I learned that from my colleague here at the Teaching Underground. I think people use the initials of those three words as an exclamation to express surprise, confusion, or perplexity... is that a word, if not, I want credit if you use it from now on. So what are my Wednesday, Thursday, Friday moments from this week?
I believe that we simply -- we simply can't have a setting where the teachers' unions are able to contribute tens of millions of dollars to the campaigns of politicians and then those politicians, when elected, stand across from them at the bargaining table, supposedly to represent the interest of the kids. I think it's a mistake. I think we've got to get the money out of the teachers' unions going into campaigns. It's the wrong way for us to go. We have got to separate that.
Get the money out of the teachers' unions going into campaigns? Never mind the money coming from Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Phillip Morris, or even PEARSON! They don't use their money to exercise influence over the decisions of politicians. And they count as people anyway since they're incorporated. It's the money pouring in from the overpaid teachers that flooding our political system with graft.
Seriously, I hate to be immature, but this is stupid. You're going to call out the teachers' unions for having too much influence and suggest their ability to contribute to campaigns be limited. Maybe there's a better place to start if you want to remove the influence of money from education.
Romney also said:
So I reject the idea that everybody has to have a, if you will, a Harvard expense level degree in order to be successful. I find a lot of people have degrees from a lot of different places, public and private, that are highly successful.
He referenced Geoffrey Canada frequently in his speech and q&a session. I attended a talk by Canada last year in D.C. where he said as a general rule of thumb, when you don't know what to do in education, "do what the rich people do?" Romney was referring to the $38,000/year tuition at his former high school. So, if money doesn't matter, why do rich people spend so much on education? They're not rich because they waste money, apparently they understand it's value more than most. So why do they insist on spending a high dollar amount to educate their own children? Why doesn't the market bring this cost down, or do they just send their kids to keep them away from the riff raff one finds in public education.
Speaking of money, I've addressed my W,T, so here's my F. One of our local teachers, Michael Farabaugh qualified for Jeopardy. I'm a little bitter, because I made it to round two with him several years ago when the "Clue Crew" came to Charlottesville. Neither of us made it to round three, but apparently he persisted while I gave up and helped start this little blog. He'll be flying to California soon for taping. Pretty cool achievement wouldn't you say? Apparently not everyone thinks so. Here's a link to the news story, but the comments are priceless. Here's a sampling if you're not motivated to click the link provided to read them for yourself:
-What a shocker! Instead of actually doing what he is paid to do and that is teach, he is going off to try to get even more money, probably during school hours that he is being paid for! Greed! Greed! Greed! That is all we get from teachers! Certainly not results!
-Are the taxpayers paying for substitute teachers so that these freeloaders can go win money on gameshows instead of doing their jobs?!?!?!?!?
No wonder the kids are as stupid as dead roaches!
-They should dock his pay an amount equal to his winnings if he is getting paid to teach but is not doing it.
-It is hard to have a positive impact on students when you cannot even be bothered to show up for your classes you are being paid to teach! I am paying his salary and I say fine him or fire him!
For what it's worth, congratulations Mr. Farabaugh. We know you've served your students and this community well and wish you the best on Jeopardy.
As for the comments, all I can say is Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
And to preempt any inevitable conservative backlash, be patient, we'll take a few jabs at President Obama and Arne Duncan in the near future.
On today's Ellen show, teacher Sara Ferguson of the Chester Upland School district in Pennsylvania appeared as a guest. Everyone in America should know this story. It is not just a sad story about deficiencies in school funding. It is a story that provides an excellent contrast to the common perception of teachers in America today. These teachers continued to work and serve this community EVEN WHEN THE MONEY RAN OUT! If you weren't able to see the show, here's the five-minute clip of her appearance.
These are the stakes. This is what we have to deal with. The public education narrative has been high-jacked and an increasingly large proportion of the public believes the lie. This is just a small example, but a recent report about school budget struggles in Albemarle County, Virginia provoked the following reader comment:
The U.S. spends more per child and more per capita on education than any other country. Yet we rank any where from 14th to 25th out of 75 countries in math, reading and science according to the International Student Assesment report. So, apparently throwing more money at the issue is not the answer. The money NEVER makes it to the children and the teachers who deserve it, just the beauracrats in the front office and the teachers unions.
I know this isn't NYC, D.C., or Chicago. And the "Charlottesville Newsplex" is just a small media outfit serving a small city that could hardly claim to have a suburb. These facts make the story even more important. Across the nation, the public opinion is swayed by the loudest and most prominent voices that are selling the public this idea that public education is failing because of bad teachers and unions.
I don't know where the statistics quoted come from, but the "teachers unions" comment stands out the most in this geographic area. 1) Virginia is a right to work state- there is no "teachers union." 2) The supposed "teacher union" here is funded by teacher contributions, not county budget. 3) I can't speak with certainty, but it would surprise me if even half of the teachers in our county (and Virginia) even belong to the "teacher union."
Yet somehow, in little Albemarle County, an run of the mill media consumer believes that our budget shortfall is somehow tied to the problem of "teachers unions."
I don't know how familiar some of our readers are with Virginia, but growing up in southwest Virginia furniture and textile country in the 1970's and 80's, Union was a dirty word-- to employees and factory owners alike. Unions exert little to no influence on Virginia politics, business, and society. If that's true in the private sector, imagine what it means for the public. I'm not taking a pro or anti union stance here, that's just how it is in Virginia.
I'm disturbed by how easily this comment reflects a public perception, colored by national media coverage, that unions are a part of the problem even when they are COMPLETELY UNRELATED to the problem at hand. It doesn't matter which side of the reform debate is winning online. In real life, the debate is nearly over, and America is buying the lie.
Time Magazine, January 23, 2011. Andrew J. Rotherham gives us George W. Bush in his own words on the tenth anniversary of "No Child Left Behind."
Bush: "So I'm pleased with the progress and concerned about efforts from people in both parties to weaken it."
Rotherham: "What do you think is driving those efforts?"
Bush: "Some on the right think there is no role for the federal government in education. Some on the left are saying it's unfair to teachers--basically, union issues. People don't like to be held to account."
Both parts of Bush's response define a clear divide among first, left and right politics regarding education and second, the yet-to-be-labeled opposing sides in the education reform debate.
First, if we could make policy with all of our biases on the table, perhaps everyone would understand each others goals a little better. But, I have a hard time accepting policy decisions made by those who have limiting the government role in public education as their primary goal. What better way to pull the government out of education than to convince the American public that money spent on public education is money wasted? If successful in this effort, any number of agendas are guaranteed (vouchers, school choice, private/public charters). I gravitate away from conspiracy theory, but when those who wish to undo the system play a vital role in making policy for the system, bad things are likely to happen.
Second, I do like to be held accountable. It makes me a better person. I learned long ago that one of the best ways to avoid bad practice is through openness. Letting others in on what's happening in the classroom. Parents, administrators, peers, all serve to hold me accountable for what I do. I don't like thinking that I've been doing something ineffective, but I do appreciate knowing that I've done it versus continuing to fail without ever realizing it. This statement indicates that Bush begins with the understanding that I want to teach in the shadows, without any oversight or input into my work. If you believe that I'm this type of person, then you probably don't respect me enough to listen to my professional opinion.
I don't think Bush or any of the corporate reformers want to be held accountable. It's like when your zipper is down, or you've got food on your face. I like a person with the courage to let me know so that I can avoid further embarrassment. I suppose some people prefer to go through the evening not knowing any better. Instead of listening to feedback (they'd prefer to call it complaining), corporate reformers prefer to demonize the source of the feedback-- teachers, who stand behind protection of their unions in order to protect themselves from having to do honest work for honest pay.
How have we devolved to this national narrative that teachers who care enough about children to spend hours of time with them for average pay are the one's who are holding our children back while profit driven reformers and corporate educational companies pushing for more testing and accountability are the great hope for our public school system?
Assume the responsibility for improving education and take on the role of Educator-in-Chief. We know what conditions are needed for good teaching. It's time to put our effort, our money, and our mouths where our hearts are: demand what has already been proven best for the children of the next generation by demanding the training, induction, and working conditions that allows good teaching to flourish. Do it on OUR terms, from the position of Effective Teaching, not a corporate manual. The plan has already been outlined in the Commission report Transforming Teaching.
Her post prompted me to think about why I've never joined the NEA or it's local chapter. First, I've never been shown how the NEA can benefit me. Second, I've never been shown how the NEA can benefit students. In my years of teaching, I've come to view the NEA as well-intentioned but largely inconsequential.
Can anyone tell me why I should belong to the NEA? That's an honest question. I don't have a negative opinion toward it, I just haven't seen the fruits of their labor.
As we continue our own quest for one million hits we, like the two guys in the commercial, find ourselves on Chuck Norris' radar, a bad place to be.
The difference here is we are not running. So what does Walker Texas Ranger have against public schools? Apparently a lot. In between his late night appearances pushing the total gym and commercials cashing in on his tough guy martial arts past he writes a conservative blog. Though he'd have to admit his pales in its social and cultural impact when judged against the Underground. (After all we feature an award winning writer and one who went 16 for 16 on day 2 of the NCAA tourney)
Mr. Norris recently wrote a series of three posts getting himself on board the school-bashing bandwagon and then he presented some "solutions". If you've seen his movies you know he's good at bashing. The first post titled Stalin Style Public Education begins with "I love teachers. I really do. And I'm certain that, truth be known, most are overworked and underpaid. No one is certainly getting rich from teaching kids. I applaud the hard-working teachers across this land." Such disclaimers are common and usually followed by a bunch of things teachers know are not true. Most of what comes next is a rant about the evil impact of public unions and how competition and charter schools can fix everything.
While the unions are a separate issue, Charter Schools are potentially part of improvement and many do a great job. But growing research points out they are not all they are cracked up to be and anyone who thinks they can be replicated everywhere to educate every child in our nation is a bit naive. Why students aren't getting the knowledge and skills is more complex than "schools are failing" which is at least part of it. Some schools need fixing but skillful selection of facts allows for almost any argument to appear true. This is no different. If I were not so busy in the midst of my coaching season and time allowed I would insert a careful and artfully crafted counter to each point he makes. Please go find this yourself. Its out there you just don't hear it much in the media. What concerns me more is how Mr. Norris points to what he terms the real cause for the suppression of Charters, a Stalin style organized effort to control. Stalin...Really? Good plot in a film, not so good in real life.
In the second post I learned I was an employee at a Progressive Indoctrination Camp. I've seen this one, our hero breaks the guys out of holding cells then blows up the camp. What chaps my rump here is he quotes my idol and neighbor Thomas Jefferson. Pardon me Mr. Norris but I was raised in Albemarle County within sight of Jefferson's home and his legacy belongs to me! I almost got a job at Monticello, even if it was only driving a bus from the parking lot to his house. I agree with you here if you summon the Jeffersonian idea that federal power should be limited, especially when it comes to education reform where the Feds complicated things in a well meaning effort. I almost find it funny how so many throw Jefferson up as a champion for their ideas. I am no expert in his legacy but I'm fairly certain many in Mr Jefferson's time and since would characterize many of his ideas as rather "liberal".
He chose to found a PUBLIC University after all and a darn good one. The use of his words followed by some big vocabulary that I will admit having to look up, in order to argue that schools now indoctrinate our kids with secular and "radical" ideas like tolerance and a more global approach to education went a little far right for me. I wonder if Chuck would find the recent effort by our state's Attorney General to quiet ideas from one of UVA's professors equally as troubling? I do wish Chuck would go give our AG a figurative kick in the head, or elsewhere. I also wonder if those leaning far right are aware of Jefferson's Bible and would embrace one of the nation's greatest men so publicly on his unorthodox exploration of faith. Teaching kids is funny sometimes since they seem to care more about our political leaning than we as teachers do. When asked if I am democrat or republican I'll respond either by saying "both" or "I am an American". So what about labeling schools progressive? Schools certainly are progressive when they act as a mechanism for social change as they did under the GI Bill or during desegregation. Were those bad things? To view progressivism as contrary to conservative values and then label schools as progressivism indoctrination camps where kids are locked in and reprogrammed is a big leap, even for Chuck Norris.
If I was to pick a Jefferson quote about education I'd take it from his 1796 letter to James Madison "Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of the due degree of liberty". I am not sure the approach Mr. Norris supports will really help the common people or just serve as a way for those with enough means to get their money back out of the system. This post is additionally bothersome since it begins with a series of headlines that serve to further bloody the nose of public education, a tactic that no Texas Ranger I know would choose. I am all about giving our kids a strong set of values and morals but will stop short of calling for bible lessons by teachers. I will stick to teaching about it. Jefferson made efforts to try and keep his personal views on God to himself and I'll follow his lead.
The last post Indoctrination Camps Part II shares some ideas on how to make things better and like a lot of Norris sequels, it falls a bit short. To keep him from showing up at my house and punching me I will say I agree with him for the most part here. Much of what he has here sounds good. Parental involvement and increased communication help. But these thoughts show an overt distrust of our schools. I am dismayed at the lack of trust and understanding that teaching is in fact a profession. I am actually capable of navigating the delicate world of teaching others children about things like religion and evolution. I am not perfect and can only do my best. One thing I can promise is that I want what is best for the kids I teach, all of them. To claim that I or others want all kids locked into our walls so we can spin ideas into their heads...really?
"Indoctrination" is a funny concept and one worth exploring later maybe but for now let me state clearly, the schools I know do not seek to promote or discourage any views consistent with those of individuals living in an open and free society. Sure I've heard kids say some pretty outrageous things and usually only respond by reminding them about respect, tolerance and the ideas in our Constitution. This document and a nation were built upon the shoulders and ideas of great men. As maligned as these figures have becomes in recent years for their personal or other flaws(Jefferson as a case in point), they managed to create the greatest nation to ever exist on Earth. In the decades since that time we managed to create a national education system which I think while needing continuous improvement, deserves credit and consideration before being dismantled. It is one of the few things that it can be legitimately argued does indeed serve the common good.
Chuck Norris is a good guy who represents all that makes America great. Standing up for what is right, defending the helpless, and teaching countless people how to roundhouse kick, but he is a bit off base here. I am not a Stalinist. I am a teacher. My hope is that I will never have to fight Chuck Norris or anyone for that matter but if that's what it takes to get people to listen to level headed and moderate voices in education reform, then I am not running.
You know you've made the big time when John Stewart targets you. I would love to see more attention to school and teacher issues in the media, but so few people are willing to move any deeper into the conversation than pointing the finger at the easy solution. Here's John Stewart's take:
