools http://www.ctcharterschoolnetwork.org/find-a-charter-school/ . Connecticut Mastery Test results demonstrate that charter schools have delivered not only a greater percentage of students performing at or above “Proficiency” than their local districts, but they also outpace districts in year-to-year growth in student achievement. The longer students stay in these schools, the more they improve. From 2006-2010, charters improved their CMT proficiency 4.3% faster in Math and 3.9% faster in Reading than host districts. In 2010, charters outperformed their host districts’ CMT proficiency by 9.6% in Math and 8.4% in Reading.
Connecticut charters are closing the achievement gap: our Black and Hispanic
8th Graders score 18% higher in Math than Black & Hispanic 8th Graders
statewide. S0 – these are the schools you want to vilify and impute that their teachers don’t care about their students? Shame on you. A new real low. It doesn’t appear that Adam Lanza was served well in the traditional district school. What options were afforded him so that he could not be “invisible” or sit alone at lunch and never spoken to as has been described?
“these are the schools you want to vilify and impute that their teachers don’t care about their students” — huh? So Diane is being accused of saying that charter school teachers don’t care about their students? This is simply bizarre. That the charter school movement (like vouchers) generally weakens public education is not particularly controversial. This blog (and Dr. Ravitch’s work in general) aims to show the forces at play behind that movement. It’s a worthwhile topic of debate (I have not a sliver of a doubt that folks like Diane Ravitch and Anthony Cody are in the right, yet fighting an uphill against a powerful and moneyed PR onslaught), but this is simply amounting to character assassination. Why and from where does it come, I cannot help but wonder?
There are no citations or attributions to support the data or the conclusions made on this site.
Protecting our students is an innate response from a teacher of excellence.
Thank you Diane. Just, thank you. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.
Yes Diane,
And no one will accuse these heroic women of saying, “protecting children with our own lives, sorry that’s not part of our union contract.”
Teaching, loving, leading….that’s what these teachers were all about….that’s what teaching is all about.
@Jen D.: You said, “I don’t know a single education reformer out there who would say that all union teachers are terrible people. Most of them would agree that the majority of union teachers are fabulous, professional educators.”
Please allow me to introduce you to Mr. Frank VanderSloot, billionaire CEO of Melaleuca. In the months leading up to the November elections, he dropped $1.3 million to say exactly that about Idaho teachers, as loudly and as often as he could. Perhaps he’ll introduce you to some of the people who work for him, such as Idaho Governor Butch Otter and Idaho State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna.
http://www.communitypagenews.com/
I appreciated this post when I first read it and I still do. As a public school teacher (34+ years), a union member, and fortunate enough to have tenure, I truly thought (and still think) that those facts were included because 1. they are true and 2. public school teachers and their unions have been browbeaten for so long and regarded as useless welfare queens dragging down society that it was important to let the public know that these teachers were part of the group that are perceived to be the bame of public education, but made the ultimate sacrifice for their students.
And I thought that charter schools were mentioned because of Gov. Malloy’s determination to add many more charters in his state, slowly eliminating public education as we now know it.
I would have never dreamed that people would take such offense when reading this post. Thank you, Diane , for writing it.
Donna Yates Mace (Florida)
Is it hard to see how a charter school teacher, every bit as dedicated as these District school teachers, would take offense to using this tragedy to say that there should not be more charter schools? I can’t see how this does anything other than imply that teachers with the characteristics Diane mentioned do this and that charter teachers somehow would not. That’s as ludicrous as it is offensive.
“I would have never dreamed that people would take such offense when reading this post.”
From the looks of it, this was an organized campaign. TFA appears to be spewing venom because they know that, as long as it’s common knowledge across America that the Sandy Hook heroes are career educators who belong to unions, the usual union teacher bashing strategies will not only be ineffective, but the teacher witch hunt will finally be recognized for what it is: inaccurate, contrived from suppositions and fabrications, and intensely cruel.
They are probably taking out their frustrations on Diane, with a deluge of Tweets and Blog posts, because she publicized and underscored the facts, and they have not changed course. Remember, whenever they try to demonize teachers now, people will be thinking about, “Sandy Hook.”
Former TFAers have reported that the trashing of career public school teachers is integral to TFA training, so it would probably be too much to expect these folks to suddenly turn around and honor those educators. Of course, it would be nice if they would get a clue, like the rest of the country has awakened to, that when educators make a lifelong commitment to teaching children, they really are devoted to the best interests of students and they are even willing to die to protect them.
As indicated by Michelle Rhee in her statement, and the tweets and posts here, they would prefer to overlook the fact that the union teachers they have been demonizing for years are true heroes. So, it seems like TFA found an avenue to exploit and proclaim that temp teachers and non-union charter teachers would do the same as the Sandy Hook teachers. OK, maybe they would. But there is no getting around the fact that it was the very unionized career teachers TFA has been vilifying for decades who actually did give their lives for their students. Bless their souls.
It’s great that they were union teachers, and I sincerely hope that their actions will benefit the perception of all teachers as the dedicated people that almost all of them are. However, I can believe that and also believe that now is not the time to make a disctinction betwen union and non-union teachers nor the time to make the case against charter schools, which is what Diane chose to do.
Now is exactly the time to identify the heroic union teachers from a neighborhood school who were so fully committed to their students that they risked, and some lost, their lives. Had they been non-union or charter school teachers, I have no doubt that the people who are complaining now would have played that to the hilt.
I’m not a union teacher, but I empathize with them and their plight. Those are the very people who have been subjected to year after year of public shaming by politicians, corporate sponsored “reformers” and media, all of whom seem intent on promoting the disparaging ridicule of union teachers, using junk science to evaluate them, closing schools, opening charters and replacing union teachers with nonunion teachers, in a sham front to privatize public education per ALEC.
If I was one of the Sandy Hook teachers who gave my life for my students, I would hope that someone would immediately step forward, shine a light on reality and vindicate me. Diane’s post is a timely celebration of noble lives.
Contrary to the beliefs of TFA, StudentsFirst and TNTP, who see raising test scores as the most valuable characteristic of teachers, the Sandy Hook educators, with their immeasurable dedication, courage and heart, have demonstrated that they are “The True Irreplaceables.”
Along with Diane and colleagues, I salute the Sandy Hook teachers.
“Former TFAers have reported that the trashing of career public school teachers is integral to TFA training, so it would probably be too much to expect these folks to suddenly turn around and honor those educators.”
As a TFA teacher myself, I must insist that there was not a single minute spent “trashing career public school teachers,” or at least not at my training (where 1/5 of the total corps was trained). Instead, many of our coaches are career teachers, and we are constantly taught to focus on one of the organization’s core values of “respect and humility,” which includes realizing we are NOT holier than thou and we should take a lesson or two from career teachers.
I know of several traditional route teachers who chose to join TFA for the added professional development, and furthermore, many TFA teachers not only join unions but also help form them (I can think of 10 such teachers at my own charter school).
I, along with many of my other TFA and career teacher coworkers, have immense respect for the teachers of Sandy Hook, whether or not they belonged to a union. It is indeed shameful that so many choose to vilify teachers’ unions, and after re-reading the post several times, I can see that Ravitch’s overall intention (though perhaps misconstrued) was to prove that not all union teachers are “evil.”
Please though, in the process of defending Ravitch’s intentions in this post, don’t turn this into a personal attack on me or other TFA teachers, because that brings you down to the same level as other teacher-bashers.
Thank you for your reasonable and rational post, Katie.
Diane,
I think what you are dealing with here for the most part are the “shruggies”. I know it seems amazing, but many folks are simply asleep at the switch, and to those people, your comments came out of left field. (I borrowed the term from the good folks at Science Based Medicine – they use it to describe doctors who take a blind eye to alt-med). It should go without saying, but I want to thank you again for all you do. I never miss a chance to hear you speak.
Shruggie (noun): a person who doesn’t care about the “school reform” debate. When presented with descriptions of exaggerated or fraudulent studies, claims, or practices, their response is to shrug. Shruggies are fairly inert, they will not argue the merits (or lack thereof) of “school reform” in general. They simply aren’t all that interested in the discussion, and are somewhat puzzled (and sometimes offended) by those who are.
Great term! Yes, some folks here may be “shruggies,” but this was initiated on Twitter by an informed higher up from TFA and I think that it was an organized offensive (made to look like a defense because those folks inhabit Opposite World a lot) and that a number of trolls have followed his lead.
The response here reminds me of the incredulous GOP who were so sure of themselves that, last month when Romney lost, they reacted in all kinds of irrational ways, from blaming the hurricane and supposed Obama “gifts” to petitioning for their states to secede from the union.
Personally, I’m so tired of neocons and neolibs, especially those that trash teachers and public education in the name of “civil rights,” but who refuse to address poverty and segregation of children of color, that I’m all for them taking their marbles and playing in another sand box. That sounds especially appealing if it means they will stop attacking people who have truly committed their lives to children, rather than to corporate sponsors and a six figure income, as they have, but I wouldn’t count on them giving up anytime soon.
Our Founder
Just getting around to reading this, it’s also important to note that in almost every news report they mention that many families have moved to Sandy Hook Public School for its quality education.
Good administrators breed good teachers. Teachers get fired up around heroes like Mrs. Hochsprung. I would have been honored to work for her. She and her teachers along with the families created that atmosphere.
Devotion, Devotion, Devotion. Many jobs aren’t able to harness that let it develop; unions allow for that.
Naysayers tell me, “IIIII don’t get health care, IIII don’t have a small pension for myself, III don’t get sick time, IIII don’t get a lunch…. and I say…
Well that is wrong, you should.
TFA Leaders and Education Reform commentators make Diane Ravitch even more relevant: http://jonathanpelto.com/2012/12/19/tfa-leaders-and-education-reform-commentators-make-diane-ravitch-even-more-relevant/
So let’s get this right. Diane Ravitch correctly points out that these teachers were career professionals that all belonged to a union, some of them had tenure, while others were working toward tenure…AND THAT ALL OF THEM were negatively impacted by legislation proposed by Governor Malloy. In return she is described as someone who is incapable of decency or logical thinking by education reform commentators like RiShawn Biddle.
Diane Ravitch’s comments were absolutely and totally correct. These teachers were career professionals, they did belong to a union, some did have tenure and some were working toward tenure AND ALL OF THEM WERE negatively impacted by Governor Malloy’s “education reform” plan.
You can defend Malloy’s plan if you want, but you can’t say Connecticut’s new “education reform” bill didn’t impact these heroes and all the other teachers and school professionals in Connecticut!
Mr. Biddle, it is you who should take a look in the mirror. Then you’ll see what someone unable to engage in telling the truth or logical thinking looks like. Your politics of hate is not welcome in Connecticut. It wasn’t welcome when you supported Governor Malloy’s anti-teacher, anti-union proposal last spring and it certainly isn’t welcome here as we grapple with the unimaginable horror of December 14, 2012.
Yes, there are people trying to capitalize on the tragedy, but it certainly isn’t those of us who are providing our readers with the truth. It is the people like the TFA leadership and this Mr. Biddle who are the ones who should be ashamed of themselves.
This shouldn’t be that hard to explain to any educator. The post is a moving admission of the love that teachers feel for their students and it is very effective at that — but it all unravels as soon as it ends with this point:
“Newtown does not need a charter school.”
The moving statement about defending students, loving students, and working to save students is all undone when that statement becomes nothing but a shill argument for not needing charter schools. This implies — and not some subdued hidden implication, it directly implies — that charter school teachers or “Hedge Fund managers” do not care about children or students enough to prevent them from being murdered. Anybody who does not see that obvious implication is deluding themselves. Further, this line is not some hidden point or some subpoint, it is the climax of the article and it’s main point — everything is an antecedent to that single point.
It’s a terrific post and example of the importance and testament to teachers in our childrens’ lives, but with one sentence, it takes the lives of those 20 children and eight educators, and uses their unfairly vanquished lives to push a ridiculous political agenda. Anybody in defense of that statement is despicable.
I submitted a comment last night in response to this, Diane. I don’t see it here, so I’ll try again in case a technical glitch got in the way.
You’re logic is way off here. After I saw this post by you, I had to write a response on my blog, The White Rhino, where I write about education and Latino issues. I am an NBCT, a veteran public school teacher, a union member, a graduate of a public neighborhood high school, and someone who knows gun violence first hand. Here’s a snapshot of my post in response to your ideas:
“The real issue is the need for legislation to ban assault weapons like ones with the ‘Rambo effect’ used by the gunman last Friday. Our country also needs to increase mental health services in schools, in cities—that’s what this education expert should have promoted with her power.
Instead, we see Ravitch—someone with a national platform—using this tragic opportunity to fight against the anti-union, pro-charter movement she personally disagrees with. This is beyond politicizing the event. This is just illogical. It’s a teachable moment for all of us in education.”
I hope you get a chance to read my post on ChicagoNow. It’s on Twitter, too. Thanks, Ray.
Diane made an intentional choice here, and choices have consequences. She made the choice to not simply praise the bravery of the particular teachers in question, but also to make a point about the broader conversation around the place of unions in public education.
The commitment & bravery of the individual teachers in question is clearly beyond discussion.
What’s well within the bounds of discussion is, first, the complete lack of taste Diane demonstrates by folding in some potshots about tenure reform into an article ostensibly about praising particularly brave individuals. Sounding a clarion call for gun control in the same breath as praising the heroes at this school is at least coherent – you can draw a pretty clear connection between improvements to our legal structure and (hopefully) preventing tragedies like this in the future. The same can’t be said about what Diane has done here. The only way you could even try to make such a connection is by somehow suggesting that perhaps non-union, non-career teachers would have been less likely to act as valiantly as the teachers at Sandy Hook did.
Since that is the only possible connection that ties the threads of this article together, that’s the reason for Rosenberg’s harsh reaction. And it’s what makes this article an example of egregiously poor taste & judgment in the wake of a tragedy.
That’s to say nothing of the merits of Diane’s broader position against Malloy’s reforms, which I personally happen to believe are ill-founded. While her sentiment about communities coming together around education rather than fostering a competitive marketplace may be comforting to some, the brutal reality is that such a system has simply not served the needs of our students in under-resourced communities. Newtown is a very high-performing district, and may not necessarily see much need for a charter market. And if there’s no demand, then there won’t be any charters. Similarly, Newtown’s record of excellent student outcomes generally attracts many capable applicants for each vacancy, so it’s also not clear that an end to teacher tenure will somehow create a staffing crisis in Newtown – they’ll continue to have excellent educators lining up to work in a high-performing district. But sadly, that isn’t the case for many districts elsewhere in the state.
Connecticut has the largest achievement gap in the US. The cold fact is that the distance between the achievement & opportunities students experience in Newtown vs. what students experience in Bridgeport – barely 30 miles away – is more grotesquely inequitable than any other state in the union. While Newtown may be blessed to have a deep bench of talented, effective educators who consistently deliver outstanding results for their students, not every district is so fortunate. And in districts where some students are being unjustly served by the adult at the front of the room, we need to have an efficient, data-driven approach to moving that person out and bringing in someone who will get results.
Yes, this means we all have to find a way to agree on what “results” means in the context of public education. Raw achievement scores on end-of-year tests are not sufficient, as they may not accurately reflect the results delivered by an educator who started out with students performing four or even five grade levels below the expectations of that test. We of course should have a way to measure – and celebrate – growth, even when that growth doesn’t lead to correcting a vast achievement gap in any one particular school year. This is the wisdom of the value-added model, and I don’t see anything here that calls that model into question. As for the competition fostered by charters, in high-needs districts it’s essential. Part of creating incentives for improvement is increased accountability for individual performance – and part of it is creating meaningful alternatives if students and their families aren’t satisfied with what they’re getting.
Oftentimes it’s pro-tenure, anti-accountability educators sounding the call for “professionalizing” education. But part of being a professional is being accountable – at the individual as well as team level – for performance against metrics that are measurable. It’s simply not good enough to say “teaching is hard, complex, and messy – it can’t really be measured by a number.” Yes it can. We may not have found the perfect one that’s obvious to everyone yet, but we’re working on it. And in the meantime, our incremental progress towards achieving that set of metrics must be matched my incremental, meaningful increases in accountability. Otherwise, educators will always be susceptible to the critique of being those who simply “show up,” and far worse than that, it will be our students who suffer when they aren’t achieving as much as they could with the right leadership.
How sad to use a tragedy in the manner you have, Diane. There are many committed, talented educators in district & in chartered schools.
[…] unfortunately included a link to the Ravitch piece in question, so readers can discover that she's completely mischaracterizing Ravitch's blog post. […]
[…] unfortunately included a link to the Ravitch piece in
question, so readers can discover that she’s completely
mischaracterizing Ravitch’s blog post.
[…]
So let me get this straight, you are vilifying those who
say that teachers in public schools are not dedicated to their
students, but then imply the same thing about teachers in charter
schools? Doesn’t that make you the same as those you are
castigating? Can you not see that you are just the flip side of the
same coin. Oh, and very classy using dead children to drive your
political agenda. This is why, as a teacher, I am glad I live in a
state that I don’t have to join the union. The teachers union makes
me sick with their rank hypocrisy and overkill political agenda. I
get solicited every year about joining the union and what great
benefits I would get and all the great things they will do for me.
What a load…they are only interested in themselves and their
power. I think Diane proved that.
Wow. It’s mind-boggling to see how illogical people can be. Just because someone speaks highly of one group of people doesn’t mean that she is speaking ill of any other group. One can extoll the virtues of the Sandy Hook teachers without saying that other teachers are not as good. Just because you compliment one person on her nice haircut doesn’t mean that you’re implying that all the other haircuts in the room are not as good.
Unionized and/or tenured teachers are being constantly demonized by so-called reformers, many funded by rich corporate interests. These hateful people continually say, either implicitly or explicitly, that unionized teachers are lazy, not interested in educating students, only interested in making more money, and a drain on communities who pay their salaries through taxes. When there is an opportunity to point out that this demonization is false, we should do so. It’s an appropriate time to say “See? Unionized, tenured teachers are not the demons some would have you believe they are.” This interface won’t allow me to see the bottom two or three lines of this message, so I don’t know if it will make sense.
Kate, you seem to be swallowing the usual anti-union rhetoric propagated by corporatists who want to take us all back to the days of no weekends, child labor, no grievance procedures, lowest possible pay, no benefits, etc. Even if you don’t belong to a union, you’re benefiting by unions’ work both in the past and in the present. fnerogiubemgoiaf apijerg t oipegnodb oijnd oidfoipjeg vmspdf9unergoneaogi oierg iomjdf oimdbf oimeg oim.
KateC: I believe the second part of your post supports Diane’s basic point. Well done.
[…] unfortunately included a link to the Ravitch piece in question, so readers can discover that she’s completely mischaracterizing Ravitch’s blog post. […]