How Teachers are like Coal

The future and direction of our nation's environmental policy had been buried behind other conversations about more dynamic issues during the 2012 Presidential Campaign. The ongoing political and academic debate over whether climate change is really happening has ultimately paralyzed us from taking any effective action.  No matter where you fall on the issue you likely agree big issues often see this sort of entrenchment and it takes something equally big to move us forward.  Enter disaster politics. 

Hurricane Sandy may be that things as it blew the issue to the forefront.    No doubt the most awful thing to occur in a long time lives and livelihoods are ruined and disrupted.   The TU certainly sends it heartfelt best wishes to those affected by devastating storm.   In the aftermath Northeastern politicians like Governors Christie and Cuomo and others like Bloomberg and Schumer are being forced to address the issue as they move forward.  

Sometimes such events are seized upon by opportunistic individuals as a bellwether  for change.  This Superstorm and all the misery it brought may actually bring about some decisive action on our environment though I am not holding my breath such change will be all good.  Nor do I think speaking freely on the topic is simply an overt effort to access future federal funds for major Depression like reconstruction.    If  it seems possible the issue of the environment and our effect on it has become too political.   Some might say that money directs our path.  That is usually not a good thing.

As the coastal regions proceed with their efforts first recover, but later both better prepare and prevent such calamity it is incumbent upon us to use wisdom and sound evidence, not politics to guide out path.  It will require the best our leaders from both sides of the aisle have and even then the cooperation of other nations.  We must listen to informed and educated people who have the necessary understanding gained from years of experience.  Energy companies, environmental groups, big business, scientific organizations, international posturing and of course the two major parties all have formed their position and agenda before the conversation even begins preventing effective dialogue.  Common sense succumbs to the storm surge.  We cannot control nature but we do control how we choose to proceed.  One thing that is certain is that the issue is far too important for politics and money to affect the conversation.  It affects all of us.  If we do nothing, maybe nothing will happen.  But can we afford to just do nothing?

The same could be said of education.   It may seem a callous comparison at this sensitive time  but education  has problems and we are in a seemingly constant state of crisis since the 1980s.  This crisis breeds a degree of urgency which polarizes the issues.  Camps are quickly formed by anyone discussing education and reduced to an "us vs. them" where people are characterized and forced onto sides with clear positions, whether they hold them or not.  Lost is the "common ground" that is the foundation of all meaningful progress.   The gravity of what is at stake in both cases presented here should be a mandate for success, not just change.  Most heavy lifting falls to the classroom teacher and when added to their everyday duties the weight is more than many of them can stand to bare. 

Education is unlikely to have some momentous event that is a catalyst for movement and whether Sandy will materialize into that for the environment remains to be seen.  The exhaustion of natural resources would be a far greater cataclysmic event to even Sandy.  But it also will take much longer.  Few can argue with legitimacy that reliance of fossil fuels alone is preferable to a policy which shifts our reliance toward more renewable sources.  Whether it is one decade or one hundred the supply will eventually run out. The side effect of such intensive use are also problematic. 

Shifting back to education one resource it appears we are content as a nation to "burn through" is our teachers.  Unlike coal or oil one big difference is that no group seems to lobby as successfully for their value as teachers.  Lately as one I have confronted the reality that many view me and others like me in our profession  as a resource to be used and cast aside.  Evidence of this everywhere.  Teachers are at least as unhappy with how they are treated with how they are compensated.  Many are quitting.  The pedestrian nature of our national response to this trend should be alarming.  But it has caused no substantive progress to be made and instead has simply brought about rationalizations from many in a position to do something about it.  To think that we can "replace" the teachers that are retiring, leaving or burning out is ill informed and maybe even dooms the fate of of the entire system.  Schools are not places or things, they are the people within their walls.  What will be the effect of our delay and no action?  Will there  still be a sufficient pool of quality teachers to draw upon willing to teach our young people?If we wait until the void begins to have real results on our graduates  it will be too late.

Reasons why one areas teachers quit.

I take solace in the fact that the issues concerns raised by teachers seem to be finally gaining some attention.  We also have control over the reasons teachers say they are leaving the job.  People are starting to see that a decade or more of failed policy or self interested involvement from outside groups is not necessarily a  good thing for kids.  But the appearance of movement is more valuable and carries far less political liability than actual movement. So nothing gets done.

In the meantime we continue to bleed talent causing untold harm to our schools.   I feel obliged to note that every teacher thinks about quitting, some quite a lot.  Those who  stay do so because we love our students.   But each time we are told by the unknowing to do the impossible for the unwilling with next to nothing, more damage is done. Teachers are being exhausted and that is having a dire consequence on our the educational environment.  As a beginning, I strongly encourage those with influence to appreciate the value of the teaching force in this nation and yolk its strength in a less consumptive way. 

I think in both cases it will take a leader with enough courage and insight to finally bring about reform of consequence.  We must all come to the table and agree on decisions that affect and will hopefully better our shared future.  Failure to do so will have dire consequences indeed. 

Did Mr. Loweyt quit?

Up Up and Away

The end of the school year is always a season of change.  Refrains by the Byrds or David Bowie, both convey how change is as constant as the passage of time.  The basement weathers this phenomenon too as the faces shift and change with the school years.  We ourselves are relatively new having only been fixtures for a decade and a half give or take.  The TU sees the basement as blend of cool and unwanted.  It appears the basement is unwanted as this year we are saying goodbye to one of our own who has chosen to willingly depart.  It does happen, but not that often.  In truth this guy has kind of always been an interloper.    But in time he became like one of us, an oddball that fit in below ground.

In most cases people leave the basement with good reason.  Retirement, transfer, quitting, school realignment and even mental illness have taken staff from our midst. But it is rare for anyone to just "up" and leave.  So we thought it worthwhile to talk a little more about the basement and explore the rationale within the mind of one who chooses to leave. 

The steps to the basement circa early 1970s

Throughout its storied history the basement seems to have been predominantly male.  It has also been occupied to a large degree by history classes.  Up until recently, math shared the space, but no more.    The six rooms, all about equal size are all now social studies classrooms.  One room has an  small office(or antechamber if you are a spelunker), mostly for storing dust and mold.  There's also a pair of bathrooms and a set of small utility closets just for looks.

 The basement has always been as much a state of mind as a place.  Students and teachers just seem more laid back when in the basement.  Life happens a beat slower. But that is not to say nothing goes on.  It has a storied history which those of us who remain are proud continue. The same teacher that gave me the low grade I deserved in the early 1990s as a student, hired both members of the TU a short time later.  Since then we've taught with a handful of staff members who thought better of the location and moved on. Reasons vary but several left the profession(coincidence?) and others left the area while two longtime teachers retired.

Roger MacBride

Some pretty amazing stuff happens in the basement.  Beyond the amazing teaching(shameless self promotion) and antics, a government class once hosted the famous 1972 "faithless elector".  We've been visited by state officials, housed sports banquets, been flooded, had Friday hall parties, witnessed the exceedingly rare student altercation, seen chair races, featured a rousing game of wallball, offered shelter from tornadoes, endured earthquakes and countless foreign language class dances above (all of the last three are actually indistinguishable from each other.)  Doing the math, the TU members alone have taught about 3500+ students.  That would mean that in that same time there have been roughly 10,500 students who have taken a class down here.  So why would anybody leave?

Our departing colleague may simply feel more welcome or happier above ground.  He may not like the smell, mold, humidity, lack of sunlight, creatures, or secluded feeling.  We remind him of the smells above ground that await him on the American Studies Hall.  Maybe it was just time for a change.  He could hate us.  All interesting theories.  We think we know the real story.  Beginning several months back this individual began an all juice fast and has not been himself since.  While he has lost weight, claims to feel rejuvenated and generally seems healthier, we've seen some different side effects during lunch.

We do the same thing everyday.  "Don't drive angry."

Gone are the discussions about best practices, eliminating poverty, and the joys of teaching.  Replaced by incessant banter about beets, kale, and rutabaga.  While not so bad at first it now feels like we are imprisoned on the set of Groundhog Day.  The vibrant, intelligent, driven man is no more and all that remains is the shell of an individual who's brain has perhaps turned to mush...or juice. That said, he is a great teacher and will be missed.  Even though he will just be upstairs, it won't be the same.

The faces may change, but the basement remains the same. 

As he goes to seek refuge above ground or simply on a quest in search of something greater among the wilds and light of the upper world, we wish well and offer these words; 

"Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time

Mmm....Yeah."

God speed John Glenn.

A TU Effort at Transparency

TU regulars may have noticed a slight decrease in our productivity.  We pride ourselves on our ability to churn out quality thought provoking material or more often posts that are slightly below mediocre. But this has been a tough stretch with a noticeable decrease in the volume of posts we are writing.    It is not writers block, it is something else. First off the Hunger Games came out, the premier of Mad Men, there's the whole Supreme Court review of "Obamacare" thing and of course we mustn't forget the NCAA tournament.  In the words of the Bandit(from Smokey and the Bandit) "I can't lie to you Sheriff, you're too good man."  Truth is we are just really busy teaching. 

We're not quite a s popular as these folks, but we do eat.

Sitting around the lunch table as we do, the simple fact is that we are a suspicious bunch.  The modern world of education has conditioned us to the readily understood reality that there is more to most things than meets the eye.  Most “reforms”  have some underlying motivation or are far more complex than they appear on the surface.   The devil is in the details.  What on paper and in public is represented as a great idea is seldom as advertised.  Hard to argue against the intended effects of No Child Left Behind.  Hard that is until you stop and ask a seasoned teacher.  One who is willing to share an honest and open opinion based on years of feet on the ground experience. This often occurs when they are at ease, like during lunch.  Many things in education lack the necessary transparency to avoid missteps and problems.  SOL tests and their development, state and local education budgets, Value added, common core standards, tenure reform,  are among those that could use a little fresh air.  Such is also the case for the basement where we work.    If we are one thing in the basement at lunch I think we could be described as open and honest.  Brutally so.  So today’s post is an effort to shed some light on what happens when we discuss happenings between bites at lunch.

Teacher #1 only eats only "juice"

As background, you must know that whenever teachers hear about new plans or mandates there is an immediate rush to explain things.  As experienced teachers we are now programmed to execute a well-established analysis of the unforeseen consequences for most new ideas. It is hard to explain since we by our very nature are not completely cynical.  Our lunch crew is no different.  Most teachers' work or lunch rooms have negativity in excess.  Not us.  In an effort to offer the outside world transparency here is how it might play out.    For the purposes of illustration I will abridge and refine the dialogue.   This not an effort to avoid transparency,  just protect the innocent…or at least those that eat lunch with us.    It also will help you to follow the sometimes odd and rapidly shifting conversation.

Teacher #1-"Hey you guys read about the vote about such and such?”

Teacher #2 -"Yeah, dude. That’s an effort to improve scores.”

Teacher #3 -“No.  No its not.  It’s cause you are a horrible teacher..”

Teacher #4 -“No it is actually because the politicians have an agenda and this will provide evidence that they are doing something to reduce costs and further weaken the organized teacher .  That legislation stems from

Teacher #1 “So what does this mean locally?”

Teacher #2 “I can tell you what it means to my students.  More testing.”

He's in everything.

Teacher #3 “Michael Ironside”

I mean they look alike...no?

Teacher #4 “I read this book and the basic premise was that privatization is the natural progression of those seeking to remove inefficiencies caused by overburdening legislation and growing complexity caused by the demands to step away from standardization and uniformity.”

Teacher #1 But aren’t they passing more legislation?”

Teacher #4 “Yes”

Teacher #3 “Nope. It was Michael Dudikoff.  He is skinnier than Ironside”

Teacher #4 “Wasn’t he in…?  Anyway that’s the beauty and idiocy of the situation.  Governments strapped for cash that is needed, but taxpayers are unwilling to pay and are forced to seek alternative and potentially more efficient and flexible methods and approaches as part of global and social change.” 

Teacher #1 “But won’t the end result likely be a reduction in quality caused by a greater demand placed on students and teachers?”

Teacher #4 “Yes”

Teacher #2 “So you are sure about this?”

Teacher #4 “I read this other book and it said …”

Teacher #2 “No, not that, you’re sure it was Michael Dudikoff?”

Teacher #3 “Oh yeah no doubt.  He was in total recall.”

Teacher #1 “Nope it was Ironsides”

Teacher #3 “Yep you’re right”

Teacher #1 “Man, This stuff just makes no sense.  It boils my blood.”

Teacher #3 "Michael Ironsides boils your blood?  Why?  He’s a great actor.”

Teacher #1 “You know what I mean.  It is just demoralizing.”

Teacher #2 “Sure it is.  What are you gonna do quit.”

Teacher #4 “Yeah you should quit.  Seriously, you're are not that good.”

Teacher #3 “Don’t quit.  Just stop coming. That’d be epic.”

Teacher #5 "I made this podium"

(awkward period of silence)

Teacher #2 “I’d like to think someone would notice if I didn’t show up.  Wouldn’t they?”

Teacher #3 “Michael Ironsides would notice.”

Teacher #4 “Point is we just need to try and convey to the public and decision makers that some of the reform ideas we encounter have little to do with us, but greatly affect us.  It makes teachers less able to perform well as educators”

Teacher #1 “I gotta go set up for my discussion seminar next period”

(student delivers a pass)

Teacher #3 “I taught him last year.”

Teacher #2 “Great kid”

Teacher #4 “I have him now and had all four of his siblings”

Teacher #1 “He is smart.  Works hard too.  Makes teaching worthwhile”

Teacher #2 “So you’re not quitting?”

( 27 Minute lunch ends as Teacher #1 exits)

Teacher #3 “I had dibs on his desk chair”