Seamus McCarville knows it would be easier for him if he remained silent when faced with attacks on teachers and public schools. But he remembers the advice his teacher gave him in high school he the class bully went after him: Always leave a mark.
No cowering for him.
He fights because he wants to be honest with his students. How can he teach them critical thinking if he runs away?
He fights for his little girl, so she will be proud of him one day.
Seamus, stay strong.
We will win. Bullies fear us.
They rule by intimidation.
Be not afraid.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It reminds me of when I was watching the movie 42 tonight and they said something like, “It doesn’t matter what you believe. It matters what you do.”
Fighting, writing, speaking….it’s what we do.
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When I first started teaching again, I worked in a progressive, high performing district. The students fed into a top notch high school and performed as well as their fellow students from more traditional districts. When I went to work for a neighboring district, I learned the term insubordination for the first time. I thought they were kidding; it sounded like the military to me. There was little respect between the administration and the teachers and even less between teachers and the Board although everyone generally maintained a veneer of middle class civility. In my last school district the administration’s reason for existence appeared to depend upon their ability to catch someone not following school policy to the letter. SWBAT (Students will be able to…) almost did me in. I had never been required to write the learning objectives for the day on the board although I frequently wrote an agenda for myself. I could glance up and see that I had covered what I had planned. Another teacher who had been there a long time always wrote this strange word on her board. I asked her what it meant; she was horrified that I didn’t know. I quickly corrected my error. Alas, it is easy to invent misdeeds for nontenured teachers and nothing a union can do. It’s hard to fight a system that places so little value on its teachers. I wish Seamus the strength to continue to fight. I hope there are enough voices raised in dissent before “they” come for him.
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How eloquent!!! Your speech is an inspiration to all educators.
The reason most teachers are afraid to speak is simple..
They will be intimidated….they will be harassed..their days will be filled with more stress than any person can handle…they will despise going to work….eventually, they will give up…quit …or ..just float around like zombies following protocol…insensitive to the real needs of the students…
Some of these teachers move on and find a place where they are not intimidated..but the scars and the anger remain with them..
Karma is a B*tch and I have seen the principal at one of these schools resign in a moment because of dishonesty and embezzlement…yet he was allowed to collect retirement..and as of today has been charged with nothing…What an ash—-o—le..
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Too many Teachers are taking the easy way out! They must Educate! They have to Educate the administration, the board of education and the parents as to what is happening, not only to them but to the students and Public Education itself!
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