Reading the heartbreaking posts from teachers and retired teachers on the BAT page- and from teacher educators at universities- makes me realize how privileged I am to be a tenured professor at an elite university whose classroom remains untouched by federal mandates and guidelines. No one observes me. No one reviews my syllabi. No one tries to mandate what my learning outcomes might be and evaluate me on the basis of that information. Not that they havent tried. The US Dept of Education tried to enforce assessment protocols on Fordham, and other elite universities, that would have done all of those things. But our faculty, and the faculty of other schools like us, was so resistant to this- and so convinced it was a violation of our norms of self-governance and academic freedom- that the Feds backed off and let us do pro forma assessments that pretty much leave our teaching experience unchanged. The lesson here is that if people are organized enough, and united enough, they can effectively defend their professional integrity. Which is why I think the Opt Out movement is so important. If it keeps growing, it will gain teachers precious space to take back their classrooms. Teachers unions need to realize this and support parent and student test revolts wherever they take place. You don;t win by compliance. You win by resistance. Weakness invites aggression. Especially when dealing with bullies.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Apr 2014 09:07:26 +0000
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