A reader (Linda from Connecticut) called my attention to this beautiful commentary by David Bosso, who is Connecticut’s teacher of the year for 2012. He explains his reaction to the tragic events at Newtown and how the brave actions of his colleagues helps the public understand the work of teachers. Every teacher in America is grieving their loss but is proud to be a teacher, inspired by their sacrifice and their love of their students.
He writes:
“To so many, the educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School demonstrate that the core values of education mirror the greatest ideals of humanity, and they are exemplars in this regard. They offer us hope, and reinforce our belief in the goodness of others and the power of education. In an era of accountability, standards, testing and data, they affirm that what ultimately matters most are the immeasurable lessons and the enduring relationships teachers cultivate with their students.
“To the educators of Sandy Hook Elementary School, thank you for the powerful, inspiring example of dedication and compassion you have given us. You have made, and continue to make, a difference to so many. In the midst of this unfathomable loss and profound sorrow, you have buoyed our spirits and given us hope. Because of your passion, courage, sacrifice, and devotion, I am once again reassured to proudly declare to educators everywhere: Never again say, “I am just a teacher.”
David Bosso of Berlin is the 2012 Connecticut Teacher of the Year and teaches at Berlin High School.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Very disturbing closing statement. “I am JUST teacher.”? No. This should read
“I AM TEACHER!” It sounds like the unconscious effect of years of teaching bashing. I believe that I am teacher, the cradle of humanitarianism, the veritable bastion of civility and knowledge.
LikeLike
Read it again.
LikeLike
A good editorial in the Baltimore Sun hits all the right notes:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bs-ed-educators-20121218,0,6383452.story
LikeLike
I just left a school meeting where heads were bowed in a silent reflection
for the children and educator’s of the Sandy Hook, Newtown, Connecticut School
tragedy. Silent reflection for those that were murdered and those that remain with constant reminder and a heart wrenching pain and aching to go back before that day. Anyone with a reverence for life has been shaken to the very core of their faith, their soul, their lack of understanding of such a horrific crime.
Yet, the day before I watched a parent slap a small child to the ground and not
appear to feel any remorse. This was in a front office of a school and much to
my relief the school psychologist that I was speaking with at that moment rushed
to intervene and further protect that child. She did not blink but acted to do
her job and serve humanity. She is trained and knew how to handle a
difficult and potentially dangerous situation. This school professional was a first responder. The police were called.
I left the school to hear a gunshot noise somewhere in the neighborhood, ran to
my car wondering if I had been hit and thinking that the school at that point would
go into lock down. I work in an Urban school district and we live with reality of
violence, guns, knives, brutality, gangs, and for many poverty and hopelessness.
We have spent a year in a campaign called Stop The Silence hoping to have
community come forward for the protections of their children and themselves and
work with law enforcement to help get the guns and perpetrators of violence off
the streets. The newspaper today followed up with the report that brothers with
handguns had been pursued by the police with one having been shot, another
teen dead and his brother in prison. Street reality with the numbers where I
work mounting both in death and maiming. The police were the first responders.
We have enough gun laws on the books to sink a ship. We do not have enough
mental health services, resources, accommodations, to serve community. They were
stripped down over the last twenty-five years. This while the numbers increased and ability to identify people at-risk and challenged who are needing interventions had
become more sophisticated. We managed to increase our prisons both government
and for profit facilities to an obscene number as if that would be the formula for
containment. That is not where the mentally ill belong but it is where you will
find many of them. You will find them in missions, the street, parks, wandering
from pillar to post. Is community supposed to be concerned with being the
first responders? We are and we should be in speaking up for mental health
services.
I am an advocate for the disabled from mild to severe. I have watched as the
golden age of special education has been silently abandoned. Identification
for the learning disabled for mild and moderate has been once again resulted
for great numbers in push through and drop out. Inclusion classrooms before
readiness and charter schools who find a way around the open enrollment a
public school must abide by and rightfully so. These are all our children and
they need a level education playing field. For some it will be a future of
college, others vocational skills and job training, for others life skills and
so forth. Taught by the first responders for helping to build a life, their
teachers.
School is about preparation of the student, and should not be exclusive to job
training for a pool of global workers. Yet, a quest for the value added
problem free future global worker is steaming ahead by government and
market share entrepreneurs who have decided they are the arbiters and
deciders to trash the public school system instead of improving it. They have
created a sorting mechanism that will discard many and create a wider
separation between societal interests of economic opportunity. More will
be lost then found. That is not a first responder showing no prejudice but
an intellectually elite thinking reflective of some and a greed initiative by others.
For all of these initiatives follow the money. The words Do No Harm are not
necessarily applicable.
I would hope that every administrator would aspire to be a Hochsprung Administrator.
That every special educator would aspire to be a Sherlach-Soto Special Educator.
Every teacher and support person in every school an inspired Newtown Educator.
What a calling teaching is and what an opportunity to make a difference in this
life and in this world. Heart full appreciation to each of you who strive to make
a difference in the life of your students.
LikeLike