"Blame the Teacher Movement" -- X-post from Labor Forum.

[femmocrat]

Cross-posted with Omaha Steve's permission. Most of us "career teachers" can relate! femmocrat



The ‘Blame the Teacher’ Movement, and the Public-Sector Union Crisis

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/6087/public_w... /

Friday June 11 12:51 pm By Richard Greenwald

Will government workers join the race to the bottom?

I was stopped dead in my tracks and felt a cold chill run down my spine while reading the current issue of The Atlantic. Its cover story is “The 14 3/4 Most Powerful Ideas of the Year,” which is a Top 10 list that makes fun of Top 10 lists (hence the 3/4).

Idea number 13 is the one that got me. It was written by The New York Times’ David Brooks and titled “Teachers are Fair Game.” As Brooks sees it, it is now open season for intellectually assaulting teachers. To be honest, Brooks aims mostly for the teachers unions. The result is yet one more mainstream media outlet joining the echo chamber claiming that teachers and their organizations are at fault for the poor state of education in America.

What I call the "blame the teacher" movement is smart politics for those on the right. It shifts public debate away from funding and economic equity issues to teachers on the frontline. In some ways it is like a Fordist speedup without the $5 day. Newly proposed policy would tie teacher salaries, merit pay, and even tenure to student test scores. The pressure is up, but, with diminished funding, resources are down.

Now, improving education is something everyone favors. It’s like democracy. But how one gets there is the million-dollar question. Can you improve education by putting increased pressure on teachers to raise classroom test scores in a time of declining public funding for education? We are about to see.

In my last Working ITT blog post, I bemoaned how we seem to hate “career” teachers as a culture. We love the young, idealistic missionary teachers. And we should: These recent college graduates are energized, smart and dedicated. But they have a short shelve-life, lasting a short time in the classroom before they are off to other careers. One could argue that even this is good, as the experience of a 2-3 years in a classroom changes them for the better.

Frankly, most teachers, it must be said, last only a short time in the classroom. The challenges are so great, the emotional costs as well as the salaries force many to rethink their career choices. Those that stay in education (I mean in the classroom) do not typically do so because they’re losers, or can’t find better jobs. They stay with it because they care and believe they can make a difference despite the hardships. It is precisely these teachers who have the nation’s eyes focused on them. I can almost hear the collective buzz in their ears from all this talk about them.

FULL story at link.

[yurbud]

1. if there are bad teachers in the classroom, it's because the good ones gave up or never started

who wants a class with overcrowded classes, micromanaged curriculum, and now the chance that some corporate demagogue will fire ALL the teachers in your district wholesale, regardless of how well you are doing?

[yurbud]

2. what passes for education reform is really old fashioned corruption.

Pols can get kickbacks and corporate jobs when they leave office if education is privatized. A well run public system doesn't have even to spare for bribes to buy pols.

[Smarmie Doofus]

4. Exactly. The terminology isOrwellian with a vengeance. nt

[sabrina 1]

3. Brooks is an idiot and always was. No Child Left Behind

killed education in this country and many good teachers quit or potentially good teachers chose other careers, rather than inflict that system on any child.

Brooks knows nothing about education so he certainly isn't one to turn to to get information on the subject. Although that never stopped him from expounding on the many other topics he doesn't know much about either.

[MichiganVote]

5. AsI recall Pol Pot broke down established society by assasinating teachers.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. So did Hitler

[Taitertots]

6. The world is ripe with double think

We are going to make schools better by paying teachers less and cutting funding. I'm pulling my hair out (not literally) trying to understand how that is supposed to do anything but make schools worse.

[Versailles]

7. A former teacher...

I'm one of those teachers who fought and fought and fought to make sure that I was actually teaching my students, not just preparing them for a stupid test. In the course of doing so, I sacrificed my health, my mental health, relationships, etc. I don't regret sacrificing those things. I love teaching and the best thing is the world is to see my former students doing well in their college and professional careers. But after 8 years, I could no longer put myself and my wife through it any more. It is, in my opinion, mostly, not all, the teachers who are in it for the paycheck and could care less about actual education who are able to continue teaching in the current educational environment.

That being said, I'll leave you with Taylor Mali's "What Teacher's Make".

What Teachers Make, or
Objection Overruled, or
If things don't work out, you can always go to law school

By Taylor Mali
www.taylormali.com

He says the problem with teachers is, "What's a kid going to learn
from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"
He reminds the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about
teachers:
Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.

I decide to bite my tongue instead of his
and resist the temptation to remind the other dinner guests
that it's also true what they say about lawyers.

Because we're eating, after all, and this is polite company.

"I mean, you¹re a teacher, Taylor," he says.
"Be honest. What do you make?"

And I wish he hadn't done that
(asked me to be honest)
because, you see, I have a policy
about honesty and ass-kicking:
if you ask for it, I have to let you have it.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional medal of honor
and an A- feel like a slap in the face.
How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall
in absolute silence. No, you may not work in groups.
No, you may not ask a question.
Why won't I let you get a drink of water?
Because you're not thirsty, you're bored, that's why.

I make parents tremble in fear when I call home:
I hope I haven't called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something Billy said today.
Billy said, "Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don't you?"
And it was the noblest act of courage I have ever seen.

I make parents see their children for who they are
and what they can be.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids wonder,
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write, write, write.
And then I make them read.
I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful
over and over and over again until they will never misspell
either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math.
And hide it on their final drafts in English.
I make them understand that if you got this (brains)
then you follow this (heart) and if someone ever tries to judge you
by what you make, you give them this (the finger).

Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:
I make a goddamn difference! What about you?

http://www.taylormali.com/index.cfm?webid=13

[adnelson60087]

17. You're an inspiration to us all! Thanks for your hard work.

[Starry Messenger]

8. Dismantling public education will be the jewel in the crown for the free market wankers.

They've had the plans for awhile. Watching the anti-teacher propaganda spread out into the public is fascinating in a horrifyingly gruesome way.

[MichiganVote]

10. And its working by the way. More distrust on the part of parents, much less investment in education.

[Starry Messenger]

13. Yeah, I see it working.

I have a friend on facebook who posts anti-public education stuff on there all the time. It worries me since he's actually a state employee and a Dem. The brainwashing is going deep.

[Catshrink]

11. And right here on DU.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=334780&mesg_id=336745

[Starry Messenger]

12. I alerted on that post hours ago.

Every time I see that guy I want to ask him if his name should be changed to Redmond. http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=6686905531089639467&q=bill+gates+redmond&hl=en

[Catshrink]

14. Yeah, I know.

I don't understand where the vitriol comes from. At least the other poster, the one who talked about his experience in HS, had a "reason" for being anti-teacher (I loved donco6's response - I need to learn from him). This one I don't get.

[MichiganVote]

15. Some people wouldn't benefit from an education from anybody, let alone somebody

who has the state and federal credentials to size things up and TEACH.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. THAT'S DISGUSTING