Stuart Egan is a high school teacher in North Carolina.

 

He writes:

 

 

Film and literature often depict human nature in precise ways, mimicking real life situations in colorful methods and allowing us to view ourselves more objectively through the eyes of others.

 

In fact, the converse can be true as well; real life is the stuff of film. Have you ever had a notion that the reality transpiring right in front of you is literally out of movie? Then maybe it is no wonder that the new installment of the Star Wars movies (The Force Awakens) seems like a new metaphorical chapter in the war in North Carolina to protect the sanctity of public education against the dark side of reform.

 

Truthfully, it’s not just the new episode of Star Wars that aptly depicts the fight between politics and public education. All of the movies contain memorable comparisons to what is happening in the struggle of the educational Rebel Alliance against the political Dark Side.

 

One simply needs to closely follow North Carolina’s regression in the last few years and you can witness a wonderful example of how the plot lines of the Star Wars movies appropriately mimic the actual events taking place in the political landscape of North Carolina today.

 

Just take a few of the iconic quotes given by those memorable characters and insert them into the epic that is North Carolina and you will plainly see that film really does imitate life.

 

As a veteran public school teacher, I know that the most sacred part of education is the student – teacher relationship. There is a power in the exchange of knowledge and the nurturing of skill sets. It is kind of like using the Force to train new Jedi to help protect the republic from sinister powers. Remember the Force? Here’s the actual definition from Obi-Wan Kenobi, who happens to be a great teacher. He says,

 

“The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.”

 

However, when there is money to be made by profit-minded entities, many in power turn to the Dark Side and manipulate the Force for personal gain. Look at all of the charter schools that lack transparency and take state money to create favorable situations for just a few, especially its board members. Look at the virtual academies run by profit-minded companies. Look how many new “private” schools have been created in response to the Opportunity Grants.

 

Yet when these profit-minded reforms are questioned, lawmakers aligned with the Dark Side clothe themselves in a robe of righteousness, swear they are doing the will of the people, and ultimately scold those who question their intent. It sounds like Darth Vader’s great quote from the first Star Wars movie.

 

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

 

Actually, I find the lack of faith in teachers and public schools disturbing. With new legislation that designated more schools as being “low-performing,” we are seeing how the Dark Side is propagating the idea that we need to have more reforms. But there is something distressing about the timing of this. It’s the year before major elections and it seems that the GOP-led NC General Assembly and the Governor’s Office will take major steps to show great improvement for the 2015-2016 school year to give the facade that they are doing good work. But in the immortal words of Admiral Akbar in The Return of the Jedi,

 

“It’s a trap!”

 

What has played out in the past three years is a methodical dismantling of the public education system. Monies, resources, and benefits have been eroded away to create an environment of dependency on false reforms. Furthermore, the move to discredit teachers and educators through the removal of due-process rights and graduate degree pay along with shoddy teacher evaluation protocols have harvested more fear than real progress. And the greatest of teachers, Yoda tells us in The Phantom Menace that,

 

“Fear is the path to the dark side.”

 

It is this false fear that public schools are the root of the problems which plagues North Carolina and drives the actions the NC General Assembly in “reforming” our public school system. If the NCGA can convince the public that there is a reason to fear, then the NCGA has the opportunity to convince the public that it has the solution. So far, the solutions have resided in arbitrary testing and robotic curriculum practices. And those kinds of reforms are exactly what Obi-Wan Kenobi refers to when he states,

 

“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for….”

 

In fact, even many of the writing tests that are administered (as well as the standardized multiple choice tests) are created by outside entities and evaluated by computers and software designed by for-profit companies. The role of the teacher is then further severed like a disturbance of the Force. Even a droid can tell you that that is not good for education like when C3PO tells R2-D2,

 

“R2-D2, you know better than to trust a strange computer!”

 

Ever since legislators started removing the human element from education by decreasing teacher to student ratios, the dependence on non-educators to mold and shape pedagogical policy has increased. That means more lawmakers are taking on the business approach to remedy the very problems they have created. That translates to more contracts with testing companies to impersonally rate student achievement and teacher effectiveness without giving feedback on what would constitute good teaching. What happens is that people without educational experience are dictating what happens in classrooms more than those who do have the proper experience and knowhow. Han Solo makes this point in the 1977 release of A New Hope. He tells Luke Skywalker,

 

“Traveling through hyperspace ain’t like dusting crops, farm boy.”

 

And it isn’t. Traveling through hyperspace is not for those who have never been in a spaceship before. A wookie could tell you that. Additionally, reforming public education in North Carolina is not a job for those who have no idea what a classroom is like. Teachers and educators see that increased human interaction between a teacher (especially when experienced and respected) and student can overcome great odds, even ones derived by computers in valued added assessment models like EVAAS.

 

When C3PO tells Han Solo that he cannot fly through an asteroid field, he does not put into consideration who is doing the piloting. The droid states,

 

“Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1.”

 

But Solo is an expert. He’s like an experienced veteran teacher in the classroom and he is confident. That asteroid field is akin to all of the obstacles placed in front of teachers (increased class size, too many standardized tests, expanded duties, etc) as they try and do their job. Han Solo and his crew make it through to Cloud City. But of course the Dark Side catches him and puts him in a deep freeze, much like the salary scales of experienced teachers in North Carolina. Fortunately, he is rescued later by guess whom? Yes, a Jedi taught by the greatest of teachers.

 

This next election cycle really starts now. With more people putting their light sabers into the mix, we need more than ever to stand up against the Death Star that hovers over West Jones Street in Raleigh and bring North Carolina back as the model of progress it was before the rise of the Dark Side. This requires actually educating yourselves on the issues and practicing your rights to speak out, speak up, and speak to. It also means to vote. One cannot be passive – Yoda instructs us on that (with his inverted syntax).

 

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

 

Our state has lost a lot of teachers due to the current political environment. Some leave because the stagnant salaries will not allow them to raise families in the way they wish. Some leave because of the simple lack of respect. The new state motto “North Carolina: First in Teacher Flight” is a reality, and we just cannot clone effective teachers like storm troopers through programs like Teach for America. We need our teacher education programs in our colleges and universities to be invested in, not divested from.

 

But I am hearing more and more teachers speaking about how they will not leave; they are staying to fight the fight. It’s just like Obi-Wan Kenobi when he looked Darth Vader in the eye and calmly stated,

 

“You can’t win, Darth. Strike me down, and I will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.”

 

That’s the attitude that we need to have, as teachers, educators, and advocates for public education. This fight is far from over and why should we keep fighting for our schools? Because while Darth Vader may claim to be my father, all of the students in North Carolina’s public schools are our children and Yoda states,

 

“Truly wonderful the mind of a child is.”

 

So…Grab your closest wookie and ewok friends. Hop on your land speeder, X-wing fighter, or Millennium Falcon and go to the polls this next election cycle. Educate yourselves about the real issues surrounding public education. Like a great teacher, Yoda instructs us well when he says,

 

“In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more knowledge lights our way.

 

Send messages to others through your droids, see past the Imperial rhetoric, stand up against the Greedos and the Jaba the Huts and,

 

“Always pass on what you have learned.”

 

And last but not least, always remember…

 

“The Force will be with you, always.”

 

 
Stuart Egan, NBCT
Public School Teacher
Jedi-In-Training
West Forsyth High School
Clemmons, NC