I spent tonight at a teacher forum in Jackson and for the first time in my job I felt really, really emotional about what I heard. One teacher talked about buying duct tape and cardboard to keep 14 year old text books from breaking. Another teacher said students couldnt take books home because there werent enough, while another talked about an argument she had with a student over the death of Ray Bradbury because the text book still assumed he was living. These teachers talked about new standards that require them to incorporate audio/visuals into lesson plans, when the school doesnt have the proper equipment. They talked about not having enough computers to administer state tests & slow internet that AT&T still hasnt fixed, despite a sweetheart deal they got from the state. They talked about evaluations that have them working long past 3:15 & their struggle to get parents engaged, especially in poor areas where Mom & Dad have multiple jobs. They talked about virtual & charter schools who can require parent participation & proper behavior, then dump those kids back in public schools when they dont meet those benchmarks. Meanwhile the state funding for that child never makes it back to a public school. I cannot go into the response of some of the legislators attending, but sufficed to say that it was less than sympathetic--with one suggesting more teachers should show up at events like this to express their concerns. This was met with a loud, theyre probably at home grading papers or getting ready for their next evaluation. A lot of people talk education reform because, quite frankly, there is a lot of money to be made in it (See: STAND, DFER, Students First, Every Charter School, Every Charter School Advocacy Group and the 60 plus lobbyist reformers have on payroll at the Capitol). It may make me sound like an old liberal, but if I have the choice to listen to these neophytes or a teacher who spent 40 years in the classroom, Im going with the teacher every time. Poverty, parental involvement, per pupil spending: we can put in all the tests, standards and evaluations we want, but until we address these core issues its deck chairs on the Titanic. It is most unfortunate that some of the most powerful legislators in the state can sit in a room with teachers all night & still completely miss this point.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 05:11:17 +0000
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