Don't
Know What You've Got 'Til…
Happy Thanksgiving to
all!! This Thanksgiving, much more than
in past years, I am realizing just how much I have to be grateful for. At the same time I am also seeing that much
of what I value is threatened and I recognize that I must act now, or
eventually I'll look back on the good old days with a sense of loss. For me, part of being thankful is recognizing
those things that we often take for granted.
Things that we believe are a natural part of our lives, that is until
they are taken away or lost.
So, in addition to all the
things in my personal life that I'm thankful for, there are a number of
societal things I hope to be able to appreciate through the upcoming year. I fear that these things will be in jeopardy
over the coming months, but also know that they are worth fighting for.
Worker's Rights- Being treated fairly and compensated at an acceptable level are things
that should be the norm in modern America. There is enough wealth in our nation so that
no person should suffer the deprivations of poverty. Our gaps between the wealthy and the rest of
us is unacceptable and we need to see changes made in how we "do business"
here in the United States. Whether this means increased taxes on the
rich, or if it means that corporate leadership voluntarily changes their
policies matters little to me. I find it
morally reprehensible that we put profits over people in so many cases.
I am also troubled by the
continued efforts to paint unions and organized labor as
"un-American", or somehow subversive.
People uniting to have a collective voice in their working conditions
shouldn't be viewed in such a negative way.
Environmental Protections- With all the talk from conservatives about the
importance of economic growth and stability, there is a conscious effort to
ignore the impact that our economic activities can have on the
environment. It is one thing to create
jobs, it is another to do so at the expense of our future survival on the only
planet we have to live on.
Voting Rights- In a democracy it is necessary for the people to have a voice. If the people are not allowed to participate
in fair and honest ways then the it is no longer a democracy and becomes
another form of government. Strange that
our most visibly "patriotic" party seems willing to sacrifice part of
our nation's identity to maintain political power.
Finally, I am thankful
that we live in a society where we attempt to hold all people, no matter how
powerful, to the legal standards set by our elected officials and courts. While it seems to be taking forever, we
continue to hope that we will have something to be extremely thankful for in
the upcoming year.
Proud
To Educate…
These are stressful times
to be a public educator in America. Public educators find themselves on the
defensive in virtually all communities across the nation. In some places this has been true for a very
long time, while in others the most direct attacks on public education are
relatively new to educators. The
"reform" movement has become entrenched at the highest levels of our
educational administrations and has become a powerful voice in the public
debate over how to "improve" our schools.
Unfortunately, this effort
to "reform" or "improve" our public education system has a
different, and much more sinister motive behind it. While those of us currently working in public
education might not realize it, there is significant money to be made in
education. The reality is that there are
companies and individuals making significant profit in education. However, in order to maximize profits the
system must be changed to one that favors privatization and centralized control
of curriculums across the nation.
These "reform" efforts
have coincided with a period of budget crises at all levels of government that
has helped increase the influence of those who call for change in our public
education system. As public money
becomes a scarcer commodity education reformers are able to call for more
"accountability" and present public education as a "failed
investment" that is unaffordable in the current economic climate. The "reformers" offer the promise
of more efficient and cost effective schools.
They claim to be looking out for students and taxpayers all in one
neatly wrapped package.
For conservative
politicians there is an added bonus. By
undermining public schools they are also able to undermine public educator
unions. These unions are one of the last
strongholds of organized labor and have had a huge impact in elections
recently. By weakening public educator
unions, conservative candidates eliminate a significant source of political
capital for their opponents. The
educator unions provide a voice for employees, students and taxpayers that
isn't heavily influenced by "reformers" who are looking for profit
over production. They are a thorn in the
side of those who would look to turn our education system into a series of
privatized layers with those who have money and power at the center of a
dysfunctional system.
There are several key
weapons in the "reform" arsenal.
The first is the fallacy of accountability as measured through
standardized testing. The second is the
myth that a system of privatized charter or voucher schools, operating without
the inconvenient oversight of local school boards and the bothersome voice of
educators, can produce better results for all children. That is, all children who don't come from
poverty, don't have learning or behavior issues and who have families or
advocates who can navigate their way through a maze of applications and layers
of bureaucracy.
Nothing I've written in
this post is new to those who've been following these issues. If anything the efforts to seize control of
our education system are only intensifying at all levels. The efforts of "reformers" to
mislead the public and to distort the perception of public schools is having an
impact. This confusion shows up in recent
Gallup polling. Americans are listening to the debate and are
influenced by what politicians say, even though they may not see evidence to
support "reformers" claims in their own schools. Locally, 48% of respondents gave their
schools an A or B while 17% gave a D or F.
However, when asked about schools nationwide 19% gave schools an A or B
while 30% gave a D or F. In other words,
the attack on schools is having the desired effect of undermining public
confidence in public education. Data
from this poll also shows support for privatization growing, even while the
performance of local schools is rated higher than in previous years.
Debate over public
education rages at all levels of government.
We are seeing "reformers" work to cement their control of
political and economic power while working to control the flow of money to
public education as well.
Nationally- The re-election of President Obama was hailed as a victory for
moderates and progressives, but it gave little solace to supporters of public
education. President Obama has
surrounded himself with "reformers" who have done little to promote
public education and who have bought into the "reformers" twin
pillars of testing and privatization.
Federal mandates influence
how local schools operate, but are often imposed without financial support or
consideration for local needs. In
addition to the money that the Federal government can provide, our national
leaders also have a powerful platform to promote (or in the current case
undermine) public education.
Conservatives and
education "reformers" are looking at ways to extend their control of
schools through national efforts to elect local leaders. We've seen this happen across America as
local elections are influenced by outside forces.
Statewide- Wisconsin has seen a radical shift in politics on the state
level over the past two years. This
drastic swing to the right has resulted in a very unfavorable climate for
public education and severe cuts in state aid to schools. We are also seeing increased efforts to
privatize our state's schools. All of
this happening in a state that has long prided itself on the quality of our
public schools.
While all of the proposed
and implemented changes coming from the Walker
administration are concerning, it all starts with the budget. Walker
has used our state's budget "crisis" to implement draconian cuts to
areas like public education, and, after regaining control of the legislature it
is unlikely that we will see a change in his stance on school funding.
The rhetoric coming from
the GOP about education is also troubling.
They are continuing their efforts to try and turn schools into job
training centers, at the expense of student's opportunities to exercise
creative thinking and problem solving abilities. By emphasizing business' needs over all other
considerations we know that we will see a renewed effort to impact the way
students are taught and tested.
The feelings of disrespect
for public educators from the conservatives here have been made quite
clear. Legislation like Act 10
eliminated the power of educators in many districts and shifted the balance towards
school boards and administrators. This
also allows for conservatives to advance their agenda and control the dialog
around education. Merit pay is one
example of an idea that may sound logical to the general public, but is very
troublesome for educators. By silencing
the voices of educators, conservatives gain the upper hand in any
"reform" efforts in many districts.
Can We Be Confident That Test Scores Provide Useful Information
About Kennewick Students? | Kennewic
What is also troubling is
the reluctance of legislators and education policy makers to fully address
issues that impact the outcomes of testing and other educational
measurements. They are very willing to
point blame at educators or our public school systems, but rarely look at the
whole picture when it comes to our students and the challenges they face.
Madison- Of course, it can't happen here in liberal Madison,
in the heart of liberal Dane
County, can it? After all, we still have a powerful union and
the support of the unwashed and brainwashed Socialists who populate our fair
city. There's no way that the
"reformers" could have an impact on our schools, right?
Unfortunately, we are
seeing the effects of the national and state level "reforms"
"trickle down" to local communities, even Madison. Local educators are finding themselves under
siege from a barrage of district initiatives and have seen our contracts change
for the worse over the past two years.
(This doesn't change the fact that we should be thankful for what we do
have, while still fighting to regain what we've lost). We have seen our take-home pay decrease and
our benefits have been significantly impacted as well.
I've seen morale in the
MMSD decline drastically over the past two years as educators find themselves
with more to do and less to do it with.
Educators who love to work with students are now saying that it might be
time to move on and retire or look at a different line of work. Educators are feeling the strain of being
told that their efforts are not good enough and that they need to adopt new
methods of teaching (methods that change almost weekly). We are struggling to meet the needs of our
students, but are being threatened with consequences for things that are often
out of our control.
We find ourselves
constantly changing our instruction to fit new models that are imposed on us
from outside sources. Many of these
policies and procedures come from groups or individuals who are not closely
connected to classrooms. Our public
education system is being shaped by people who don't work directly with
students and who frequently are influenced by factors other than what is best for kids.
In many ways, local
educators are being crushed under the weight of the state and national efforts
to reform schools. We are the first
layer, but the layers above us are also under pressure to conform to standards
and meet expectations of the layers above.
It all comes back to the dialog and policy making at the highest levels
that shape citizens perceptions of our public education system. I sympathize with administrators who are
facing heat from their superiors who are facing heat from theirs and so
on. Public education is truly being run
as a business in this regard.
What is missing from the
current situation in many communities is the recognition from administration
and school boards that we are all in this boat together. While there are some leaders in public
education who buy into the "reformer's agenda", many have serious
concerns about the testing, curriculum alignment and privatization efforts
currently underway in our school systems.
What needs to happen is for the leaders in school districts to rally to
the aid of their employees who are resisting these "reforms". Public educators in Wisconsin have put themselves at risk by
speaking out in defense of public education and worker's rights, now we need to
see our "bosses" step up and support us. If they don't they won't have much, if
anything to administrate in the future.
The current landscape
appears bleak, but as long as we are fighting there is always hope. We must recognize this as a fact and take every
opportunity to spread our message to counter the rhetoric that comes from the
"reformers". We need to
challenge the "facts" that are generated by test scores and that are
manipulated by those who are hostile to public education.
One of the first things
that educators must do is stop apologizing and defending. Instead, we need to express pride in our
profession and in the work that we do.
As I talk with educators, one of their biggest complaints is that their
expertise is ignored. Educators with
decades of experience are being told what and how to teach, as thought all
their experience and knowledge is irrelevant.
We are professionals and are competent in our field and should hold our
heads up with pride for the work we do every day. Those who are outside of our profession don't
know, or understand, what we do, or how we do it.
It is true that there are
new ideas and lots of current research that allows us to modify, refine and
improve our techniques for educating students.
Education, like any profession, isn't static. Rather it is a dynamic field where innovation
and creativity are a strength. Yet, new
ideas often come from outside the classroom and need to be modified and
implemented by educators working with students.
Instead, our current system calls for "experts" to come in and
educate educators, without allowing for the diversity and uniqueness of any
particular educator or educational setting.
Teaching someone a skill
or a concept requires a blend of knowledge, patience, insight and multiple
other talents. It can't be done
effectively in a formulaic or prescribed manner. Instead we must make room for a variety of
methods for reaching students in our schools.
Teaching, when done well, is truly an art. What modern "reformers" want to do
is turn artists into "paint by numbers" technicians, following a set
pattern to churn out "products" that have a similar skill set and
monolithic experiences.
Educators can't forget
that we are ambassadors for our profession and our schools. Instead of accepting the top-down curricula
and prescribed methods of teaching we need to make it clear to our families and
students that we are utilizing our professional knowledge to best serve our
students. We must take every opportunity
to build bridges between schools and the community and to educate others about
our efforts. While there is certainly
much room for improvement in public education, there is also much to be proud
of. It is our responsibility as public
educators to act in ways that promote and protect these valuable
institutions.
Spend
Your Money Wisely…
In case you hadn't
noticed, we are in the midst of a busy shopping season. Try and take time during these hectic times
to try and buy products that make a statement about your social, economic and
political beliefs. It may mean a little
extra time, or a little extra money, but the effort you make to support local,
worker friendly businesses and products is extremely worthwhile.
