A reader named Rcharvet wrote the following about his career as a teacher in an impoverished district in California.
All I know is for nearly 30 years, I taught the kids no one wanted. Back in the day, AWNOLD S wanted to have merit pay for teachers based on test scores (results). I turned and asked the kids, “Have I provided you with materials that you need? Have I stayed after school to help you? Have I helped with just about anything? Then why don’t you do your work? They replied, “I don’t know; there are always better things to do.” I said, “So if I am going to be evaluated on my “merits” then I am screwed, right?” I know they meant well, but just had no family support. At one school, we were testing and I said, “Just do your best.” The young student turned to me and said, “I don’t even understand the directions.” Meanwhile (our school was rated at a 1 out of 10) the other school was in the wealthy area (10) and didn’t even sweat the test. “What test?” Far too many had the stress levels of 34 year olds; translated for parents in the court system; made dinner and lunch for their siblings — they had more important things to do. Even though I would be deemed a “bad teacher” for not getting the kids to be “10s”, my son said that I was making a bigger difference in their lives than at the comprehensive high school. I stuck it out with “my kids” because they needed someone to believe in them; a hug; a ride home; food and water and clothes; and someone to remind them, “Without you, the world would be a darker place. You are meant to change the world whether you know it or not. And it will be the little things you do that with create the biggest change, not memorizing some facts for a test that you forget a week later. But, I guess that doesn’t count when looking at the analytics. Needless to say, for most teachers, why would they work at a place with kids who score low on tests? In the end, my tombstone would say, “He helped everyone and those who needed him the most.” Sad for those kids.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
And sadly there are more cases like this one all over the US. A rather poor reflection on American society.
They’re still better off than your average Russian. Loving those videos of stupid Russians in tanks getting blown up! But at least their families might get some towels to ease the grief.
Diane — Ah, shucks. I am honored. Just always tried to do what was right. My 32 years was a long and winding road. Just so you all know, most of these kids are doing well, have nice families, and own businesses. One former student just opened a tap room in our downtown. Others own plumbing services, electricians, phlebotomists, and are construction crew supervisors. Many of my former art students have had their own shows and some have published poetry books. One of my students slated for expulsion, spent a year at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago on a $44K Merit Scholarship. All I ever did was be myself — never said I was the best, but the first to fall on my face. The thing about me (and I taught my students) it’s not your circumstance, it’s how you react to your circumstance. When I got knocked down, I got back up. So, you have to believe in each individual’s strength and promote it. Which, in my case, was never tested. Thank you. Bless you all.
Thank you for your service to your students and their families and communities!
@diane — now that I have time to reflect, I am an anomaly. I taught many of my kids in elementary, middle, and at the continuation high school. I saw them grow up and then met their kids. Many were the first in their families to get a high school diploma and move on to college. Mind you, these are ‘stories from the trenches’ but my wife came home from her job at the bank and said, “I wrote her name down so you would remember. She asked, “Are you related to Mr. Charvet?” “Yes, I’m his wife.” My former student who now does Elder Care, told her, “He certainly loved his job; all of us knew it.” I am tearing up, again.
That’s a reward you will never find anywhere else for a job well done.
Bless YOU, rcharvet.
Bless this person — and thank you.
All any of us can ever say honestly: I done the best I could. Thanks.
The pertinent question is: Have you been a Mr. TeachBad certified bad teacher?
@Duane — I was put into “teacher remediation.” The admin was jealous of me. When the remediation teacher came to observe me she said, “What is going on here? And, I do not need to see anymore evidence of all your lesson plans; you do not need to be remediated and wasting my time.” Problem is, when the kids know you will help them get to where they are going and they don’t go running to the admin, well there is a problem. I had to file a grievance to get admin to “back the f*&K off.” I did absolutely nothing wrong, but it went into my file. Whatever. Yea, you got to oppress me. Whoopee! Outlasted that person and got to give my advantage to lots of kids who were deemed “delinquent, dummies, and even ‘the black girl.'” Excuse me, her name is Dejanique. Never ended, but I stuck to helping those kids. Yeah, as John Lewis said, “…made good trouble…” I am still in touch with nearly all my students as they close in on almost 40 years of age. Thanks for listening.
I understand. I had students tell me that the principal had called them in to dig up dirt on me. Needless to say none of the students every said anything bad. Respect the students was my first rule for myself. They will respect you when you respect them and treat all fairly.
I am a fellow “bad” teacher. I chose to teach poor ELLs, most of whom lacked formal education in their home countries and many of whom were survivors of extreme political and economic strife. With the collective efforts of so many other outstanding teachers, most of these students managed to be productive members of society with many graduating from college. High stakes testing is a disservice to these students and the teachers that support and nurture them.
Rating and ranking students, teachers and schools through standardized test scores are a distraction and a waste. Test scores are political ploy designed to disrupt the education of the neediest, poorest students. What these vulnerable young people do with their lives is a testament to their perseverance and all the “bad” teachers that went the extra mile, forged a relationship with them and lifted them up along the way.
@retired teacher — Yeah, the poor kids were yanked from school to go work in the fields, then around April came back. Before I knew much of anything, I had an entire class of ELLs, but it was not a designated ELL class. Good kids. But, I quickly learned, communication was an issue. So, when I saw them stare blankly at their paper, I said, “Go ahead and write in Spanish. No worries. I can translate. Then, I will show you how to translate to English. Before you know it, you will all be champions.” I had a para help me, but the kids had smiles, could participate, and did learn English by the end of the school year — our way. You always have to say, “If I were in their shoes, would I be learning? So, what can I do to help and no BS.” It was a positive experience. Besides I told them, “Now you are much better than me because you speak two languages!” I was unorthodox, but got results.
Many of them probably couldn’t write much in Spanish either, particularly if they were from Central America. I also had many Haitians as well with little to no formal education. They were so appreciative that someone was interested in helping them. It took time, but they assimilated and found their way. Unfair testing was the last thing they needed.
Rcharvet, you, Sir, are heroic. From a teacher in a school that generally doesn’t have to sweat the tests (though we still do), a standing ovation for your 32 years. God knows what all the policy makers do not. Thank you for all you have done and for your example to all in our worthy profession.
When given the opportunity in conversations I would frequently say teaching its not mission work, it is a difficult profession. Too many not engaged with education see but as mission work.
I’m no stranger to child poverty. I was born into a family living in poverty. When i was seven, my mother was told I was too retarded to learn to read and write. My mother asked my first grade teacher (my second year in her class) what she could do at home to teach me to read.
During the Great Depression, when my parents were teens, they never graduated from high school. My older brother (14 years older than me) was illiterate to the day he died at 64, working poverty wage paying jobs, and spending 15 years of his life in prison (what he called the slammer). Richard had seven children, one with his first wife, and six with the second. Four grew up illiterate.
Thirty-five years later, after the Marines, Vietnam, and completing college with help GI Bill while working part time jobs nights and weekends, I became a teacher working with children living in poverty. I felt right at home.
The child poverty rate at the middle and high school where I taught for most of 30 years was 70 percent or higher. The first school I worked at in the same district was in the most dangerous area in that community, explaining why that public school had coils of razor wire along the perimeter of its roofs in an effort to stop the multi-generational street gangs that lived there, from chopping through the school’s roofs to get inside and steal the electronics.
It was so dangerous in that community, that the year I was hired full time at a middle school, the principal warned us to never take a walk in the neighborhood around that school or we might vanish without a trace.
I was told once that I made more phone calls to parents, year after year, than any other teacher. They knew this because we had to fill out forms to document every phone call, even the ones where no one answered. No one answered most of those phone calls. many of the numbers on file were disconnected, and when I did reach a parent or guardian, nothing changed, no matter what the parent or guardians said they do to help their child.
During the thirty years I was a public school teacher, I had ONE parent, out of more than 6,000 parents, come to me asking for advice to help her daughter improve her reading skills. That ONE mother did what I suggested and her daughter improved her grade reading level by five years in one school year. What was my advice to that ONE mother: I said, turn off the TV and have your entire family read for 30 minutes or more a day in the same room, every day, seven days a week, and then sit down as a family and share with each other what you read. I said if you read more than 30 minutes, the benefits will increase.
Thank you, mother, for being one of the few parents that actually did something to make sure I learned to read. That was for my mother, even if she has been gone for about thirty years. She was 89 when she died.
On parent conference night, us teachers, who had to be there, might see a dozen students and a parent, and most of the students were the ones that were passing. With a failure rate of 50% or more, we seldom saw the parents of the children that weren’t learning because they weren’t doing the work.
Teacher can teach until they lose their voices, but it is up to the child to learn and the parents to support the teachers.
Teachers should not be punished because of the poverty their students live in.
“These factors often place more stress on a student, which can negatively impact the student’s ability to succeed in a school. Students living in poverty often have fewer resources at home to complete homework, study, or engage in activities that helps equip them for success during the school day.”
https://www.nassp.org/poverty-and-its-impact-on-students-education/#:~:text=These%20factors%20often%20place%20more,success%20during%20the%20school%20day.
@Lloyd — I have a friend from the “Great North” who was deemed “retarded” now he is a motivational speaker and writer. When I taught elementary, I could tell how late these kids were up at night when they talked about watched David Letterman. Most were raised in walkers in front of the TV. Your story is all too familiar. Our school district finally put in fences and our school had “spears” on the top (not sure if that was good). The kids protected me and even one kid said, “Mr. Charvet, I chased a ‘tweeker’ out of your yard.” I appreciated the efforts (someone was trying to break into my Jeep), but why was he out at 1 or 3 in the morning? Most kids had no sleep and couch surfed. I met all the probation officers and the DA. Plus, I was close with the Police Department, well, just because. My kids lived in and out of “lock up”, one kid murdered another so he is in jail for life; most families never made it past high school; and most kids came to school haven’t eaten anything or it was sugar. When I started selling things to pay for supplies, errr…asking for donations…I sold Cup Noodles, the kids were in heaven. I even sold coffee and one kid said, “Best school ever as he relished his little cup of coffee.” I routinely sent home notes on how to help their child. One highly-intelligent young man I still tutor lived in one room with his mother and sister. The “lady of the house” banned him from doing homework in the house, so he was outside on the porch in the winter and whatnot. As you well know, kids (and people) don’t function when they are hungry, cold, have incarcerated folks, have to translate for parents, ICE breathing down their necks, and wondering if they are pregnant. Crazy stuff. Then, they have been beaten down so much their spirits are broken to the point, “I am just an f-up and stupid.” My job was to remind them they weren’t. I spent a lot of time (as you did) trying to just fix the “human stuff” and if the standardized curriculum was to be taught, well, that was a bonus. And, to make ends meet, I coached and taught Adult ED, where I ended up teaching nearly all my students parents and even grandparents as well.You, too, are heroic for you efforts that no one really sees. I made sure they knew to understand what they read, the law, and how to communicate well in writing. And to be kind. Most said, “I want to be a probation officer or social worker so I can help others like me.” I always said, “Life is a game of inches.” If these kids had half of what their wealthy counterparts had, they would be the valedictorians. You also have great comments on The Gadfly. I appreciate your experience and wealth of knowledge, Sir Lloyd. Blessings.
@Lloyd — Oh, parent nights. I set up my room like it was an art gallery for maybe one or two parents — sometimes no one. I still had to be there, clean up, and get home past 9 p.m. More admin signed the attendance sheet. One time we had a BBQ and nearly 100 parents ate the food. After that, about 12 stayed to go to see their kids work. One parent said to me, “He’s 18, I don’t have to deal with him, right?” It was a great kid and artist. Most kids didn’t know their father and it was their wish to “one day know my biological father.” So, I always worked to make their lives better. Blessings.
Please tell me your first name so I can use it.
— Diane, Richard, but I go by Rick.
Hello RC,
The ‘Retard’ has commented below on your post!
Love,
Miles Patrick Yohnke
https://yohnke.com
Dear Mr. Lloyd Lofthouse,
I have left you a comment below on your life!
Thank you for all that you encompass. I hope you have a Happy Easter!
As always, love is the way,
Miles Patrick Yohnke
https://yohnke.com
All this sounds sufficiently familiar to me, both in word and deed (I’ve experienced everything detailed here, and then some), that I will presume to name myself–proudly–as a member of the “Bad Teachers Club.” What a relief to find my fellow members. Thanks guys
Dear Diane Ravitch & Community,
I’m the retard in the ‘Great North’ mentioned by my dear friend, Rick Charvet. I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. I was born and raised here and have lived here my nearly 60 years.
Rick Charvet, or as I like to call him ‘RC’ just mentioned to check out this blog, he sent me the URL. Of course, of the life mission that RC has been on in helping anyone and everyone I was going to invest my time reading and reading everyone’s comments.
I was inspired by everything I read. I felt the concern and the passion by everyone. When it came to Lloyd Lofthouse’s comment I thought I can relate to this. I was deeply moved and inspired by the overall life Lloyd Lofthouse created for himself.
Lloyd had lofty goals to create a new house for himself. He created a solid foundation. Because he made this choice it allowed all others that came into his sun-soaked house mansions of wealth knowledge.
And I say: “bravo to that!”
If you’d like to know more about this ‘retard’ I’ve included two articles of mine, titled: “Teach Our Children Well” and “School’s Out?”
I hope you find them of interest. I greatly appreciate everyone’s time. Everyone’s comments and those that didn’t comment but took the time reading, I greatly appreciate this as well. Time is all each and every one of us have. It isn’t something to waste.
My father was tragically killed when I was 5. He was 39. My mother was 36. She was left to raise two bright sons, 16 and 14, and the youngest, me, the retard. My mother never dated after she lost her best friend and husband. She didn’t hit the bottle. She did the best she could. She was nurturing and because she was your reading my words.
My father’s death was a blessing. Certainly, I would have loved to have had a father in my life, but it taught me about ‘time’. Not to waste it for tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone.
And for that I greatly appreciate your time and I hope that you feel reading these two articles that it was time well spent.
Teach Our Children Well
https://salmonstudio.wixsite.com/yohnke/post/teach-our-children-well
School’s Out?
https://salmonstudio.wixsite.com/yohnke/post/school-s-out
As always, love is the way,
Miles Patrick Yohnke
https://yohnke.com