Now that the Washington Post has identified how Bill Gates underwrote every aspect of the Common Core standards, everyone knows what some suspected.
Readers of this blog were not surprised, because we had read Mercedes Schneider’s posts about Gates’ funding of the CCSS.
But somehow, seeing it spelled out in detail in the Washington Post made it official.
Here is a teacher who connected the dots. She wanted to share what she knew with her colleagues. Read her story.
In the spring of 2011 I put up a bulletin board in my teachers’ room, not visible to children or parents, regarding the Bill Gates take over of our educational system. The heading read… You Should Know… I posted NO opinions, just articles linking him to Teach for America, Donors Choose, ( a program that was being pushed down our throats that I believe pitted teacher against teacher) and many other programs that made him look like a philanthropist but actually proved his disire to undermine teachers and the profession as a whole. I posted quotes that proved that Gates wanted to increase class size and hire less teachers, replacing them with virtual lessons. My board outlined his connection to data collection programs that would pigeon hole students and be used to evaluate teachers. I used red arrows to show the connections between all of his “generous” programs and the implementation of the lauded CCSS which we never piloted and knew nothing about except that a child moving from one state to the other wouldn’t be lost in his or her new classroom.
I bet you can guess what happened? My 30 something principal demanded I take it down. I refused,citing a little thing I like to call freedom of speech. She called the Superintendent to take a look. I still refused to take it down. Members of the School Committee weighed in, I still refused. My union finally came over and said it could stay, but strangely, they had nothing to say to me. (At the time they were all for Gates and CC. Why? The money of course. Had no one else taken the time to spend an hour or to online investigating?)
Many of my friends and colleagues either indicated I was overreacting or simply ignored me. I started to feel shunned, and soon I was shunned. And then, I broke. I resigned after 27 years in the midst of one of the deepest depressions I had ever experienced. The job that I loved, the lessons in which I sang and danced to help my fourth graders remember, the pleasure I received as I watched my students grow to appreciate the love of learning
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Awful. I’m not the Flavor of the Year in my neighborhood school any more either after raising a fuss; I’ve de-activated my application in the system and stopped substituting as well, because it’s just no fun teaching in an environment that is stifling like that. 😦
“The opposite for courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.” [Jim Hightower]
Although it cost you dearly, thank you for having the courage to not conform.
And thank you for all you have done for your students.
😎
What’s especially disgusting about this story, yet another story of a great loss to public school children, is that here, us teacher folk are supposed to help instill in children a lifelong love of learning, to nurture children’s natural curiosity instead of stifling it But here, someone cares enough to courageously exercise her/his own love of learning and challenge others to do the same, and the response from those who should be role models for actively engaged learners, instead of engaging in dialogue, it’s hear-no-evil see-no-evil la-la-la-la-la-la I’M NOT LISTENING!!!!! I am curiously reminded of a recent skit on The Daily Show, wherein Jon Stewart laments the lack of concrete response to yet another senseless shooting, and his staff dances away to the Happy song.
“But here, someone cares enough to courageously exercise her/his own love of learning and challenge others to do the same, and the response from those who should be role models for actively engaged learners, instead of engaging in dialogue, it’s hear-no-evil see-no-evil la-la-la-la-la-la I’M NOT LISTENING!!!!!”
GAGA*ers one and all these conforming (thanks KTA for the quote on this) supposed educators. May they rest in HELL!!!
*Going Along to Get Along (GAGA): Nefarious practice of most educators who implement the edudeformers agenda even though the educators know that those educational malpractices will cause harm to the students and defile the teaching and learning process. The members of the GAGA gang are destined to be greeted by the Karmic Gods of Retribution upon their passing from this realm.
Karmic Gods of Retribution: Those ethereal beings specifically evolved to construct the 21st level in Dante’s Hell. The 21st level signifies the combination of the 4th (greed), 8th (fraud) and 9th (treachery) levels into one mega level reserved especially for the edudeformers and those, who, knowing the negative consequences of the edudeformers agenda, willing implemented it so as to go along to get along. The Karmic Gods of Retribution also personally escort these poor souls, upon their physical death, to the 21st level unless they enlighten themselves, a la one D. Ravitch, to the evil and harm they have caused so many innocent children, and repent and fight against their former fellow deformers. There the edudeformers and GAGAers will lie down on a floor of smashed and broken ipads and ebooks curled in a fetal position alternately sucking their thumbs to the bones while listening to two words-Educational Excellence-repeated without pause for eternity.
Resigned or retired after 27 years?? I hope she/he is still eligible for a pension. I take it this person didn’t even have the support of his/her own union rep.
I know exactly how this person feels. I was very vocal at union meetings, and teachers didn’t want any part of the truth. Teachers in this school had an unwritten motto—“Look out for yourself”. The idea of solidarity was, and still is, foreign to them. I am retired now, but still keep up with what is happening and use FB to spread the news. But, the reaction is nil to say the least. I fought against the ’05 contract, and it turned out to be the right decision. I fought against this new contract, and I am sure it will turn out to be the right decision.
Any contract that gives an inch against due process will wind up taking the whole mile. And now with the events in California, I am glad I stood my ground. Of course the majority of NYC teachers don’t give a sh#t about ATRS. Neither did the people who endorsed the contract that gives teachers greater authority if they give up contractual rights. Sounds very “charter like” to me.
I posted on another site that our union leaders have no respect for the rank and file. They know they can lead the lambs to slaughter with just a point of their spin finger, and thousands follow. I too have no respect for people who would rather hide their heads in the sand than face the truth. But in the end, the warnings came true, and for that the poster of the comment should feel vindicated.
I’m in the same position, hence my online name. The teachers at my school never want to talk education policy, and get uncomfortable when I do. They just think that, “it can’t happen here,” or, “as long as I’m a good teacher, I’ll be fine.” I love their optimism, but having worked in a VERY difficult environment in the past, I KNOW what we’re all up against. I just wish they would listen to me and fight back.
One aspect of Ed Deform that does not get much press is that it stifles freedom of expression in a field where vigorous ongoing debate and discussion about proper pedagogy and curricula and classroom management and assessment are sorely needed. This teacher’s experience is repeated daily in big ways and small all across this country in every school and district.
Ed Deform is very like the Chinese Cultural Revolution in this respect. It is a dogma, an official orthodoxy, from which dissent is not allowed. This is not acceptable in The Land of the Free.
It’s SO true. If a teacher in my state praises CC and the testing, they can spout that dreck all they want–to each other, to parents, and to the media. But if someone, like me, is against CC, I cannot say a word on threat of my license. How is that right? If I can’t say anything against the CC, then those who think the CC is the greatest thing since sliced bread shouldn’t be able to say anything, either. But if that was not allowed, there would be cries of freedom of speech. Only if you’re against the Commisariat can you have your rights taken away.
Your rights aren’t being taken away they are being sprinted away by people who can buy the powers that be and make then silence you. I’d call this dictatorship, totalitarianism and all the other isms we actually teach in the classroom Did I think this would ever happen in America, no way. But then I never dreamed up billionaires with more money than God on a mission to make their mark buying up our education system and trying to eliminate due process and rights like so many lemons.
Equally chilling has been the effect of draconian deform measures on communication between parents and teachers. For me, it was the first sign that something had gone terribly wrong in the education system, when our children entered the testing grades and suddenly open conversation with their teachers about educational philosophy and methods became impossible. Teachers and parents have been divided and conquered by the deformers. Reunited, we can defeat them, and the first sign of victory will be the restoration of free speech!
yes yes yes
A lot of teachers’ communications with parents are now being micromanaged by building-level Vichy collaborators with the CCSS Deform Thought Police.
I think this letter highlights the need to get moral support out to teachers on the job. The admission that we are breaking under their drivel doesn’t inspire the corporate machine to relent, and actually feeds the morally defective careerists and stooges who have enlisted in the corporate power drive.
None of these people care at all about the effect of their policies on live teachers and children. Their heads are full of … Here, sign up for Microsoft’s Future History of Education webinar next Monday:
“We can finally begin the transformation of teaching and learning in earnest. This conversation is for leaders and educators to create an empowered culture. A culture that delivers real impact with modern digital learning. Education is at the forefront of the “mobile-first, cloud-first” era. ”
“Today, learning happens continuously and on-demand for students and teachers. It is critically important that we provide this opportunity for each learner. This means we must improve education productivity and opportunity for student success within the historical constraints of time, facilities, and funding. Microsoft has been a critical enabler for education leaders around the world to drive their learning innovation.”
“Join education veteran, Cameron Evans, CTO and harbinger of education transformation at Microsoft, on field-tested and research-proven insights on empowering the learner.”
All your bases are belong to us.
https://vts.inxpo.com/scripts/Server.nxp?LASCmd=AI:4;F:QS!10100&ShowKey=20205&partnerref=EBLAST
And this will be much worse without due process tenure job protections. Much worse. Teachers will be muzzled out of fear of losing their jobs, because most Americans are only a paycheck from poverty and a few months from homelessness.
Try eating that so-called freedom of speech, and there’s no such thing as give me freedom or give me death, because I’m pretty sure most people really don’t mean it.
The people most likely to fight for freedom of speech will probably be those who once wore a uniform and served in combat in Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan, and if they have even a minor case of PTSD, administration should think twice before they fire them or even attempt to bully them.
Most veterans who suffer from PTSD have anger issues that can easily explode in the face of injustice, and a few will not stop to think before they act.
Add to this official orthodoxy the elimination of due process, and you have a recipe for totalitarianism.
Here, educational leadership reaches a new low:
This is the kind of idiocy that teachers and principals have to contend with!
You’ve GOT to be kidding! Even I fall asleep reading that crap. Talk about ruining any love of reading.
PLEASE tell me that the above link is satire. PLEASE.
You can relax about this one, it is:Diane Senechal writes some very fine satire on her blog.
Thanks Bob, Threatened, Michael! I guess this one was a bit too plausible.
So as not to fool anyone, I assign my satirical pieces to the “satire” category and give them a “satire” tag. (The font for the categories and tags is a bit faint, though.)
You DO write excellent satire! Well done!!!
Corporations are mini-totalitarian regimes, aren’t they? Think Jeff Bezos’s reign of terror. With so many Americans working in corporate settings, they absorb totalitarian values. They start to hate democracy. Schools have been infected with this virus. Dissent is taboo. Debate is labeled “dysfunction”. We are drifting toward fascism. Sadly, schools are one reason this is happening: we haven’t taught the kids the facts–about fascism, about democracy and why it’s good and what it entails, etc. There are many facts that need to be known, need to be inside citizen’s skulls. But modern educators don’t think facts are that important.
Hate to tell you, but you are overgeneralizing here. I teach ALL about the Constitution, democracy, and their rights and duties as citizens to my 8th graders, and I know a lot of other teachers who do the same.
Although, in my state, we are required to teach the students that the U.S. is a “compound Constitutional republic.” It’s state law. I swear I’m not making this up.
Yeah, all part of the effort to stigmatize “democracy” and “democrats”. I’m glad you teach US history robustly, but I wonder how many teachers manage to vividly convey the feudal/aristocratic/ undemocratic milieu of old Europe out of which democracy fought its way into being? It seems to me we need to vividly evoke the bad alternatives to fully appreciate and cherish democracy. How many kids get a vivid education in the absolute horrors of Stalinism? How many kids well know the smashmouth thuggery of the brown shirts in the years leading to Hitler’s takeover? Even before the Holocaust, the German left was smashed by paramilitaries. Kids need these concrete particulars.
A few years ago, smaller media reported that the state and national parks had been forced to remove pamphlets, designed for the general public. The pamphlets described scientific developments that led to the parks and early animal life during those evolutionary periods. The information was incongruous with religious teachings so, some conservatives successfully banned the publications.
We must win this battle against science and democracy, for future generations.
When the Horace Mann guy (as in the insurance company) came to our school last year and used Gates’ name in a positive light in front of the teachers, I told him in my personal meeting with him that he should probably not do that.
I never got a call back from him. I think I made him uncomfortable because he had no clue what I was talking about.
As I have already said. . .people are easily snowed by Gates. Or they have been. It’s almost like suggesting anything otherwise thwarts their trust in the current human condition. It’s a false sense of security. . .being blessed with Gates money.
“It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.” ~Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia
My heartfelt thanks to this teacher for the courage to follow her convictions.
TAGO for the Jefferson quote-one of my favorites.
Again she crossed the powers that be instead of kissing up to them. And she got shunned. The American I love is all about holding power accountable not kissing up to it to get your own. I love and respect this teacher, she was true to herself and figured it out way before others. The truth is, frequently in many societal situations you have to choose between being comfortable or being moral. She chose moral and I admire her for it.
Well said, Julie!
An “hour or two of online investigating”! This is true – ridiculously true, shamefully true.
I hate to say it, but we teachers are sheep — we teach about rebellious people who try to change things in our Social Studies and English classes, and about scientists who went against religion by proving incontrovertibly that the Earth goes around the Sun and not vice versa. We laud the great minds of the ages, citing how Gandhi or MLK, Jr., or Mandela risked all for the greater good. Yet, when it comes down to us, we end up baa-baaing and moving in herds.
Wake up, teachers!
Connect the dots!
I was turned onto your blog, Diane, by a teacher I respect. I am so glad to know more about all this. I’ve always suspected the Common Core, simply because it seemed sudden, bogus, and EVERYWHERE! That sounded to me like someone with an agenda. Now, I know it.
DoD,
See above for the sheeple teachers who GAGA.
The fundamental error here “Dreamer . . . ” is to view teaching as the teaching of progressive rebellion, of social change. Galileo’s story is instructive, but the main point is that he didn’t have freedom of thought and sought only the truth, not that he challenged the status quo. If it were really the latter, you could justify challenging the constitution. And perhaps you do.
I’ll bet that your own scientific heroes are embracing Global Warming, which is in fact a socialist plot to extort money from the developed world for the tyrannies in the UN based on the sentimental appeal that those countries are also “poor” and “underdeveloped,” which they are by their own primitive social and economic organization. Do you really want to be a part of the lie, that human beings are affecting the climate with CO2, and THEREFORE we much cut carbon emissions, which punishes the power generation capacity of the developed nations? Of course Communist China will ignore the UN cap and trade rules.
Gandhi and MLK, Jr. were not risking all for “the greater good,” but were risking all for freedom. They are noble figures, the most noble in the 20th century along with Churchill, BUT they were “merely” asserting the individual’s natural rights. Are you as staunch in defense of INDIVIDUAL rights as they were?
To the extent that teachers mis-teach these episodes, they are responsible for their own perception by the general public as misguided statists.
The point of teaching is NOT to change the world for the better (especially if you don’t really KNOW what’s better OR how to get there while retaining freedom), but simply to transmit knowledge.
When you deviate from that to teaching as a political agenda, you shouldn’t be surprised that the capitalist forces in the society have decided there’s no way to convert you, so they’ll just have to privatize your entitled union positions out of existence in order to correct the false political philosophy embraced by the vast majority of the teaching so-called profession, which I prefer to call the teaching labor force.
Even the French Revolution turned into a dictatorship and tyranny that dominated France for decades.
Stand up for individual freedom, not tyranny by the state.
THAT’s what teaching should teach. Opportunity. Your choice. NOT “you should,” “you must.” In Japan, I’ve heard that some teachers are called “Little Emperor” in mockery. To the extent you think of yourself as teaching your students, rather as than their equals in civil society and in learning, you fall victim to the events of Orwell’s Animal Farm. The rebels turn into the liars and exploiters.
Teaching in its truest form is to encourage students to ask questions, and thereby seek the truth.
There is no political agenda.
I used the word “rebellious” in the sense that one has to rebel against that which is foisted upon us, and wherein we are not encouraged to think for ourselves. I agree with what you say in the last paragraph.
I DO NOT agree with you about your unrelated digressions about Global Warming. That’s another issue, and you clearly have some sort of political opinion right there.
The greater good is freedom.
I think you’re quibbling there.
In general, since I don’t know you, and cannot hear your tone of voice, I don’t really want to get into some unrelated arguments here.
Thank you.
I agree about the importance of questions. BUT one needs to go on to conclude “X is true” or “I don’t know.” The recognition of one’s own ignorance is the essence of true education.
I do think there is an interweaving of politics and education policy, but I don’t shrink from it.
Don’t worry about offending me. I can’t be insulted because I choose not to be.
Sometimes my humor falls flat, but mostly I’m serious about truth and ignorance.
No one who deals with reality reads past : ” Do you really want to be a part of the lie, that human beings are affecting the climate with CO2″
Ah, my beloved Magistra, Susan. More instruction in composition for me? What do I care whether you skip me or not? I write partly as self-exploration, to see for myself what I think. The other part is see whether any of it resonates with others. Sometimes it does; sometimes it doesn’t. But I claim it is ALWAYS relevant.
Hello Professor Underhill:
You are self conflicted. You wrote that “THAT’s what teaching should teach. Opportunity. Your choice. NOT “you should,” “you must”.
You state that what teaching SHOULD teach. Next sentence, you wrote NOT …should or must.
Then in your other answer, you emphasize again that “BUT one needs to go on to conclude “X is true” or “I don’t know.” To me, you are very forceful opinionated teacher who are not open minded. Most of all, you show that you are dictator through your confirmation, such as “I do think there is an interweaving of politics and education policy”; and such as “I can’t be insulted because I choose not to be.”
In this world of “yin-yang”, being as teacher, one needs to respect and appreciate the cultural difference, because the TRUTH only happens for people who attain omniscience by completely detachment of emotion and material need.
At this golden age, I still cannot distinguish all shades of grey area of “an interweaving of politics and education policy”. How should I impose or impart on young mind in democracy society? You seem that you are very sure about life without humanity, without consequence from thought and action.
One thing that I am positively motivate all young people, is to be considerate by living in others’ situation. Next, all young people need to be motivated in learning stem; in treasuring the joy of reading, or speaking new languages; in doing exercises in all sports, and in practicing all different kinds of music instruments within their first 13 precious years from kindergarten to grade 12.
Hopefully, when these young people are ready to join work force, or continue on with their higher education, they will be clearly confident enough to choose what is better for them, their family, and their community between politics and education policy without interweaving, or confusing, or conforming, or fearing. Back2basic.
Thank you for your response. I agree that internal contradictions are sign of a flaw in the argument. We agree on that criterion. Whether I have I done it, I am not sure from your analysis. We also seem to agree on how we teach a class.
Everyone on this site soon learns that Harlan likes to hear himself talk, and in fact he admitted recently that the things he says here helps him to hear himself. All writers an thinkers do this, and teachers use this in classrooms so emergent learners can hear themselves think. That Harlan does this in THIS room, where bright folks see fallacious arguments and the egos that drive it, doesn’t bother him… he just, as you pointed out, turns off his hearing aid… as you should, when he tries to provoke you into wasting your time answering.
In my experience of reading this blog, I have seen more instances of fallacious arguments put forward by our cadre of “bright folks” than internally self-consistent arguments starting from clear common-ground premises. Often the tone is abusive, snarky, and dismissive as well. Your own post, Susan, seems to me clearly directed at applying social pressure in “this room” for me to cease posting and at assembling a consensus to ignore me. That seems a little ad hominum to me, in fact almost totally an ad hominum attack.
I hardly expect to convert many or any, but I do think there is an actual reason, an actual cause, for the negative attitude taken by the media and public toward public school teachers, and that negative attitude seems to me NOT based on their classroom performance, at least the classroom performance of those posting here. I DO think it arises from the way public school advocates conduct themselves in the political debates currently animating the country.
My perception is that the generally conservative public in this country has come to identify public school teachers in general with statism, the position that looks to the modern state for a solution to all social problems, often solutions which offend a normal person’s sense of justice to be begin with, and secondarily contradict everyday common sense that people in general are responsible for their own fates.
This teacher cadre position that society is responsible for the ignorance and bad choices of all of its members often expands into an explicit anti-capitalism. For myself, it seems that every measure of prosperity the country has comes from capitalism, not from the nanny regulating state.
Even in education we see what a disaster the President’s policies implemented by Arne Duncan has wrought. It would seem to me that it would be especially self-evident to teachers in the public sector that the President’s statism is the WRONG way to go. Yet I suspect that public sector teachers are still strong supporters of the President and in general of his programs. That seems to me to be folly.
“I hardly expect to convert many or any, but I do think there is an actual reason, an actual cause, for the negative attitude taken by the media and public toward public school teachers, and that negative attitude seems to me NOT based on their classroom performance, at least the classroom performance of those posting here. I DO think it arises from the way public school advocates conduct themselves in the political debates currently animating the country.”
While I do not share Susan’s slant on your posts, Harlan, I will disagree with you from time to time. This is one of those times.
I don’t see very many “public school advocates” in political debates of any kind on the mainstream media outlets. In fact, I’d be hard pressed to think of ANY of these advocates that have made national news on any kind of consistent basis where they’d have established public notice. We’ve been shut out and replaced by negative ad campaigns.
I think that the negative attitude towards teachers IS based on the public perception of our “lax” classroom performance. Our inability to compete, internationally, on the tests. NY State’s 70% “failure” rate on the tests. The lazy teachers who are just working for their vacations and pensions.
The propaganda campaign has been long and relentless. I’m somewhat surprised that you wouldn’t give a nod to this reality. It’s not theory. It’s really there. Did you see Arne Duncan’s latest? He said that special needs kids just need to be given more challenging work in order to succeed. He’s planting the seed that it’s the teacher’s fault. Again.
You’re preaching to the choir about Obama, btw. I don’t think you’ll find very many informed (or even semi-informed) teachers who believe that he’s in our corner.
I call it the “beaten dog syndrome” after so much abuse you just can’t get up and fight anymore. I write my letters to every politician on my list , post on the computer, and talk to anyone who will listen. The apathy and fear is so thick that I am losing hope. We know what is wrong. Lets start talking about what we can still do.
Divided Soul: Actually the same symptoms of “battered person syndrome”. You may notice that PTSD, BOS (BurnOut Syndrome), and Battered Person Syndrome all have symptoms that are similar. \
The body doesn’t differentiate between the causes of traumatic stress, it can have the same impact regardless of the source.
The CCSS Environment is causing increasing numbers of teachers and children to develop mental health disorders, especially anxiety and depression, from the punitive, boring, authoritarian, “performance/data” obsessed environment.
I agree with you there. I feel so tired from just keeping up with the work, that there’s very little energy left to divert to anything else. Alas, that is what the drafters of our fate hope that we will do — keep our noses to the grindstone, and we will have little left over for real action.
I felt like this in Special Forces Q school and persevered through, but now I’m not sure I want to get up and go on. I know how you feel. Maybe if older teachers start winning disability claims for our stress the higher ups will begin to be compelled to care.
You are so right that a lot of teachers are “sheep” being led to slaughter. So many of them are in total denial of the war on their professions. They think that if they are a “good
teacher” none of these negative policies will affect them, which is totally false. The first thing that will affect them with the elimination of tenure/continuing contracts is that they will become a “bad teacher” overnight because of their age and becoming too expensive for their districts. With the elimination of tenure, we can say “good bye” to our career educators. Very few teachers will reach retirement age in this “new age” of education.
I have two more years to teach, and I know that I am very blessed to receive a retirement in my troubled profession. My husband reminds me to be joyous, because I am probably in the last couple of groups who will be able to stay in education for a lifetime and receive their retirements. I have always been blessed with wonderful, supportive, and caring principals up to this year. One of my very favorite principals had just moved on, and I was now under a new principal with a brand new teacher evaluation system. This new principal was arrogant, was very unfriendly when we asked questions, and targeted many of us older teachers with unfair marks. The new teacher evaluation system, in the wrong hands, is a very misleading and troubling evaluation system. Without tenure and due process, it will be very easy to eliminate the older teachers. I’ve told the younger teachers that they need to be concerned. Everyone will eventually turn 50. It cannot be avoided.
Some people think that by eliminating tenure, you will eliminate the bad teachers. This is so false. Older teachers, kind teachers, teachers who might have a unique opinion, and teachers who may be disliked for no just cause will be targeted and fired with no right to due process. This past year, with my new caustic and hateful principal, was scary and upsetting to me. When you are doing a superior job, getting “above value added” 3 year average test scores (I know it’s junk data), but being marked down on your evaluation because your principal does not like you, it is a major wake up call. Suddenly, being loved by your students, your parents, and school district means nothing, because this person does not know you and hates you. I am even a graduate of the district I teach in.
You are so right. Teachers, You need to wake up. Your livelihoods are in danger. Do you have a back-up plan to feed your kids? I don’t think I am overreacting. I see sheep being led to slaughter here. Get out of line and run! Seek shelter, fight for your rights, and have a back up plan if you ever need it!!! You will not be sorry.
You are right, SadTeacher. Have a backup plan. Save your money. I hope you make it to retirement healthy and in tact.
I just observe, however, that when the teaching profession self identifies with union membership, they deny their own professional status and admit that they are really just labor.
Now, this is the reality! You got it. Few were as celebrated as I was, and nothing stopped them, not even my filing of a 4 million dollar law suit , and a otter from my attorney which warned them not to continue slander… they did not stop. The last straw was when they said I threatened to kill the principal. My husband called Randi Weingarten and she stepped in and helped me …into retirement!
You reveal a lot about yourself and Tea Party ideology – its bogus populism notwithstanding – by referring to working people as “just labor,” Harlan.
Please, Michael, don’t judge the tea party by me. I don’t speak for the tea party movement. Some of their candidates I like.
What, Michael, do you imagine my remarks ‘reveal’ about me?
Besides that’s irrelevant anyway. What about my thesis? Is it true or not?
You yourself illustrate the standard union lack of interest in truth replaced by solidarity at all costs.
Harlan, I didn’t intend that to be a personal attack, since I like your presence on the site (almost all the time).
I think your comment showed the anti-Labor, anti-working people, pro-employer bias that, it’s counterfeit populism notwithstanding, is fundamental to Tea Party ideology.
Oh, and by the way, please don’t try to separate yourself from the Tea party for the purposes of this discussion; you frequently wrap yourself in their flag, so it doesn’t ring true right now.
Working people are not “just labor:” they built this country, and their struggles have made it a freer, more democratic and more prosperous place. Reducing and minimizing that reinforces the Great Man theory (currently expressed through the myth of the entrepreneur) of business and economics.
As for why teachers fought for union representation, it was in fact to resist being treated as fungible, interchangeable, a factor of production, as “just labor.”
Thank you, Michael for your very sensible response. My only point about the tea party (I don’t capitalize it because it’s not an organized party), is not to take what I say for their position. I myself do wrap myself in the tea party flag from time to time, especially the “Don’t Tread on Me” meme, a device carved by my ancestor on his powder horn when he enlisted in the Vermont militia to defeat the British at the Battle of Bennington. I like their ideas, but they might not like mine.
I have been persuaded by discussions here that union representation for teachers is probably necessary to prevent exploitation, and tenure as well, but unions have not always been a positive influence, nor has tenure only protected the innocent.
I don’t think of labor as “just labor.” Working people DID build this country, but not only working people. There also had to be capital and vision. What is most important about this country is the freedom it gives every person to rise as an individual through vision, enterprise, and hard work. Those in the union who have that drive become officers, but the union officialdom seeks just as hard as businessmen to influence government.
Labor unions in the private sector are essential. We here in Michigan revere Walter Reuther and the Flint sit down strike which helped establish the UAW. But the UAW is at least 50% responsible for GM’s collapse, along with the stupidity of the management of the company in the face of Japanese competition. Labor can overreach just as much as business. One of the ways it overreaches is to seek exemptions for itself (as in health care) when foisting on the rest of us the ACA. Organized labor is never blameless. Harry Reid is in office because the casino owners bussed their union workers to the polls. That’s not freedom and democracy in action. That’s gangsterism. Opposition to photo ID is totally unreasonable, yet those who support photo ID are called racist. That makes it seem to me as if Democrats are not interested in an honest vote. Granted, that Republicans are so incompetent at local organizing that they HAVE to have an honest vote to win.
I don’t think I have a management bias so much as an interest in honest government. Perhaps it is the nature of politics that business and labor will each try to favor itself in government regulations, but if so, then the Democrats and union forces should at least acknowledge that rather than wrapping themselves in the garments of holy priesthood.
Whether public sector unions are as positive an influence as their private sector counterparts is another matter. I’m in favor of civil service protections, but when public servants organize, there is a tendency of the union leadership to put their electoral weight behind legislators who will give them what they want when they are in office. To me that looks like negotiating with oneself. Both unions and big business like to stick it to the regular guy. Generally unions like to do it through government, where as big business at least has to function against competition unless it can lobby congress for protection. Neither is pretty.
I just had a thought. When I was being evaluated this past year on the new Teacher evaluation system, as I looked around at my kids – I had bought every material out of my own money that they were using at that time. I told my husband . .how sad…I am unappreciated and devalued by the rich politicians of my state (Ohio) – -but my students would go “without” if I didn’t buy materials out of my own family budget. My husband said, “Of course you did . . .teaching is who you are . . . . teaching is what makes “you” you . . . .it’s a part of your soul….” It’s so sad what they are doing to teachers and our students.
Sad Teacher,
You are so right. We are not valued for what it is we do. Our new principals have an agenda and it is to get rid of us because we have seen better and we want better for our children. It is as if they are threatened by our experience and background. I am so miserable. What happened to caring, nurturing administrators? The caring, nurturing teachers will go next and then God help the children.
When they came after me, I had put together the entire English curriculum for the 7th grade, a curriculum so famous it brought Harvard and the Standards research to NYC. When they sent me to the rubber room based on false allegations, they trashed everything. 8 years of materials , a 1000 book library (was given to other teachers) as were all my art materials. I taught, within my COMMUNICATION ARTS curricula the entire art curricula for grade 7, based on the nY state ‘core curricula’ all teachers were given when they taught a subject.
They trashed my research with the standards. I both EVERYTHING WITH MY OWN MONEY, as they gave me NOTHING. I even had to share the tv with any sub who needed it for the day, until the PTA purchased one for my room… and the principal hit the ceiling.
You are lucky you got out before they brought int he big guns to ensure your departure.
I had to hire a lawyer, which cost me25k, in order to fight the outrageous allegations, because the UFT looked the other way. Even then, I never saw that classroom again.
I hope this teacher that has shown so much courage and determination does not give up the fight. There are others out there (like on the blog) that are informed. I am still working on how we become a genuine collective influence.
Oooops. Unfortunate choice of words: “collective.” The American Way is “individualistic” not collectivistic, unless you’re a marxist. Many in the public schools like to deny there are “Red” teachers, but really, they are all over. It’s not a myth. And my saying so is not McCarthyism. Free speech is guaranteed, but not freedom from consequences if you hold an intrinsically tyrannical philosophy.
HU,
Aren’t you glad that your mother didn’t just put you on the floor when you were born and said to you “There you are HUEY, I’ve done my job now get at living in your individualistic way!”
Harlan does not get it that the ‘consequences’ for putting forth his opinion as if it were valid fact, or even appreciated and challenging thinking, is that people who grasp the intentions of the Bill of Rights say things like you did, Duane.
When parents do their job properly, the state doesn’t have to be a substitute parent.
Your observation seems strangely illogical for you.
HU,
It was meant to be “strangely illogical” to show the “strangely illogical” position of individualism and supposed freedom that you expound. (guess my attempt at satire fell flat on its face)
There is no individualism without the collective and vice versa. No human is an island unto him/herself which means we also have to attend to the collective.
Sorry to have such a tin ear and obtuse understanding. Satire is difficult to understand and write. But in literal terms, of course you are right. The constitution, however, sets the limits of the power of the collective, and in my judgement we, the citizens, are being subjected to government over reach (CCSS is only one example) and are living in post constitutional times. That seems to me to require a roll back of government to a time when no one in the IRS would think of targeting conservative groups for harassment, to a time when the executive would not use a pen and a phone if he couldn’t get congress to approve (e.g. immigration), and when enemies of the nation would not be freed just because it could be done (Berghdahl case).
Thus there has to be a balance. Not too much government but just enough to provide order and consistency under law. As far as public education goes, it seems to me to be doing a good enough job in areas where the parents take care of their own children. In areas where there is massive paternal abandonment and maternal bad judgement, the schools, i.e. state have undertaking to become the parent. It’s good when they can do so, BUT they shouldn’t have to be doing the job of irresponsible fathers and mothers.
We should not be automatically assuming that the current situation is what it should be and that the state’s automatic response should be to step in and try to bring up other men’s children. I certainly don’t have an answer, but I’d sure like an acknowledgement that poverty is not the fault of ‘society’ but rather the fault of individuals who have children without being able to pay for them. Just a recognition of that from spokesmen for public education would be a step in the right direction.
“Governmental overreach” is an interesting and easy to mouth phrase., and ironic when OBSERVABLE REALITY SHOWS THAT the REACH IS THAT OF THE OLIGHARCHS who care not whit for the people. Oops, I said ‘people;…gonna accuse me of communism.
Does it cover this kind of meddling,
where legislation that would have brought in 21 BILLION DOLLARS ( that might ensure public education or infrastructure was paid for in other ways than reducing the pension benefits of people who worked hard for their saving. UHoh, workers, and labor. I must be a commie.)
” To take one example, the Nickles group has been paid $75,000 every quarter for years by Anadarko Petroleum to lobby on tax and energy issues, including stopping the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act, a Democratic bill that would have repealed $21 billion in tax breaks for energy companies in order to reduce the deficit. (Republicans filibustered it.) That kind of work made the firm the perfect place for the Kochs to take their business, particularly because campaign finance isn’t the only issue they are concerned about. They also hired the firm to lobby on “issues related to the wind energy production tax credit. The Kochs, with heavy investments in fossil fuels, aren’t in favor of the wind credit. “
Compare the oligarchs to Stalin, Hitler and Mao. They are the same. The only difference is that they don’t officially rule the country—yet.
not officialy, but they rule the Congress, rule the election process because they control the money and the media, control the courts (as shown by the Vergara fiasco , the Citizens United decision, the over turning of the civil rights legislation. And the President is their lackey.
And they will bankrupt the middle class, and send us into war, again.
Sat to say, I must agree. China’s history shows that every time a dynasty fell and was replaced by anarchy and chaos until another dynasty stepped in to restore order, it was powerful, wealthy, corrupt individuals who caused the downfall.
Are we seeing the end of America as a democracy?
Lloyd, The United States is well on its way to being a 3rd world country. The rich politicians are doing their best to destroy the middle class by taking away their public schools and making it very difficult for their middle class children to pay for a college education. That’s why my family and I are in church every Sunday praying. We are in end times. Jesus said we would be able to feel it is end times, and I definitely feel the demise of our country. As I told my husband, all of these ridiculous, toxic educational reform policies are paid for by China. I definitely agree with you. Democracy, as we know it, will be a thing of the past. We have had almost 16 years of poor presidential leadership in the U.S. No country can survive that.
Oh, I’m sure there will be an end to mankind one day and it could be at any moment with all the WMDs that exist in this world, but you may want to stop and look at this list first of all the predictions that have been made of the End of the Word based on what Christ said.
http://www.bible.ca/pre-date-setters.htm
The first end of the world prediction was in 44 AD, and there have been hundreds.
What we need in place of prayers is an army to fight back with either the pen or bullets and bombs. I prefer the pen but when that fails …
With all due respect to your religious beliefs, I don’t think prayers will stop these monsters. It will be either pens or bullets and bombs.
Remember that old battle cry back in the late 18th century: “Give me liberty or give me death.”?
Lloyd, read this: The money needed for everything that would support the common good, and our democracy is being sent OUT while we talk, talk , talk and the media lies, lies lies.
I’ve been aware of this for some time. The richest 1% (maybe 5%) are removing themselves from paying for anything and shifting the burden on everyone else while cutting the earning power of everyone else. The wealth river will flow one way until there is nothing left but poverty and misery for at least 95% of the people—the coming dark ages that will make the suffering of the last dark age seem trivial.
When we reach that point, the best health care will only to to the top. The rest of us will be denied any measures that will extend life. Get cancer, too bad. Get heart disease and need a heart transplant, too bad. And so on.
Sigh!
I was born in 1941, and in my lifetime I have seen everything that I thought worthwhile for this country, disappear. The Supreme Court is intent on reversing civil rights, and women’s rights. The legislature is a holding pen for politicians who see it as a lifetime ‘job opportunity’ and who have no allegiance to the flag they wave, or to the people.
It is hard to be old, and to see one’s youth diaper, the energy and beauty evaporating daily. But in this time when even the atmosphere that sustains us and the oceans that surround us are degrading rapidly, it is hard to be joyful. I see my peers who are very depressed and I think depression shrouds the seniors of this country, as their dreams crash and they face the loneliness that comes with aging in America in the 21st century.
After what happened to me, in my career (you know my story by now) I fight to hold on to the joy of being alive. My photography sustains me, and my handsome husband of 51 years and I kayak on the waterways of the east coast. My family sustains that joy, and I have grandkids who remind me that my life was not a waste. Former students write and remind me that my career as a teacher left a huge impact on their lives, but I fight the depression that envelops me like a cloud whenever I read about the corruption that runs under the surface of our American flag, and which is undermining the public education of our future citizens. it was working. They ended it, these rich pigs, and it could never have happened if the MEDIA had not been bought.
The ownership of the media is at the core of our decent. If the truth were known from the start, then there could be no doublespeak. I applaud Diane, and all those who tell the truth, but UNTIL THE PEOPLE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SCHOOLS, how the professional staff was removed so their voices could be silenced during the take-over of education, then NOTHING WILL CHANGE.
TALK IS NECESSARY but OUTRAGE AND ACTIVISM is the only way that things will change. When parents and teachers STAND UP AND DEMAND CHANGE, then these snake-oil salesmen will slink back into their holes… sleazy Deasy is just one step removed from Duncan the Deceiver because both operate behind closed doors.
( I do not have a site with my photos–since Apple took down the one I used, although you can see my early work at
http://www.speakingasateacher.com/SPEAKING_AS_A_TEACHER/Rockland_Photography_Club.html
I have an old friend (former friend, I should say, because his preaching drove me away—he wouldn’t stop) who allowed himself to be seduced by the dark side. He doesn’t believe in global warming and follows the libertarian, neo-conserative, tea party, evangelical pied pipers—you know, those movements funded by the likes of the Koch brothers and Rupert Murdock.
When I mentioned global warming wasn’t the only issue, but that there was also the dangers of air, soil and water pollution and the fact that all the carbon emissions caused my humanity is changing the Ph balance of the world’s oceans (ocean acidification) and threatening life in the oceans as we know it, he ignored me and went on with his preaching and ranting about global warming not being caused by man, and that we must make government smaller.
http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-ocean-acidification/
I sigh too.
YES! Democracy depends on shared knowledge, and the greatest propaganda machine in history… the television, is feeding a nation of stressed people, the lies that allow them to do the dirty work. This is 1939 in America.
Click to access hirsch.pdf
I write at Oped news, where the other writers include Chris Hedges, Robert Reich, Paul Craig Roberts and the publisher, Rob Kall, who describes ‘sleepwalking Americans and promotes activism.Dan Geery, who ran for Senate in Utah, and who has become one of the people with whom I correspond at that site, posted this one
http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Sleepwalking-to-Extinctio-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Extinction_Extinction-Level-Event-131115-102.html
I don’t agree with all the rhetoric at Oped, and I am upset that so few comment on the destruction of education that is ongoing before their closed eyes, but I think the daily newsletter is special. I became a member years ago, and although I have written a few articles, I became a trusted writer after linking to hundreds of articles that tell the truth about America today.
QuickLinks -(after the resume) on my Author’s Page for Susan Lee Schwartz | OpEdNews
http://www.opednews.com/author/quicklinks/author40790.html
It’s obvious that the media has become a biased, opinionated, propaganda machine supporting one ideology or another. In fact, before what’s considered the golden age of journalism around the turn of the 19th to 20th century, the media wasn’t much different. Newspapers were often controlled by one political party or another spouting reams of propaganda.
In a recent interview with AARP Magazine, Barbara Walters said, “It used to be that news was holy, and you did not give opinions. … Today, in order to be successful, you have to be opinionated, and that’s what people want to hear.”
Once a target audience is identified, then the news is tailored to feed that audience what they want to hear, what they want to believe. That audience is not interested in facts that do not fit their own thinking. The truth be damned.
Exactly so. The guests on this Moyers show explain how the new paradigm is ‘push’ to audiences… pushing content rather than pulling audiences.
http://billmoyers.com/segment/john-nichols-and-robert-mcchesney-on-big-money-big-media/
what they pushes is violence… and then it is no surprise when an ordinary kid is bullied and the school ignores it, and he kills the bully. In the absence of the studies of the humanities an human behavior throughout history, and in the absence of the sacred (as Jerry Mander explains in his book of that name
http://www.scottlondon.com/reviews/mander.html
WHICH YOU SHOULD READ, the values that guided mankind before technology has been lost.
That the President may be someone’s lackey is a possibility I have frequently wondered about. I just can’t figure out how the deliberate encouragement of children immigrants from Latin America will benefit the oligarchs, unless the oligarchs are to be identified with Democrat politicians.
Along with the children are coming also gang members. Amnesty, either literally or defacto, will probably be granted. Mexico seems to be saying to the coyotes you can transport them across the 1000 miles as long as you deliver them across the USA border. And the humanitarian challenges are paralleled by the education challenges, since these children will show up in schools next September.
I don’t particularly favor deporting them, but I do blame the President and the Democrats for encouraging this illegality and for not securing the border (Bush is to blame too). Perhaps the oligarchs get a new source of cheap, if illegal, labor while the Democrats get a chance of turning Texas blue, and that is how they scratch each others backs.
On the influence of the oligarchs I agree with you, but would you agree with me that the Democrat oligarchs exist and are just as bad as the Republican oligarchs?
I claim that ONLY limitations on government will reduce the power of oligarchs, who mainly profit from manipulating government through lobbyists and campaign contributions.
If you think the government can solve all or most problems of human life then you would have much in common with fundamental marxist thinking, which sees government as the way of protecting the people but really serves not the people but their own government power.
The people should take care of themselves mostly. The debate is over where the line is to be drawn, for both Republicans and Democrats. I think Democrats don’t want those limitations. Many Republicans, or as we conservatives call them Republicrats as a term of condemnation because they act like Democrats, also want expanded state power. Bush was one of them. Reagan was not. Roosevelt was one of them. Reagan was not.
So, what’s your view of Reagan?
Isn’t Bill Gates a democratic oligarch? Obama calls Gates his partner in the fake education reform movement.
That answers your question.
I think you’re right on this one, Harlan. Though the current Democratic “selling point” is to represent “the little guy”, it would seem that this is not the case. The move towards oligarchy transcends party lines.
The trick, at this point in history, is to find a means of transcending the distrust between working class (unions) and upper middle/upper class citizens so that we can stop this movement towards rule by the .01%.
I’m sure this is somewhat simplistic, but it’s a starting point, imo. I have some very good friends and loving relatives who are Tea Party members. Though we have our disagreements…we are all sincere in our beliefs (aka: not driven by greed) and the discussions are open and alive.
“…We should not be automatically assuming that the current situation is what it should be and that the state’s automatic response should be to step in and try to bring up other men’s children. I certainly don’t have an answer, but I’d sure like an acknowledgement that poverty is not the fault of ‘society’ but rather the fault of individuals who have children without being able to pay for them. Just a recognition of that from spokesmen for public education would be a step in the right direction.”
I understand and can relate to your position, here. There’s no doubt that people need to take responsibility for their actions. It’s maddening to meet with parents of kids who tell me that I’m supposed to “fix” their child.
I think the sticking point here comes with separating the
“individual” from “society”. I completely agree with you that the politicians play the card often and successfully. The word “helping” gets votes. But my personal experience has shown me that many people operate within the confines of their socio-economic and educational sphere…and that we, as a society, need to take that into account when setting laws and policies.
This part of your post I do not follow. Could you clarify? ” But my personal experience has shown me that many people operate within the confines of their socio-economic and educational sphere…and that we, as a society, need to take that into account when setting laws and policies.”
I mean that we have a history of poverty (both internationally and nationally). It didn’t just occur overnight. There are those who have worked hard and been able to succeed and there are many more who did and will not. Poverty is a heavy burden and there aren’t a lot of outlets when you’re living in it, day after day. Year after year.
I think it’s our responsibility, as a society, to understand, accept, and address this reality. I don’t like acting as surrogate to those who are irresponsible any more than you do…but I think it’s important to find and implement a system that will provide a means of giving more opportunities to those who need and will accept them. Success breeds self-confidence, self-awareness, and (hopefully) a sense of social responsibility.
I think we need to find the balance where you’re giving opportunity…not a free ride. There will always be those who take advantage of the system (in all socio-economic areas), but if it’s very much the minority, then I think it’s worth the effort.
Thank you. I am seeing “the virtuous poor” rise, but I also see their brothers and sisters, “the screw up poor” NOT taking advantage of the system. In my personal experience I think the ratio is about 50/50. To me that means half of the population in poverty will never get out of it and will remain dependent on the state, or die, or go to prison. There is a personal pathology to poverty which about half, in my estimation, cannot and will not overcome inspite of the opportunities put in the way.
Would you agree with my purely anecdotal estimate that half the poor are undeserving? Victims, not of society, but their own bad judgement? And game the system for support?
“…Would you agree with my purely anecdotal estimate that half the poor are undeserving? Victims, not of society, but their own bad judgement? And game the system for support?”
Well…that’s a loaded question. I’ll answer as best I can:
I’ve lived in the poorest neighborhoods of a few cities, earlier in my life, and I’ve taught kids from the inner city throughout the last 22 years of my life. The clear majority of the relationships I’ve had have been with good people who really are trying to maintain a good life that they can pass on to their children, in the hopes that they’ll do better. And it ain’t easy.
Did/do they game the system? Some of the, sure. But not any more so than a lot of us at tax time. They did what they could, within similar parameters to all of us, to make their lives more comfortable and enjoyable.
I think it’s safe to say that the wealthiest among us are pretty savvy at gaming the system, themselves. On a consistent basis. In fact, I’d say that they put the rest of us to shame.
One very big challenge in the poor neighborhoods is the gangs. So many parents try to keep their kids off the streets, hoping that they’ll stay clear of the stray bullets and possible initiation.
So in answer to your question: “No”…I don’t think that 50% of the poor are undeserving of a chance. I think, as in many cases, that the bad ones just have the loudest voices.
Well, you are closer to it than I am. I haven’t studied it extensively, only observed what comes my way. I hope you are right. That gangs intimidate witnesses we know well in Detroit. It’s not easy to be ‘trapped’ in the inner city.
My own proposed solution is that work is required for any benefit whatsoever, health, food stamps, section 8, with some of those wages augment by government supplement to create a living wage for all. But never any something for nothing. I’m not sure what the administrative cost would be. All jobs would have to be the in private sector. No government jobs. Government could contract with private suppliers for services. That would bring the necessary discipline, I think.
I do object to your including me among tax cheaters. YOU may cheat on your income taxes, but I never have. I take what deductions are legal, but I do a return that can be audited without difficulty.
I think everyone can be honest, regardless of economic level. I even think dishonesty keeps people poor. But I haven’t had to live that way, so I’m not sure.
My apologies, Harlan. I’m not saying you’re a tax cheat. I’m not either. An audit wouldn’t find anything of note. I’m just saying that there are plenty of people across the spectrum who game the system. Some more so than others.
I agree: a work program and system of accountability for those who receive government assistance is a great idea. I’m not so sure that we can count on the private sector to be any better at it’s implementation than the public, though. Not saying no…but not saying yes, either.
I write now. I am the fly on the wall… watching and reporting on Oped news, what the real activists like Diane, Anthony Cody, Leonie Haimison, Betsy Combier, Norm Scott, Lenny Isenberg, Karen Horwitz, Lois Weiner Rene Diedrich and others are doing.
My author’s page offers my resume and the articles I wrote…
http://www.opednews.com/author/quicklinks/author40790.html
you should read ‘BamboozleThem’
http://www.opednews.com/articles/BAMBOOZLE-THEM-where-tea-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-110524-511.html
and Magic Elixir,
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Magic-Elixir-No-Evidence-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-130312-433.html
and click on the blue button for quick links and you will see the over 800 links I posted and my commentary, too.
Not that people give a hoot about what is happening to teachers… they are busy, you know: Snowden, Iraq, Syria, the world cup, the Tony awards, the Oscars, the Grammies, and what is happening to the Kardashians.
You resigned because they shunned you.
In NYC they would have charged you with a crime, like corporal punishment, and had you sit in a rubber room for 2 or 3 years until you r ‘hearing’ where you would be found guilty.
PRINCIPALS ARE UNACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR BEHAVIOR IN NYC.
…and I’m very sorry to say that I’m afraid that it might stay that way throughout the Bill DiBlasio’s term(s) as mayor.
I am truly sorry for your personal distress. It is not uncharacteristic of public school teachers and administrations to be utterly intolerant.
After all, anyone could take it or leave it. It was just posted on a bulletin board.
BUT, no one infringed your free speech in an illegal way. There WERE consequences for you, but the government didn’t censor you.
I hope you have found work you like or that you were able to retire.
Just imagine what a conservative like myself would have endured in such an environment. I would have been spit upon, bumped, perhaps even roughed up by union goons so I would apply for a transfer or resign. You yourself might have taken part in that persecution. What do you think?
No Harlan, it is very doubtful that any violence would have befallen you. Teachers are the associations (they really are not unions in most states). There are no “union goons.”
Interesting, I am an administrator and I feel like my old guard teachers are the ones who don’t want me to rock the boat with new research, strategies, and information. They shun me when I want to explore new ideas and controversial topics. I once heard a quote, “excellence fears no observation”. I know this to be true, because my LIFO teachers are the teachers that keep me excited about education. I think teachers would become a lot less complacent if they had to really work to keep their jobs. I taught for 16 years before I “went to the dark side”. When teaching was no longer fun for me, I knew it was time to get out. Not just for my own sake, but for the sake of the kids that I would probably be making miserable and wasting their time, due to my burnout factor. Don’t get me wrong, I am pro teacher, as long as that teacher is pro student. If we are not evolving, then what are we doing? Teaching requires tenacity and audacity, especially in this climate of constant reform and the search for the magic bullet. I applaud teachers who step down when they realize that time has come.
Although we have “dead wood” within the ranks of older teachers in my school, they are definitely in the minority and, yes: retiring.
The majority of us have kept up to date with evolving teaching methods and technology and also served as mentors to the newer teachers, giving advice and support based on our years of experience. We learn from the younger teachers, as well.
I would hope that you’re not saying that aging makes for ineffective teachers, as a general rule. This is part of what the propaganda machine has been pedaling for almost two decades. It’s simply not true.
True! I knew many a young teacher who could be a member of the dead wood club. So insulting that this term should be used to define career teachers who have dedicated their lives to improving their craft and then called dead wood.
My heart breaks for Susan Schwartz but it is the same in most districts: Get the older, higher paid, educated, child-centered, authentic teachers OUT of the way so as to make room for the desperate,job seeking young people who will do as their told without questioning. After teaching for 33 years, also a well respected teacher, I was transferred continuously my last few years. I now understand it was my questioning and child-centered values that were not appreciated by my superiors. Teach to the test was the motto. Bring up test scores. Keep students bored and well behaved which “guess what does not work.” I finally had to pack it in, take my books (bought with my own funds), and retire. Had I not, I felt as if I would explode. Freedom of speech and opinion is gone. Sit, listen, crunch numbers, and be a good little teacher. Do Not Question! We have yet to see the results of these backward reforms.
You said it perfectly. They want rid of us so badly. I didn’t notice it until the new principal I had this year. He hates the older teachers. We don’t even get eye contact when we share the history of our building or share what we did in the past. I say, “Be careful what you wish for.” We will soon be gone. Our child centered philosophies, our love of our students, and the wealth of knowledge of our age group will also be gone. I feel truly sorry for the younger teachers because many of them do not see the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Good Luck to you! Your students will always remember you in their hearts.
Just to be picky in my normal way: Freedom of speech and opinion were NOT gone. You could not have been arrested by the government for what you said. That you expected to be able to speak up in opposition to administrative foolishness without suffering job related consequences is a fantasy. That kind of environment is rare, where management WANTS to hear what you think (even though it will be equally candid to you about what it thinks of your performance.) A really good administrator would not have transferred you hither and yon in an attempt to stop you from embarrassing him/her with your superior knowledge and understanding.
Packing up is hard to do.
I’m sorry that the writer of this letter has decided to retire…though I can understand it.
I came to the field of education 22 years ago after a decade in corporate management.
My entire tenure as a teacher has been one in which city, state, and (now) federal officials/corporate interests have vilified the profession and it’s representative unions. The barrage has been steady, relentless, and expanding. I’ve seen everything from propaganda based on partial truths to outright blatant lies with lots of fabrications and distortions of the truth in between. In all areas of the mainstream media.
Through it all, I’ve seen precious little of the educator’s side of the story. This, for the most part, is not part of the media’s interest, it would seem.
Fact is that I and the vast majority of my colleagues work extremely hard and, when allowed to really teach the kids, enjoy great success in the classroom.
I can completely relate to the writer’s lament, regarding her colleagues. I could see the storm coming during the Giuliani years and intensifying dramatically with Bloomberg. I warned my colleagues from the start, as I’ve seen the hatred that management can have towards a union. But very, very few were interested. I’ve posted many links on my FB page and gotten few comments. Someone asked me why I was “rebelling” from the reform movement. Our own UFT delegate said that give backs were going to be necessary…just before becoming a principal, himself.
I’ve also been told that I might want to withdraw from the debate, as it can get very frustrating and I’m near retirement age. Why not “ride off into the sunset”? This is very hard for me to do, however, as my child and any potential offspring will have to inherit this aberration of the field of education. The future of our society is at stake.
I hope that the writer of this letter will take her love of education into a new field: activism against the big monied interests who would dismantle a democratic public interest.
I am unconcerned about conspiracies within education. I believe that if we mobilize as much as billionaires, we can influence local school boards, local legislators, and state legislation. I am happy to see so much money focused on educational issues rather than only money-making issues, or other issues that have less impact on the future of our society. I don’t necessarily agree with all that the billionaires propose and espouse, especially if it does not support the children with little or no family support, but the sincere interest to make meaningful enduring change in the educational system is something I support. I will hold myself accountable for engaging in the dialogue to keep a balance in perspectives.
“…but the sincere interest to make meaningful enduring change in the educational system is something I support…”
It’s a stretch for me to consider the CCSS to be a sincere interest to make meaningful and enduring change. If those standards could be adopted on a voluntary basis and changed according to the needs of the school/districts, then it would be a totally different ballgame.
As is, however, the CCSS will make PUBLIC school students “college ready” for community colleges (I’d like to underline that). They will not provide the public school students with the content necessary to gain admittance to the more demanding colleges and universities. Ivy League and not. Those institutions will be for the private school kids, who will not be using CCSS or extensive testing.
There’s also a complete, extremely lucrative industry which is built around the CCSS. The people who will profit the most from this industry are those who are spearheading CCSS. After all I’ve read, seen, and experienced, I’ve come to the conclusion that education reform is much more about the making and saving of money and union bashing/busting than anything else.
Yes: give a voluntary philanthropic hand to the schools and districts that need it. No, do NOT create a system that requires all schools (excelling or not) to follow the same educational guidelines. Leveling the playing field will be good for some and very, very bad for others.