Megan West - BATs Letters to Obama

Dear Mr President,
I am writing this letter out of desperation. I have been a part of this group since its inception. I have followed every post, read personal stories and stayed very familiar with what is going on around the whole country regarding Common Core and education reform. Each day, these stories of what is happening to public education bring me to tears.
We, the teachers are the ones y...ou really need to listen to. We are the experts who are at the coal face each day. To see a child crumble over taking a meaningless test is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. I am lucky to see this only twice a year. Some of my colleagues have informed me that some schools are testing children more than 20 times each year. And I thought I had it bad! The United States has hit crisis point and you have left education in the hands of someone like Arne Duncan. Seriously???
I am a passionate advocate for public education. I am a teacher with 18 years experience. I have watched the erosion of education because there are some who should not have their finger in the pie. I have thought many times about quitting but I cannot. I believe in our children too much. So I will fight alongside my fellow BATs for the restoration of my profession.
However, I will do this from across the pacific because I am in Australia. This is where I live and the state of play in your country serves as a serious warning on a GLOBAL level. I have never taught in America and sadly I would never consider it.
My country is only a step behind yours with this stupid reform. I will fight it at every opportunity. We have an idiot in govt with his idiot cronies. They will copy you. Because they cannot think for themselves.
Please Mr Obama, now is the time for you to take a deep breath, be brave and take a real risk. One that you know in your heart is the right thing to do. I urge you to do this now. The fate of not just your country's children is in your hands, but countless millions around the world. What do you want your legacy to be??
Kind regards,
Megan West
Teacher- Australia.
Ps. Arne Duncan / Dianne Ravitch. That choice would be a no-brainer methinks....

Why Alabama Doesn’t Need Michelle Rhee
     by BATs – Marla Kilfoyle and Terri Michal
 
The corporate reform agenda Michelle Rhee represents is NOT about Civil Rights!
 
Michele Rhee does not promote educational equality for the African American community. She and her StudentsFirst organization profits while schools in predominantly urban minority communities are being closed around the nation. It is beyond comprehension that Rhee would speak during any celebration of the Civil Rights movement and that she be considered to speak at the 16th Street Baptist Church where 4 young girls were murdered in a bombing spurred by hate and prejudice. Let’s consider what Rhee has done to further civil rights – nothing. In fact, Rhee along with Rep. Jay Love and Charlotte Meadows (a former StudentsFirst Lobbyist) helped to push for passage of the Alabama Accountability Act which opened the door for Charters in the state. The problem is that these charters are not designed to elevate the poor and/or minority.  In fact the Southern Poverty Law Center is currently challenging the law because it contends that transfers are inaccessible to Alabama’s poor families.  Low income parents can’t afford private school tuition even with the new tax credit but to make matters even worse, it siphons off money that should be spent on resourcing and assisting failing schools in these communities and transfers it to the private sector.
 
Let’s look at the effects Michelle Rhee and her Corporate Reform agenda has had in other urban communities around the United States:
INCREASED ACHIEVEMENT GAP IN D.C. 
The most disturbing effect of Ms. Rhee’s reform effort is the widening gap in academic performance between low-income and upper-income students, a meaningful statistic in Washington, where race and income are highly correlated. On the most recent NAEP test (2011), only about 10% of low-income students in grades 4 and 8 scored ‘proficient’ in reading and math. Since 2007, the performance gap has increased by 29 percentile points in 8th grade reading, by 44 in 4th grade reading, by 45 in 8th grade math, and by 72 in 4th grade math. Although these numbers are also influenced by changes in high- and low-income populations, the gaps are so extreme that it seems clear that low-income students, most of them African-American, generally did not fare well during Ms. Rhee’s time in Washington. Washington’s high school graduation rate is the lowest in the nation. Rhee closed more than 2 dozen schools.*
CHEATING AND BUDGET SCANDAL THAT DEMEANS STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN D.C. 
March 2011 USA Today reported on a rash of ‘wrong-to-right’ erasures on standardized tests and the Chancellor’s reluctance to investigate. With subsequent tightened test security, Rhee’s dramatic test scores gains have all but disappeared. Consider Aiton Elementary: The year before Ms. Rhee arrived, 18% of Aiton students scored proficient in math and 31% in reading. Scores soared to nearly 60% on her watch, but by 2012 both reading and math scores had plunged more than 40 percentile points.*
One of the first things that happened during Rhee’s time in D.C. was that she announced that there was a multi-million dollar shortfall in the education budget. Shortly thereafter, she fired 241 D.C.P.S teachers, citing the need to make huge budget cuts. After the firings, the monies were suddenly found. Rhee and her CFO, Noah Webman, said that the problem with the missing millions was “accounting mistake.” Once the lost money was restored to the education coffer’s books, Rhee went on a hiring spree, filling many vacancies with….you guessed it!…Teach for America teachers. Later, Webman said, under oath, in a hearing with the DC city council, that he and Rhee had devised the “accounting error.” Currently, one of the teachers fired is pursuing a fraud charge against Rhee. This past April, a DC judge has said that there is evidence enough for the case to move forward.*  Furthermore, Rhee’s history as Chancellor of D.C. has left children, predominantly children of color, in a school district that has the lowest graduation rate in the country. 
DID NOT PROVIDE STABLE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE CHILDREN
Ms. Rhee appointed 91 principals in her three years as chancellor, 39 of whom no longer held those jobs in August 2010. Some chose to leave; others, on one-year contracts, were fired for not producing results quickly enough. Several schools are reported to have had three principals in three years.*  Child psychiatrists have long known that, to succeed, children need stability. Because many of the District’s children face multiple stresses at home and in their neighborhoods, schools are often that rock. However, in Ms. Rhee’s tumultuous reign, thousands of students attended schools where teachers and principals were essentially interchangeable parts, a situation that must have contributed to the instability rather than alleviating it.*
FINANCING PUBLIC SCHOOL CLOSINGS AND PRIVATIZATION OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Rhee flies around the country donating money to politicians. She does not promote educational equality for the African American community. She and her StudentsFirst organization supports charters and voucher systems. This educational agenda has supported the closing of urban schools, predominantly in African American communities (Chicago, Philadelphia), instead of providing resources to keep these community schools open as Beacons of Light for kids that live in these neighborhoods. 
*CITATION
John Merrow – “A Story About Michelle Rhee That No One Will Print” http://takingnote.learningmatters.tv/?p=6490
 
The bottom line, our urban communities CANNOT be improved by closing our schools, firing our teachers, and diverting funds to private organizations.  They also CANNOT be improved by hiring Teach For America teachers, who are usually underqualified and unprepared to teach to the whole child, or through increased testing. (Testing IS NOT teaching!)  What can help? Programs like The Leader In Me* that debuted at A.B. Combs Elementary School in North Carolina and is now being implemented worldwide or Alabama’s own Better Basics* program that is currently implemented in only 43 schools in central AL despite its successes. We invest more than 8 million dollars a year in Alabama on testing alone…Isn’t it time we invest in our STUDENTS?
 
*CITATION
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Schools:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1861074,00.html
Better Basics:
http://betterbasics.org/programs/
 
The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was thrust into the public eye when, in 1963, a bomb exploded killing four innocent black girls.  The members of the black congregation were targeted because of the color of their skin.  This was a turning point in the civil rights movement.
 
Now, 50 years later, Michelle Rhee wants to be a part of a panel discussing civil rights and education that is taking place in the church .  Michelle Rhee knows nothing of civil rights. This must be stopped.  Please contact Rep. Terri Sewell at (205) 254-1960 Twitter @RepTerriSewell and Mayor William Bell at (205)254-2283
His Executive Secretary’s email is kelli.solomon@birminghamal.gov It seems they have no twitter account.  There is NO direct way to get in touch with the mayor.  Governor Bentley may be contacted by twitter @GovernorBentley  and by phone  (334) 242-7100
 
Marla Kilfoyle  is a teacher, an activist, and one of the founders of the Badass Teachers Association. She lives in Long Island, New York.
Terri Michal is an activist, the founder of SOS Support our Students and an Administrator at Badass Teachers Association. She lives in Huntsville, AL. You can contact her at somewhere_itn@hotmail.com

WINNER OF THE BAT POETRY CONTEST - JOSE GONZALEZ!

As a kid I was raised in poverty and hoods
Played in the streets where fiends and gang members stood
My step father was a drunk intoxicated with hatred and rage
It hurts to remember this book of my life and its page
But I must endure the tears and the pain
If I wish that something from this can be gained
See for us school was at first an escape
A world of teaching and learning, music and paint
As I got older I struggled thro tears of frustration
Problems and issues at home attacked my own education
The same can be said for many students of life
Trying to focus and smile but it just felt like a lie
But we made it and learned and its only because
Our teachers were kind, trustworthy and held firm to their cause
To teach and to show that despite our issues we could succeed
We were more than just data and numbers on paper of green
We were students blessed to have teachers that connected to teach
Cant read? Cant spell? Cant count? There was no defeat!
They took us by hand, with a smile of love and taught us wit patience
They smiled as we learned, they cheered us and waited
The joy could be felt when the student looked and said
Thank you my teacher my mind you have fed
Every student is different, different problems and pain
You cant teach us unless u understand the tears and the stains
To fail us because we don't reach the scores that they want
And not give the teachers the chance to teach as they want
Is stupid and cruel, foolish idiotic
Last time that I checked Arne didn't have these lessons, how ironic
I wonder if Arne is really as smart as he feels
I mean that's what he says about our kids in this field
Rigorous testing to pass or fail our children?
Lets just take our time as our teachers did, find their dreams and lets build them.... Jose G ^O^

Jose Gonzalez

What if we fought back against Race To The Top ?
What if we said no to standardized Testing?
What if we said Poverty matters?
What if we said NCLB failed miserably to bring equity to our schools?
What if we said children are more than test scores?...
What if we closing local schools is not a sign of success?
What if we asked for an accounting of every single NCLB trillion dollar spent?
What if we said class size matters?
What if we all opted out of the single biggest education policy failure in history?
What if we stood together?

Here's to the resisters, the fighters, the SOSers, the Opt Outers, the BATs.
To those rank and file teachers and parents in Moral Monday Carolinians, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia who are occupying our boards of education, our legislatures, and our streets.
I salute all of you beautiful people refusing to say yes madness!
Silence and apathy are not principles of democracy, but speaking up, standing up, and marching are.
Come join us in this struggle to take our schools from the money changers.

Jesse The Walking Man Turner

The Obama Administration's "Scorched Earth Policy" for Urban Schools
By Dr. Mark Naison

The Obama Administration, in the five years it has been in office, has pursued an Education "Scorched Earth" policy in major urban centers, closing public schools en masse and replacing them with charter schools. And for the most part, Democratic Mayors have enthusiastically supported this policy. Only in the last year, there has been finally been some resistance to this policy, by newly elected Mayors in New York and Pittsburgh. That resistance must spread if public education is to survive and be revitalized in Urban America. Electing anti-testing, anti-charter school and pro public school Mayors in big cities should be a major priority of activists in the last three years of the Obama Presidency, along with building the multi-partisan movement against the Common Core Standards. That is the only way we can build public schools into strong community institutions where creative teaching and learning is practiced and honored.

 

Dr. Mark Naison is one of the Co-founders of BATs with Priscilla Sanstead

Children Are Immigrants

Shella Zelenz

There is a discussion going around the progressive education movement that addresses the manner in which children are treated and looked upon. They use the term adultism to refer to the behavior of the adults in reference to their treatment of the children. This definition typically revolves around the concept that the adults, in some shape or form, look at the children as less than or lesser able than an adult in performing or understanding. I would like to address this topic in a much different manner.

The treatment of children is currently very hard-wired into our societal norms and behaviors. There are parenting books and teacher trainings that address discipline and classroom management. What isn't discussed is the vocabulary utilized and the insinuated assumption of lowered expectation or cognizant ability. On the same venue, we see reactionary disciplinary treatment based upon the child's less than desirable behavior or productivity. I have yet to see a single professional address the fact that the "dumbed down" vocabulary used when speaking with children actually contributes to their anti-authoritarian behavior. In other words, the disciplinary challenges faced by the parent or teacher are not the child's fault. The adult created it by the very means they use to be gentle or nurturing to the child.

I would like to address this viewpoint from a position where people can relate more closely. I am not advocating harsh stances with children. I am not advocating abusive language or toughen up assumptions. I AM advocating treating children as though they are immigrants new to this country. What does that mean? Well, if you were traveling abroad and came to a country where you knew the language minimally, but were not very proficient, would you want to be talked down to as though your intellectual skills were less or would you prefer the native speak to you in language that is clearer? Would the people of the other country treat you as though you were incapable of handling yourself in their country? Do  you think they might find themselves being quite helpful when you have questions or seem lost? Do they offer tips without assuming you aren't capable of solving the problem? 

Children have to be able to communicate with any member of society regardless of where they are located. If they fear speaking to others without having a mediator involved, they are not developing healthy communication skills which will impede their professional development of networking skills, presentation skills, sales skills, and leadership skills. This also hinders their ability to develop healthy relationships with others. If they are never allowed to assert their feelings in a healthy manner (defined as being respected for feeling that way and given full authority to speak their concerns with a room full of people who also will be offered the same respect for asserting their own thoughts and opinions and know they are taken seriously), which acknowledges full personal awareness of their own thoughts and contribution to the scenario, what evolves is reactionary behavior. If a child is treated as less than he is, he will live up to that expectation. If he is ordered to behave in a certain way (which insinuates he is less than he is), he will live up to that expectation (the expectation that he has to be ordered around and is incapable of functioning respectfully on his own). If he is given authority over his own voice and body, knowing full well that everyone in the room looks at him as a person new to the country who is only trying to learn the best way to navigate the city, you will find a confident and hugely respectful individual eager to take on bigger challenges as he grows in his supported confidence.

Blame all you want, but only 2 of your 5 fingers are NOT pointing at you

Shella Zelenz

I am going to write about accountability today. This is a highly unpopular term and the hair will stand up on end and the claws will come out to play, but I stand firm in my insistence on bringing this up. You can blame all you want, but always remember that only two of the fingers are pointing away while 3 are pointing directly at you. 

I am not a fan of self-abuse. Beating oneself up for not being adequate, or good enough or not stellar enough is a game of self-defeat. I am also not a fan of jumping to the orders of outsiders who assert their authority over our minds and physical movement. I AM a fan of accountability of self. That means ALL parties must always be consciously aware of their own contributions to the scenario. 

This means that you can say that the reason the students don’t perform well is because of poverty, malnutrition, abuse, or behavioral condition. You can find a myriad of ways to excuse behavior, performance or effort. What it all boils down to at the end of the day was how did you respond to it? You can’t control the external factors of ANYTHING in the world. Absolutely nothing. So what can you do? You can be CONSCIOUS all day, every day, about every single thought and action that you offer the world. Your conscious awareness of self DOES ripple out and affect every single person you come into contact with.

Your students will be calmer. They may test your reaction to be sure that you mean it, but if you are calm and conscious in your response to a scenario, they will feel it. It has a certain human resonation that all people can relate to. Conscious words mean more than loaded lectures and highly planned corrective measures. Reactionary punishments are the exact opposite of conscious response. That is why behavior never improves. That is why resentments build. That is when more dangerous behavior is bred. 

Learn to be acutely self-aware of every emotional reaction you have, of your inner-dialogue, and of what comes out of you. Then decide if that is really what you wish to contribute to the world. You don’t need advice. You’ll know. It won’t feel good. It will feel pretty awful. What you need to decide is how to reprogram your own inner dialogue so that what comes out of you IS conscious. That one step will redefine every professional and personal relationship in your life. You can do the same with words that are spoken to you. If they don’t feel right when you hear them, feel them out. Find out why you reacted the way you did. Get to the bottom of it. It isn’t about the other person. Your reaction is YOURS. The same is true of your students. If you want to see a difference in student achievement, start with yourself. Be that example. They will grow magnificently in your example. 

Shella is the founder of Zelenz Education Consulting. She is a 17 year veteran teacher who has chosen to create an option for teachers, parents and students to ensure their highest and best outcomes are achieved and respected by honoring what works best for them rather than what they are told is best for them. More can be learned about her team at http://zelenz.com