Forgive me, but I am SO sick and tired of those who have NEVER taught
school
be they former students, would be teachers, politicians, attorneys
Educational Psychologists, universities, corporations or whomever
dictating
to teachers and their students how schools have failed, should improve,
could have improved, MUST improve who know nought about what it's like to
be
on the other side of the desk.
Don't apologize. You're right and it needs to be said!
Teachers, like many other human services workers, are being unfairly
targeted and categorized. The people doing very important work in this
society, often for low pay and limited tools, are not respected or
considered but targeted for blame.
Your justifiable anger brought up two issues to me. First, much of the abuse
aimed at teachers is because a hell of a lot of people want to continue,
what Kimm called, the "criminal underfunding" of schools in poor districts.
More standardized tests for teachers and students, and sanctions against
targeted schools are offered as the only reform needed! It's a nasty
smokescreen that attempts to justify this funding system. It turns
evaluation from an opportunity to improve into an intimidating useless way
to assign blame. Reform is reduced to catching "stupid" and "lazy"
practitioners.
Corporate media goes along with this attack on teachers because it plays
well to an angry, simple solution, sound bite public. The general public is
completely ignorant of your job and resources and bases their opinions on
what is fed to them.
Secondly, teachers are not alone. These grandiose schemes that come down
from a far are part of other devalued human services. I saw the same thing
in the field of substance abuse treatment.
Individuals who never worked inside the clinics with the patient population
and limitations on resources, drive interventions. When the schemes failed,
the answer was always the same. The clinical staffs are too stupid, too
lazy, and uncaring and there was nothing wrong with the grand plan.
Does this sound familiar?
Instead of empowering the people working on the front lines to become
research practitioners and the driving force for reform, a group of elite
individuals demand that stupid grand interventions be obeyed. Since the
scheme is always perfect, the poor outcomes must be the fault of the front
line staff even though they never were considered or asked in the first
place.
As long as the media backs up this system and the middle class wants to buy
into it, teachers, social workers, counselors, etc. will be stupid and lazy
and all evaluation and reform will be limited to catching them.
But I know better and I stand with the teachers and my social worker
friends.
Thanks for sharing your frustration. This needs to be exposed and
confronted.
Glenn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wilma de Soto" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Anthony West" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "UnivCity listserv"
<[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 8:56 PM
Subject: Re: [UC] Snakes In A School! Delete Alert: Rant Coming!!
Forgive me, but I am SO sick and tired of those who have NEVER taught
school
be they former students, would be teachers, politicians, attorneys
Educational Psychologists, universities, corporations or whomever
dictating
to teachers and their students how schools have failed, should improve,
could have improved, MUST improve who know nought about what it's like to
be
on the other side of the desk.
MOST importantly, those who do not realize the most important loving and
enmeshed relationships in schools are between students and their teachers.
With a few exceptions, we would KILL for one another.
The main problem is "in loco parentis" was ended.
The "Self-Esteem" movement and the "Every Child Is Special" movement from
Educational Psychologists "who REALLY did not understand NOR had ever
spent
time with kids or know what they are like), started it all.
The "Good Child, Bad Adult" theory has reigned for years. Harsh words,
discipline or an occasional spank? NO! Child Abuse! Low Self-Esteem!
Of course, that should appeal to parents and rightly so.
No parent wants to hear their children they are not perfect.
However, for almost four generations we have had parents who have been
allowed to do whatever they wanted in school.
They have had kids they have not even trained in the least to be prepared
for school. Even those who 'read' feel they are literate but are not as
cognizant as they think.
They DO remark their peers do not read at all, so they are better than
nought.
Kids come to Kindergarten NOT knowing how to write their names, their
letters, numbers which color crayon is red, blue or green.
They DO know in Kindergarten they can get the teacher fired or in deep red
tape if someone tries to socialize them; i.e have them wait their turn,
realize they are not home and they have to yield for the greater good.
If a teacher tries to socialize them as children would understand, NO!
They do not know their addresses (even up to fourth grade), do not know
their phone numbers, how to tell time or measure time cycles, ("My Mom
didn't tell me.)
Everything we've taught them over and over again; through After School
Programs, additional unpaid overtime and extra personal money in order to
make "Adequate Years' Progress" (AYP), for No Child Left Behind.
Not counting nearly a month of school dedicated to Teacher's Professional
Development while the kids who actually take the test are out of school
playing video games, watching TV or running the streets.
No one sees they are fed or bed properly. They are out on the streets way
too late.
In Private Schools and Suburban Schools, it's obvious parents teach their
kids their address, number, letters, colors and have many resources
Philadelphia Public School Children do not have.
What Philadelphia Public School Children DO have and HAVE had are
extremely
qualified, good and dedicated teachers.
We always had to have credentials that Lay Teachers in Parochial Schools
and
Private Schools did not have to have to teach and now even MORE.
"E-NOUGH!"
On 4/1/08 6:46 PM, "Anthony West" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
But they aren't, Glenn. You cite one compulsory "anti" quote from one
grumpy teacher. So what?
The local people aren't "opposing the design." The local people are
opposing an existing high school that is so unsatisfactory that on any
given day, for every two students who is attending classes, one student
is cutting classes. This may be Glenn's dream high school, as a
childless, Penn-affiliated dogwalker. But this dream is not good enough
for us West Philadelphians who actually have teenage children in the
public-school system. Glenn, I love your dogs, but I love our kids as
well. I am "the local people," and so is my son. We live here in West
Philadelphia, as do you.
Every parent and every pupil in West Philadelphia wants a better
education for our young. If we can get it by leveraging the power of
Penn and Drexel -- we still want it. Capeesh? The local people are
supporting any design that might make public education in West
Philadelphia better. You do not speak for the local people, certainly
not us parents. Most Philadelphians have better things to do with their
lives than complain about a university all day long. Don't make your
problem our problem.
-- Tony West
Is this really the way the local people reported at the forum think
about themselves? Is this why they are opposing the design?
Glenn
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