Originally posted on Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates.
Re-posted with permission of original author.
Aloha Bill Gates,
On my generous days, I think that you started out with good intentions to help children be successful and then you got lost somewhere. Most of the time though I realize that where I see children, you see dollars. Where I see children who need nurturing, food, or a safe place to belong, you see dollars.
The students who have touched me during my 39 years + of teaching need me to listen to them, share and guide them through their journeys in school and outside of school. Computers and software programs can not give students any of that. Your dollars have done what I never thought could happen, they have made life worse for children.
Schools are closing, great educators are being worn down daily, standardized tests are being misused to destroy children and their communities. Trust me – in my years I have seen “cure-all” solutions come and go on the pendulum; but nothing compares to what your cronies and you have done with money.
Here’s a thought as I close. When children think about school, do they remember how a computer, a program or money helped them be their best? I think not. Children remember their journeys facilitated by educators who give them a safe, caring environment in which they can succeed and even fail sometimes knowing that it’s ok to try their best!
Every year the first thing I tell my students is that it is my job to keep them safe, physically and academically. It is a sacred trust upon which we build. It is why I am writing you. I won’t give up because I have promised my students, past and future to keep them safe.
Cheryl
A Teacher in Hawaii
Monday, June 24, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
From the BTA Facebook Community
"I'm a little hesitant to post this, but I sense very different levels of information regarding the struggle to reclaim public education from corporate interests. Here goes:
I am proud to be counted among the members of this group. I have fought the fight publicly in other forums, including face to face conversations with "reformyers (to borrow a phrase by the Jersey Jazzman)." I have not read every post here, so please forgive me if I'm restating other ideas.
I taught from 1977 - 1984, left for a 2nd career in corporate America, then returned to the profession in 2001. I've been teaching ever since and just completed my Masters in Education Leadership. My intent was to become a principal; now my intent is to work with my colleagues to reclaim public education.
We have a real opposition. It is well funded, well organized, determined and does not care about us (or kids or parents). Their goal is to use existing laws to gain financially from public education. If the existing laws don't favor them they have the means to create laws that do, and to elect legislators to push their agenda. They have a small piece of truth - that the problems we face, especially in schools in impoverished neighborhoods - are often beyond our ability to overcome.
Their deep pocketed funders include media moguls, business giants and other wealthy folks who truly believe that market forces can make things better for kids while providing profit for those willing to risk investment. So why not? In their minds they have convinced themselves that they have the moral high ground, both economically and socially. We're not fighting people who see themselves as evil, even when Kevin Huffman, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Andrew Cuomo, Arne Duncan,Wendy Kopp, Michele Rhee and their ilk do everything in their power to demoralize and disenfranchise us.
They hate unions, and our unions have not done an effective job countering their message. When Dennis Van Roekel stands on stage with Wendy Kopp, that's a problem. As teachers we try to model civil behavior and encourage the same by our students in our classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, gymnasiums and playgrounds. Our opposition does not play by the same rules. They don't care- they have too much to lose.
Their tactics have set us against each other, parents against us, politicians against us; you know the drill. By saying they put Students First,that they Teach forAmerica,that they want Excellent Education for Everyone, they effectively imply we don't.
They count on the bad economy driving resentment of our pensions and benefits. They count on the reasonable despair of parents whose kids are locked in dangerous schools to drive support for vouchers, charters and choice. They promise the moon by cutting us off at the knees, and to this point, because we play by our classroom rules, we have let them. The good news for us is, their way has not worked for the most part.
If we are to fight effectively, we have to fight on our own terms, not theirs. We will not win their fight, they cannot win ours. Our fight will be to advocate not for teachers, students, parents, administrators or even taxpayers, but to advocate for the PROCESS of teaching and learning. In order to fight we need to develop a set of principles, which we consistently deliver throughout all communication. We need to engage politically on every level and develop alliances of our own. We have to be calm, patient and as determined as our foes, who see us as the problem.
Thanks to the internet, grassroots organizing can be extremely effective - 10000 members in a week. All of us contacting the White House on Monday demanding the removal of Arne Duncan and his replacement with someone who has actually worked successfully in a classroom (which eliminates Michele) is a good start. 10000 phone calls? They know that 10000 calls represents 120000 angry people. The same thing needs to happen on a state level. If the Kochs can buy an election in Wake Forest, we can call Tennesee to support our colleagues.
I will not presume to dictate our talking points and principles, but I humbly suggest a few to get us started:
The process of teaching and learning is not simple
Responsibility is shared by all stakeholder groups
The old ways don't always work for everyone, neither do the new automatically
Standardized tests have value when used properly; they do a tremendous disservice to the process when misused
Kids do not all learn the same thing in the same way at the same time; simply "differentiating instruction" will not guarantee that outcome
Teachers know things
Parents know things
Administrators know things
Politicians know things
Students know things
Policy wonks know things but work for those who will pay them
There are schools that face enormous challenge everyday. They need more support and they still won't win every time
Good education is expensive; bad education is more so
We don't improve the process by punishing teachers
We are not perfect, we are happy to work to improve our craft
Our opposition is formidable. They absolutely have a national strategy that they are executing successfully on a state to state basis.
We have the moral high ground; we need to act that way and proclaim it. Consistently, calmly, relentlessly."
-Mike Kaufman
I am proud to be counted among the members of this group. I have fought the fight publicly in other forums, including face to face conversations with "reformyers (to borrow a phrase by the Jersey Jazzman)." I have not read every post here, so please forgive me if I'm restating other ideas.
I taught from 1977 - 1984, left for a 2nd career in corporate America, then returned to the profession in 2001. I've been teaching ever since and just completed my Masters in Education Leadership. My intent was to become a principal; now my intent is to work with my colleagues to reclaim public education.
We have a real opposition. It is well funded, well organized, determined and does not care about us (or kids or parents). Their goal is to use existing laws to gain financially from public education. If the existing laws don't favor them they have the means to create laws that do, and to elect legislators to push their agenda. They have a small piece of truth - that the problems we face, especially in schools in impoverished neighborhoods - are often beyond our ability to overcome.
Their deep pocketed funders include media moguls, business giants and other wealthy folks who truly believe that market forces can make things better for kids while providing profit for those willing to risk investment. So why not? In their minds they have convinced themselves that they have the moral high ground, both economically and socially. We're not fighting people who see themselves as evil, even when Kevin Huffman, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Andrew Cuomo, Arne Duncan,Wendy Kopp, Michele Rhee and their ilk do everything in their power to demoralize and disenfranchise us.
They hate unions, and our unions have not done an effective job countering their message. When Dennis Van Roekel stands on stage with Wendy Kopp, that's a problem. As teachers we try to model civil behavior and encourage the same by our students in our classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, gymnasiums and playgrounds. Our opposition does not play by the same rules. They don't care- they have too much to lose.
Their tactics have set us against each other, parents against us, politicians against us; you know the drill. By saying they put Students First,that they Teach forAmerica,that they want Excellent Education for Everyone, they effectively imply we don't.
They count on the bad economy driving resentment of our pensions and benefits. They count on the reasonable despair of parents whose kids are locked in dangerous schools to drive support for vouchers, charters and choice. They promise the moon by cutting us off at the knees, and to this point, because we play by our classroom rules, we have let them. The good news for us is, their way has not worked for the most part.
If we are to fight effectively, we have to fight on our own terms, not theirs. We will not win their fight, they cannot win ours. Our fight will be to advocate not for teachers, students, parents, administrators or even taxpayers, but to advocate for the PROCESS of teaching and learning. In order to fight we need to develop a set of principles, which we consistently deliver throughout all communication. We need to engage politically on every level and develop alliances of our own. We have to be calm, patient and as determined as our foes, who see us as the problem.
Thanks to the internet, grassroots organizing can be extremely effective - 10000 members in a week. All of us contacting the White House on Monday demanding the removal of Arne Duncan and his replacement with someone who has actually worked successfully in a classroom (which eliminates Michele) is a good start. 10000 phone calls? They know that 10000 calls represents 120000 angry people. The same thing needs to happen on a state level. If the Kochs can buy an election in Wake Forest, we can call Tennesee to support our colleagues.
I will not presume to dictate our talking points and principles, but I humbly suggest a few to get us started:
The process of teaching and learning is not simple
Responsibility is shared by all stakeholder groups
The old ways don't always work for everyone, neither do the new automatically
Standardized tests have value when used properly; they do a tremendous disservice to the process when misused
Kids do not all learn the same thing in the same way at the same time; simply "differentiating instruction" will not guarantee that outcome
Teachers know things
Parents know things
Administrators know things
Politicians know things
Students know things
Policy wonks know things but work for those who will pay them
There are schools that face enormous challenge everyday. They need more support and they still won't win every time
Good education is expensive; bad education is more so
We don't improve the process by punishing teachers
We are not perfect, we are happy to work to improve our craft
Our opposition is formidable. They absolutely have a national strategy that they are executing successfully on a state to state basis.
We have the moral high ground; we need to act that way and proclaim it. Consistently, calmly, relentlessly."
-Mike Kaufman
Thank you, Dr. Ravitch
This blog received a mention on Diane Ravitch's blog and a brief statement of support.
We wish to thank her for that.
Thank you, Dr. Ravitch.
-J. Harris
BTA Blog Team Lead
We wish to thank her for that.
Thank you, Dr. Ravitch.
-J. Harris
BTA Blog Team Lead
And Still I Teach (adapted from "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou)
By Sue Doherty
Originally posted in the BTA
You may paint me as a union thug
who’s nothing but a leech.
You may say I’m dumb and greedy
but still, with love, I’ll teach.
Does my experience upset you?
Why are you filled with such hate?
‘Cause I don’t need your manuals
to hook students with canned bait?
Just like Socrates and Montessori,
with the certainty of each,
just like Annie Sullivan, with passion,
still I’ll teach.
Do you want to see me standardized?
Head bowed, voice monotone,
following a corporate script of
knowledge stripped to the bone?
Does my individuality offend you?
Don’t you let it get you down,
‘cause I teach like H.D. Thoreau’s
residing in my crown.
You may smear me with your media lies,
you may displace me with your foundation’s reach,
you may diminish my voice with your money piles,
but still, with truth, I’ll teach.
Does my honesty upset you?
Does it dismay you to know
that I’m a thinking human being
who sees through your selfish show?
In neglected and isolated country schools,
I teach.
In leafy and high pressure suburban schools,
I teach.
In overcrowded and decaying city schools,
I teach.
I’m a wise ocean
in tune with the sun,
ready to save my students
from a tornado or a gun.
Straining under constantly changing mandates and high stakes tests,
I teach.
Stepping into my classroom where youthful energy never rests,
I teach
Knowing that learning is messy and social and sometimes wild,
in my room, I’m the guide and mentor for every child.
I teach,
I teach,
I teach.
Originally posted in the BTA
You may paint me as a union thug
who’s nothing but a leech.
You may say I’m dumb and greedy
but still, with love, I’ll teach.
Does my experience upset you?
Why are you filled with such hate?
‘Cause I don’t need your manuals
to hook students with canned bait?
Just like Socrates and Montessori,
with the certainty of each,
just like Annie Sullivan, with passion,
still I’ll teach.
Do you want to see me standardized?
Head bowed, voice monotone,
following a corporate script of
knowledge stripped to the bone?
Does my individuality offend you?
Don’t you let it get you down,
‘cause I teach like H.D. Thoreau’s
residing in my crown.
You may smear me with your media lies,
you may displace me with your foundation’s reach,
you may diminish my voice with your money piles,
but still, with truth, I’ll teach.
Does my honesty upset you?
Does it dismay you to know
that I’m a thinking human being
who sees through your selfish show?
In neglected and isolated country schools,
I teach.
In leafy and high pressure suburban schools,
I teach.
In overcrowded and decaying city schools,
I teach.
I’m a wise ocean
in tune with the sun,
ready to save my students
from a tornado or a gun.
Straining under constantly changing mandates and high stakes tests,
I teach.
Stepping into my classroom where youthful energy never rests,
I teach
Knowing that learning is messy and social and sometimes wild,
in my room, I’m the guide and mentor for every child.
I teach,
I teach,
I teach.
Why So Many Teacher Are Claiming the Label "Badass"
Originally posted by Mark Naison on his blog: With a Brooklyn Accent
Reposted with Permission
Many people, including some teachers, are confused as to why so many teachers are proudly calling themselves
"badass" and joining a group which calls itself "The Badass Teachers Association.'
While I cannot speak for all, or even most, of the people who have taken that step, I have been in communication with enough of these teacher activists to offer an explanation.
How would you feel after working hard all your life, and putting your heart and soul into a helping profession, people in influence have identified you, before the entire nation, as responsible for some of our society's worst failures and said you were spoiled, lazy, overpaid, and incompetent.
Worse yet, after subjecting you to this public demonization, they ram through policies which undermine your job security, subject you to evaluation procedures which violate both due process and common sense, and seek to script and micromanage what you do in the classroom as to make it virtually impossible to inspire and motivate your students, and in some instance subject them to levels of testing that reach the proportions of child abuse.
Then to pile insult on injury, when you protest against these policies, in the most reasoned and respectful tones, mount petition drives, organize marches and demonstrations, political leaders laugh at you, disregard your complaints, and systematically exclude you from every policy making body or forum that shapes what is going on in the nation's schools.
No matter what you do, it seems, to politicians, businessmen, billionaire philanthropists, your comments will always be rendered irrelevant because they have convinced themselves, without the slightest real understanding of what you do that you are a "Bad Teacher."
Given that, it is a logical step to take a label of opprobrium, flip the script and turn it into a mark of pride. Yes we are Bad, but not Bad in the traditional sense, but "Bad" in the way that African Americans flipped the script in the 60's, Bad as being not just good, but GREAT!
So Badass Teachers are teachers tired of pleading for respect. They are demanding respect and demanding the right to redefine the language used to talk about them
And that is a first important step to demanding a BIG place at the table in shaping education policy.
Reposted with Permission
Many people, including some teachers, are confused as to why so many teachers are proudly calling themselves
"badass" and joining a group which calls itself "The Badass Teachers Association.'
While I cannot speak for all, or even most, of the people who have taken that step, I have been in communication with enough of these teacher activists to offer an explanation.
How would you feel after working hard all your life, and putting your heart and soul into a helping profession, people in influence have identified you, before the entire nation, as responsible for some of our society's worst failures and said you were spoiled, lazy, overpaid, and incompetent.
Worse yet, after subjecting you to this public demonization, they ram through policies which undermine your job security, subject you to evaluation procedures which violate both due process and common sense, and seek to script and micromanage what you do in the classroom as to make it virtually impossible to inspire and motivate your students, and in some instance subject them to levels of testing that reach the proportions of child abuse.
Then to pile insult on injury, when you protest against these policies, in the most reasoned and respectful tones, mount petition drives, organize marches and demonstrations, political leaders laugh at you, disregard your complaints, and systematically exclude you from every policy making body or forum that shapes what is going on in the nation's schools.
No matter what you do, it seems, to politicians, businessmen, billionaire philanthropists, your comments will always be rendered irrelevant because they have convinced themselves, without the slightest real understanding of what you do that you are a "Bad Teacher."
Given that, it is a logical step to take a label of opprobrium, flip the script and turn it into a mark of pride. Yes we are Bad, but not Bad in the traditional sense, but "Bad" in the way that African Americans flipped the script in the 60's, Bad as being not just good, but GREAT!
So Badass Teachers are teachers tired of pleading for respect. They are demanding respect and demanding the right to redefine the language used to talk about them
And that is a first important step to demanding a BIG place at the table in shaping education policy.
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