Having sprouted nearly 20,000 members in barely two weeks, the distinguished Badass Teachers Association prepares for the long haul. Mark NAISON writes:
“Today, with the Official Launch Party for the group Logo, the youtube channel, and the opening of the BAT Store, members of the Badass Teachers Association will see how hard the administrators of this group have worked to create an organizational structure built for the long, hard, struggle to take back our profession and our schools from the profiteers, hustlers and opportunists who have marginalized our voices and deluged our schools with tests and assessments. No one should pretend this struggle will be easy, or that it will not provoke arguments in the group as to best carry it out. But I am confident that with the organization we have all created together, the national group plus the 50 state organizations, teachers now have the opportunity to speak more frankly and honestly, in collective solidarity, than they did two weeks ago. The collective courage and creativity of people on this site inspires me every day. Now let the whole nation learn what Badass Teachers can do.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/140244172840677/
Mark D Naison
Professor of African American Studies and History
Fordham University
“If you Want to Save America’s Public Schools: Replace Secretary of Education Arne Duncan With a Lifetime Educator.” http://dumpduncan.org/
I love this group! I have high hopes that we will have a voice in this discussion. just joined my state BAT this morning, and am telling all my colleagues to get on board.
As a self-proclaimed ‘Pirate Librarian’, I am also proud to be a Badass Teacher!
Proud to be a BAT I became a teacher to help our kids and now I need to help them by taking back education! Our kids deserve our support and by removing big corporations, politicians with no educational experience but monetary ties to corporate testing companies we can. Please join us. For the first time in a long time, we have hope for education in America!
I would join except not sure the name is appropriate.
I concur. However I am a certified “difficult teacher” by Mr. Teachbad.
There was a long thread about the name on the BAT FB page. The term has neutralized a bit over the last 2 weeks. I even told my young daughter that I’m a BAT and why. The FB administrators have said we will not get any where being nice and conciliatory. Which is true! We need to be feel empowered.
The name has been referred to as BAT.
The concern is that the press will not pick it up because of the term. I do believe though that they’d get 10,000 more members very quickly if they changed the name. I know many of my FB friends won’t join because of the name.
Mark Naison: Please give those of us who are not willing to have Facebook pages another means to join BAT. I am certain that I am not the only teacher who feels this way!
De acuerdo.
I second that proposal.
I refuse to be one of Mark Zuckerberg’s “dumb f—s” (his term, not mine), and won’t participate in any forum where I’m compelled to join Facebook or any other data mining platform.
There is a website now:
http://www.badassteacher.org/
Here is our Google+ site for Non-Facebook users:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fplus.google.com%2Fcommunities%2F100027085386759919643&h=ZAQH4xxds
There is also a Google+ group up and running today.
There are also Twitter and Pinterest forums. Go to the website for details. http://www.badassteacher.org
http://abetteriowa.desmoinesregister.com/2013/06/27/prime-new-groups-mission-honors-bats/
Thoughts on what it means to be a badass teacher!
Madame La Farge…start a FB page under your alias of Madame La Farge. Then you can join and stay in the loop. Teacher101, being appropriate hasn’t been effective with this particular battle…sadly.
Badass!
Career change teacher, badass teacher. No student comes to my care and does not get the very best. And that is more than can be measured on any bubble test.
In order to take back our profession from the professional reformers we’re going to have to get our hands a little dirty. If “bad teachers” are the problem, “badass teachers” are the solution. 😉
I’m a bat, you’re a bat, wouldn’t you like to be bat too? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onf2cZceCBw
Shouldn’t that be “wouldn’t you like to be batty, too?”
For anyone who doesn’t like the name, Badass Teachers, find another forum; it’s been discussed to death and it’s not going to change. I, for one, am happy to be a member of this group dedicated to bringing positive change for teachers and students. If you don’t want to get a Facebook page, that’s your choice but this is the 21st century and we do things a little differently these days–and more efficiently. Congrats to all the Badass Teachers all over the country! Can’t wait to get my t-shirt!
“I, for one, am happy to be a member of this group dedicated to bringing positive change for teachers and students.”
I’m glad you’ve found “your place”, however, if one doesn’t have at least one letter of reprimand in your file for fighting against this “data driven crap” for each year of teaching from before NCLB came into being (or if one started after then for each year) then one might be a “badass” teacher in name only, you know a “BATINO”.
How many of you BATs are actually BATINOs?
If a funky (and apologies to funk lovers everywhere) name is what gets the job done, then more power to you all. I welcome all to help challenge the deformer status quo as you start back in the new year.
If you don’t want to join the main BAT page, there are state pages that use the BAT acronym only. You may want to check that out. Otherwise, as a BAT, I’m sick of my voice not being heard, I tired of my expertise being marginalized, and I will no longer stand for the ills of society being blamed upon me and my profession and as a Bad Ass Teacher, I will not take it anymore! I embrace the name as a source of power and pride in the fact that I will speak truth to power and refuse to be bullied anymore!
I won’t use the logo merely because I want my profile pic to clearly be me. However, I love the name and logo and see absolutely nothing wrong with them.
Might not get mainstream media coverage due to name.