This is for every teacher who refuses to be blamed for the failure of our society to erase poverty and inequality, and refuses to accept assessments, tests and evaluations imposed by those who have contempt for real teaching and learning.
My administrators tell us "it's the noble thing to do."
As an English teacher at a Title 1 school, we are expected to put in all necessary efforts without pay to get the standardized scores up, write new curriculum for CCSS, and if we don't it is marked on our evaluation and we are chastised in front of everyone during meetings and we are considered selfish and unprofessional.
We tutor for the...standardized tests for three months before it, after school, no pay, and our scores go up and they give us a breakfast of bagels one morning and say "good job" while patting us on the head like dogs. It's offensive how they value our time.
They won't pay us during the summer to write curriculum for CCSS because by law they have to pay 22.50 per hour, so they are waiting for school to start so they can just force us to do it during our "free" time. I don't know how much longer I can just do the "noble" thing without being valued. They take advantage of our teachers' good hearts.
I will do anything to help my students, but it would be nice to not only be able to pay my bills, but also have a personal life.
A BAT responds to the TN Board of Education linking all teacher evaluations and tenure, of all teachers regardless of grade level, subject, or Spec. Ed. student status, AND all teachers' salaries to standardized test scores.
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Where was the [Tennessee] BOE (Board of Ed.) when I stayed after school to phone DCS (Dept. of Child Services) after comforting a little boy who shared that daddy had beaten mommy the night before?
Where was the BOE when I was on the phone with DCS after a child arrived at school wearing the same dirty clothes from the previous day stating that he fell asleep in his clothes and shoes after having nothing for dinner and now his feet hurt?
Where was the BOE when I was rushing to WalMart to purchase shoes for a little boy whose shoes were 2 sizes too small or to purchase a coat for a little girl that is cold and does not have a coat?
Where was the BOE when I reached into my already stretched income to buy food for a child?
Where was the BOE when I contacted everyone I know in search of bunk beds after a child informed me that he and his 2 brothers all sleep on the floor because they do not have beds?
Where was the BOE when I did without something for my family so that I could buy things to enrich the curriculum in my classroom?
There is a lot more that I could say.
Unfortunately, the BOE is far too busy to listen.
There is a great deal more to teaching than filling in bubbles.
Originally posted on With a Brooklyn Accent July 3, 2013
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Many people have criticized the "Badass Teachers Association" for its unprofessional sounding name and in your face image, but the meteoric rise of this group didn't come out of nowhere. All over the country educators have faced policies imposed from above by education officials-political appointees all- which violate their best practices and common sense, but have had no success whatsoever modifying these policies by writing position papers, mounting petition drives or testifying before the few open forums where such policies are discussed
Let's use New York State as an example. During the last year, the Governor, the Legislature, and the State Education Department have imposed on school districts throughout the state protocols for teacher evaluation that are expensive, complicated, time consuming, unfair, and in the judgment of most principals in the state, completely unworkable. Some of the best principals in the state organized to challenge the new system. They wrote an extensive, well researched critique of the policies, circulated a principals letter with thousands of signatures, got even more signatures on a parents letter, and tried to testify at allegedly "open hearings" held by the state's "Education Reform Commission," but found themselves marginalized and rebuffed. The policies have been literally rammed down the throat of school districts by the Governor, who now have to cope with massive demoralization of teachers and administrators, the smothering of creative pedagogy in favor of "teaching to the test" and the cancellation of beloved art, music and sports programs to pay for the unfunded mandates the new system requires.
This misapplication and intensification of high stakes testing provoked a huge statewide test revolt organized by parents, concentrated in Long Island, the Hudson Valley and Western New York, as well as a broad based movement against Common Core Standards, but is it any wonder that teachers, whose union leaders reluctantly supported the plan, are also rising up?
Teachers and children's lives are being destroyed every day in New York State and some teachers decided that maybe a new, more confrontational style was required to deal with the arrogance of policy makers and the astro turf, billionaire supported education policy groups behind the new policies. So Badass Teachers Association was born, fueled by that rage and disappointment.
That is touched a chord with teachers throughout the nation, and the world, says something about how much concentrated power, and concentrated wealth, has undermined even the the pretense of democratic discussion regarding education policies.
Originally posted a With a Brooklyn Accent July 3, 2013
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Dear Members of the Badass Teachers Association,
I am honored to join your group.
The best hope for the future of our society, of public education, and of the education profession is that people stand up and resist.
Say "no." Say it loud and say it often.
Teachers must resist, because you care about your students, and you care about your profession. You became a teacher to make a difference in the lives of children, not to take orders and obey the dictates of someone who doesn't know your students.
Parents must resist, to protect their children from the harm inflicted on them by high-stakes testing.
Administrators must resist, because their job is changing from that of coach to enforcer of rules and regulations. Instead of inspiring, supporting, and leading their staff, they are expected to crack the whip of authority.
School board members must resist, because the federal government is usurping their ability to make decisions that are right for their schools and their communities.
Students must resist because their education and their future are being destroyed by those who would force them to be judged solely by standardized tests.
Everyone who cares about the future of our democracy must resist, because public education is under attack, and public education is a foundation stone of our democracy. We must resist the phony rhetoric of "No Child Left Behind," which leaves every child behind, and we must resist the phony rhetoric of "Race to the Top," which makes high-stakes testing the be-all and end-all of schooling. The very notion of a "race to the top" is inconsistent with our democratic idea of equality of educational opportunity.
We live in an era of ignorant policy shaped by politicians who have never taught a day in their lives.
We live in a time when politicians and policymakers think that all children will get higher test scores if they are tested incessantly. They think that students who can’t clear a four-foot bar will jump higher if the bar is raised to six feet.
We live in a time when entrepreneurs are eyeing the schools and their budgets as a source of profit, a chance to monetize the children, an emerging market. Make no mistake: They want to make education more cost-effective by eliminating your profession and eliminating you. Their ideal would be 100 children in front of computers, monitored by classroom aides.
You must resist, because if you do not, we will lose public education in the United States and the teaching profession will become a job, not a profession. What is happening today is not about "reform" or even "improvement," it is about cutting costs, reducing the status of teachers, and removing from education every last shred of the joy of learning.
It is time to resist.
Badass Teachers, as you resist, be creative. Writing letters to the editor is good but it is not enough. Writing letters to the President is good, but it is not enough.
Be creative. The members of the Providence Student Union have led the way. They staged a zombie march in front of the Rhode Island Department of Education to demonstrate their opposition to the use of a standardized test as a high school graduation protest. They invited 60 accomplished professionals to take the released items from the test, and most failed. This convincingly demonstrated the absurdity of using the test as a requirement for graduation. When the state commissioner of education who was the main backer of the tests scheduled her annual “state of education” speech, the students scheduled their first “state of the student” speech.
Act together. A single nail gets hammered. When all the nails stick up, the people with the hammers run away. When the teachers of Garfield High School in Seattle boycotted the MAP test, they won: the test was canceled and no one faced retribution.
Be brave. When you stand together and raise your voices, you are powerful.
Ever wonder how teachers spend
their summer vacation? Many people think since school is out teachers lounge
around by the pool sipping frozen drinks catching up on some summer reading.
The reality is many teachers work a second or third job during the school year
and especially during the summer. Others use the break in teaching to take
professional development courses that are required to keep their license up to
date. And many spend the summer break
preparing for next year while spending much needed time with their friends and
families. This summer 20,000 teachers decided
to do something else…they joined the Badass Teachers Association.
Unlike other Facebook groups this
one grew faster than anyone could imagine. With over 1500 members in four short
days it became obvious that teachers wanted to be a part of this. Now only two
weeks old the group has over 20,000 members and continues to grow each day with
teachers from every state and even a few countries represented. Some might say
it is the name that drew teachers in. Although some teachers are not
comfortable being called a badass, others have reclaimed the name as a badge of
honor. Instead of thinking of a badass
as something negative, many find comfort in the Urban Dictionary definition
that includes unspoken rules for being badass such as, “A badass does not give
up. Badasses will always push themselves for the better, no matter how hard it
gets.” and “A badass is not a jerk. A badass does not prey on the weak, and
shows kindness in return to those who are kind.” By accepting the title of
badass many teachers have found their voice in a time where many seek to keep
teachers silent.
People might have joined because
of the name but many have stayed because of the mission. Founded by Dr. Mark Naison, Priscilla
Sanstead, and Marla Kilfoye, the mission of the Badass Teachers Association
(BAT) is “to give voice to every teacher who refuses to be blamed for the
failure of our society to erase poverty and inequality through education. BAT
members refuse to accept assessments, tests and evaluations created and imposed
by corporate driven entities that have contempt for authentic teaching and
learning.” Given the hostile rhetoric that is hurled at teachers by corporate
reformers it should not come as a surprise that teachers might seek refuge in a
group that seeks to give them a voice. As their profession is blamed for the
failures of society and demands for more autonomy and fair pay are met with
accusations of being a union thug, the time has come for teachers to say enough
is enough.
From Chicago to Philadelphia
public schools are facing a multitude of problems. Budget shortfalls, school
closures, dramatic increases in standardized testing, and the push for a
national curriculum are just a few of the issues plaguing public education.
Through all the policies and new initiatives teachers are left trying to do
what they do best…educate all children. And as more and more children grow up
in poverty the devastating effects become harder and harder to overcome. Education was once thought of as the Great
Equalizer. In a society that aspired for meritocracy, education was seen as the
vehicle through which to ensure everyone had a chance at the American Dream. As
poverty grows and the economy remains stagnate many are quick to blame public
schools and teachers for the failings of society. Those who cling to the myth
of meritocracy fail to see the inequalities that keep the American Dream out of
reach for many whose only mistake was being born to the wrong parents. Teachers can educate, coach, mentor, and
inspire but they cannot be expected to overcome the effects of poverty and
oppression on their own.
In spite of the challenges facing
public education, teachers are not the type to give up. Some could not dream of doing anything else
and others hope to see the profession return to a time where corporate
influences did not control the narrative.
And with the desire for change an idea has sparked a movement and
teachers have found a place to share their voice, collaborate with others, and
engage in political actions. Since the group has formed members have
participated in a call-in to the White House urging President Obama to remove
Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education and this week members information blitzed
the National Education Association (NEA) during their annual meeting urging
them to withdraw their support for the Common Core Standards and to put an end
to the corporate influences that seek to turn public education into a profit
making entity.
Only time will tell how far this
group will go and how far their voice will reach. For now it is a place for
teachers to find strength in numbers.
Co-founder Marla Kilfoye shared this with a reporter from TakePart, “I want BAT
to show everyone that we are not going away quietly, that we see the true
agenda and it isn't about better education. It is about profit and privatizing
our public school system.” Teachers have one of the most important
responsibilities to our society and for many to teach is a calling not just a
job. But the one thing we must all do is
to find our voice and to demand to be seen and heard as professionals in our
field. If you think you got what it
takes to be a badass teacher, join us today!
I was trying to come up with a good analogy for why tweeting
can be so satisfying, so nearly-cathartic for reaching out and touching those
who are doing their best to suck all the joy out of my chosen profession. And
then I remembered this clip from Family Guy.
I am Stewie when I Twitter-bomb. His long-suffering mother, Lois, could be Arne Duncan,
Bill Gates, Michelle Rhee, any reform-happy, smiling glad-hander or technocrat who’s
got a Twitter account. Like Lois, people get really riled when they are
bombarded with annoyance and questions and criticism. To wit: on June 24, BTA
members lit up the White House phones with calls for Duncan’s removal. THE VERY
NEXT DAY, Duncan
made a point to defend common core and dress down the media for not asking
more questions of the likes of us who may disagree with Duncan. Today, July 2,
the NEA shut down their phone lines after BTA members launched a switchboard
assault on president Dennis van Roeckel’s comments at NEA RA concerning collective bargaining (against it) and Common Core (all in). BTA and other supporters of public education made a big enough noise as to illicit defensive reactions from both parties. These people who
are currently pillaging public education are still people. And we can still get under their
skin.
Once again, I’d like to make a disclaimer that I am not an
expert at this, but I know enough to make noise, garner support, and hopefully,
get some media outlets involved.
Set it up
It’s free. All you need is an email address. You may want to
consider taking some precautionary measures when setting up your account, especially
if you feel your job could be on the line if you are speaking out against your
district’s policies. A popular convention I’ve noticed among
the people I follow who choose to use their real names as their Twitter ID’s is
a disclaimer on their profile page: “My views are my own and do not reflect the
views of my employer” or something to that effect.
Who you talking at?
When you begin, you won’t have “followers”, but that’s OK.
What you do have is the ability to send a tweet to the attention of specific
people or groups. The easiest way to find a person’s Twitter ID is to use the
field at the upper left of the home screen that reads “compose a new tweet”. In
the example below, I am looking for the ID for film director Kevin Smith. I
begin by typing the “@” symbol (all Twitter ID's begin with this symbol) and
the name “Kevin”.
Notice I get a menu of choices, very much like when you type
an email address in a Gmail message window. Notice also that the man I’m
looking for goes by @That KevinSmith; people don’t always use their full names
as Twitter IDs, so make sure you are tweeting the person or group you intend
to tweet. For example, NEA’s ID is @NEAToday. Sending a tweet to @NEA will get
you nowhere. And that’s a wasted tweet.
For your convenience, here are some IDs I've been sending to recently:
@NEAToday
@NEAPresident
@Arneduncan
@MichelleRhee
@Gatesed
@chiefs4change
You can also use Twitter IDs to forward links to others. If you were following me and came upon a blog post you think I’d
be interested in reading, you’d Tweet my ID @badamsky02 along with the message or link you wish to send to me.
All of these tweets show up in the recipients’ “mentions”,
which can be found under the “connect” tab in the upper left of the screen. Almost like an inbox.
Hashtag? Isn’t that
illegal in most states?
Hashtags are like file folders; they are a way to locate and
read all about certain people or topics in the Twitterverse. Simply type the
“#” symbol followed by what you are looking for into the search window at the
upper right of the home screen. Right now, the Stephen King miniseries Under
the Dome is airing on television. If I wanted to read a bunch of tweets about the
series, I would search for #Underthedome. I've noticed the search function is not cap-sensitive, so no need for that convention.
And, as with Twitter ID’s, the search window will give you
suggestions.
Give it a shot. Enter “#neara13”, the hashtag established
for the NEA Representative Assembly in Atlanta this year, into the search
window. Now you’re looking at a ton of tweets from people who used that hashtag
in their messages over the past couple of days. You’ll notice the BTA was blowing this hashtag up yesterday
with our NEA blitz.
If enough people use the same hashtag on any given day, that
topic will show up on the home page as a Trend, and that’s a good thing, especially because some media
outlets and bloggers and the like will check to see what’s trending on Twitter as the basis of a possible news
story, especially on a slow news night. Use the hashtag #badassteachers every time you tweet about education. With enough of us following through on our planned actions, we are bound to get noticed.
Yo, tiny!
Because tweeters are restricted to tweets of 140 characters
or less, posting links to websites on Twitter can seriously eat into your
character limit, as each character in the URL counts against it.
Thankfully, there are a few web-based tools out there you can use to convert those
100-character URL’s into something more Twitter-friendly. I suggest http://tinyurl.com or http://goo.gl
There is much more to Twitter than what I’ve covered, and
maybe maybe an “advanced course” featuring
the finer points will be a future post. For now, you are cocked, locked, and
ready to rock. So get out there. Reach out and touch someone special.
