Ralph Ratto is an elementary teacher in New York. He wrote a tweet during testing time. A principal—not his own—saw the tweet and reported him. He was in trouble.
He wrote the following open letter to the anonymous principal who turned him in.
An open letter to the principal who chose the Institution over the kids.
Dear principal who chose to remain anonymous,
Every year I watch my students struggle with abusive assessments that provide me, as their teacher, with useless data. Every year the test is administered in the Spring just as allergy season is in full swing. Every year my students must suffer through this test while leaf blowers, jets, garbage trucks and traffic create an annoying din that makes concentration difficult, especially with those of my students with ADHD, severe allergies and other issues that affect their learning. And yes, every year my students perform better than the state, region and often lead the district.
You cowardly chose to attack a teacher who was documenting the noise pollution that affected every child in our school rather than solve the problem of noise pollution or even solve the problem of these abusive tests.
Your priorities are skewed. You may post tons of smiling faces on your own Twitter account but the truth is out there. Today, you chose the institution over those smiling faces. Shame on you.
Yes, I may have broken test protocol , but you broke something even more important. Your failure to approach me personally goes to character. Your failure to choose kids over institution goes to character.
You got your teaspoon of flesh. I was reprimanded and told not to do it again. Tomorrow is test day #3. I will always choose kids over institution. The question is, what will you do?
Commitment
No charges are being brought against me.
I am still committed to ending test abuse. I am committed to the opt out movement. I am committed to the success of my students.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Right on Ralph Ratto (and forgive, please, the gratuitous alliteration).
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Good on ya, Ralph, and shame on the cowardly apparatchik who informed on you.
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The teacher strikes are wonderful but in some ways the small acts of defiance are more inspiring.
I see them in my son’s school. His english teacher had them do poetry outdoors after the state testing. “Spring” has come to mean “testing season” to public school kids but it’s really just “spring” and we have long winters. They want to go outside 🙂
Another english teacher is doing a “humanities forum” for students on her own volition which I suspect (but don’t know) is a response to the constant ed reform yammering on STEM and “workforce readiness” which in working and middle class schools becomes “low level job training instead of school”. The stuff employers used to do, and pay for, public schools are now ordered to do.
It’s a beautiful thing when they use their own power.
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Thank you, Ralph!
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“I am still committed to ending test abuse. I am committed to the opt out movement. I am committed to the success of my students.”
What words of strength after being reprimanded by a principal. I am impressed.
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Adminimal administrating adminimally anonymously. Amazing? Astonishing? Agonizing?
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Awesome alliteration allows alluding an administrators “authority”. Sigh.
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
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My question is why was this principal on twitter during school time when this teacher sent out that tweet?
Good on him for continuing the good fight against these stupid tests.
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Kind of like rattin out your brother for having his eyes open during the prayer.
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The deformers think they know how kids learn, when they don’t. They want teachers and students to fit in their tricky tacky boxes. It’s about CONTROL and really is SLAVERY of another kind.
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Reminds me of the Simpson’s episode when the teacher is reading the teacher guide and Lisa chides, you’re really earning your twenty grand. In this case the administrator is really earning their salary by catching a tweet during the big test, wow.
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I commented on his site as well. Ralph continues to inspire all with priorites that are the very important ones. TRUTH TO POWER! We’re with you.
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That anonymous troll/bully/coward of an alleged principal was probably a graduate of the fake Broad Academy or an ignorant, deplorable TFA recruit that taught for two years and then was fast-tracked to become a principal … another Michelle Rhee clone headed to the top of the money pile supplied by the Kochtapus or Walmart Walton Shun Machine focused on teachers’ unions and traditional public schools
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I guess we’ll have to start calling the deformers INformers.
Good little Stasi informers.
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During a meeting of mentor teachers sponsored by UCLA, a video of a new teacher trying to teach in an elementary classroom at a school with a split lunch period was shown.
In the classroom, two fans were operating and the windows were open to the noisy lunch yard. The school was a year-round school open for classes during July and August in central L. A. No AC.
We mentors were asked to present options for the teacher. A former Peace Corps teacher opined that, well in Africa he had had to teach in an open field and the students could learn.
I rudely reminded him that L. A. was supposedly in a first world country and that teachers should organize against such insulting conditions, not accommodate the politicians and taxpayers who were directly responsible for the overcrowding and the undermining of education.
Perhaps the complaining principal was that former Peace Corps member and L. A. teacher.
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Thank you Diane.
Today I was presented a lengthy letter from my Superintendent informing me that my ‘incident’ was reported to the NYSED Test Security Department, and they determined that my actions did not invalidate my students tests.
I have also been directed to review the directions, stow my phone away, speak to my principal regarding noise, not to record during the test and refrain from posting on social media while proctoring.
In addition, the letter closed with that ..”you will use much better, and more professional judgement to address concerns about the testing environment.”
When I finished chuckling I responded, ” I used my professional judgement to document the outrageous conditions my class was forced to endure during the test.”As proven in your letter my use of my device did not invalidate the test. My priorities lie with the well being of my students. ”
BTW, I am still waiting for my anonymous accuser to have the courage to come out of the shadows. I have a feeling she will be outed by her colleagues.
One more thing, it was very quiet outside my window during today’s test.
Stay tuned.
RR
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To be a principal at this point in time, you have to agree and support and push all the reform jive. A principal nowadays is an enforcer and let’s just say that most superintendents are too. Gone are the days…yes gone, gone, gone. Even though if parents really knew what was going on … it is really not what they want…I have big hope in generations XYZ… all the Bernie peeps…they seem to have a low tolerance for bullshit (sorry diane for bad language) Let us get back to what works and take pride in our local, free, public, open to all, schools.
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We are not going to get back “to what works” without a blistering fight. The first step would be to dismantle ALEC and throw David and Charles Koch into a deep, dark dungeon and never let them out.
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