Saturday, July 26, 2008
“Now class”, says the 1st year teacher in one of her city’s most troubled high school, ‘let’s begin our writing prompt on what motivated you to come to school today.”
“I ain’t gonna do this &*^(#%, B…,” said one of her more demanding students.
Although not quoted as such in Jonathan Kozoll’s “Savage Inequalities”, the tenor of the conversation undoubtedly was present when someone like he spends time in many of our schools. Is this an anomalous situation? Or, as it is perceived nation-wide, is it an ever growing problem?
Why is such profanity prevalent in our school halls? Why is it almost routine for a teacher like Baltimore art teacher Jolita Berry to be beaten senseless by a student and have it captured by a cell phone camera while others looked on and encourage it? The trauma has kept Ms. Berry from returning. Could it have something to do with her principal putting the blame on her, for using defensive words regarding feeling threatened by this student? When a teacher, young or older, newbie or tenured, knows that the climate in the school invites such vicious behavior it is no wonder that it is difficult to find committed teachers to stay on the job. It is a rare occurrence to see an assaulted teacher actually seeing criminal charges filed against the perpetrator, as is the case here. (Neufeld) It is no joke that teachers have called for ‘combat pay’ in some districts.
It was reported that Dallas was unable to attract the necessary number of new teachers, even with a $6,000 bonus. University of Texas researchers determined that to attract the amount of teachers needed would cost an average $20,000 for mid-career teachers. (Gardner)
School districts throughout the country are adding bonuses but finding that many of the recipients are bailing out and going to less challenging school districts. (Neufeld)
What has been the cause of the decay of civility and respect for teachers in America? Could it simply be an age old problem or are we seeing an explosion of disrespect unseen in our history? Growing up I clearly saw problems in our schools: cigarette smoking in the lavatories (as we called it then) may have been the more serious of offenses. We even had special schools, alternative schools we called it back then, for students who needed a greater sense of discipline in their lives. Fortunately, we were not exposed to ROTC in public schools to ‘offer’ such remedies. Talking back to teachers happened. Probably always have. If you had kids who talked back to their parents then you’d likely see them lash out at teachers. We weren’t all Beaver Cleavers but then again, we weren’t all Jim Starks either. (Rebel Without a Cause)
One wonders how much of this is a cultural problem. Quynh Nguyen wrote in the Minnesota Daily a simple reflection of how she views respect. She says, “In Asian society, students revere teachers for the simple fact that knowledge is power and that it is generous of teachers to share it.” (Nguyen) In America, we seem to memorize this mantra, “Knowledge is Power”, yet do not incorporate it into our being. It’s almost as meaningless as “Winston tastes good as a cigarette should” or “Ajax- laundry detergent- is stronger than dirt.” Can you hum them? A corollary to “Knowledge is Power” could be “Speak Truth to Power”. In our day, we see how useless that can sometimes be.
One other main consideration for why we see such chaos in our schools and why teachers are so disrespected can be easily traced to NCLB, No Child Left Behind. Ms. Berry is one of the more notable and nationally known victims of this federal law. One of the main aspects of it deals with how a school is labeled, vis a vis its discipline problems. Simply put, if a school were to take serious, even drastic action against a student who commits a serious violation, short of criminal assault, that school is eventually deemed unsafe and is threatened with restructuring, involuntary transfers of staff, demotions of administrative staff, etc. The message given is if to avoid punitive action, slide on the consequences to violators. The deeper message is directed to the student most likely to know how to play the system. That message is that one can get away with creating all kinds of hell for a classroom and can avoid suspension.
Often we see other ways of demeaning a teacher’s professionalism with everything from forced grade inflation to changing grades in order to increase graduation rates. In Prince George’s County the new directive is to provide educational plans, with parental sign offs, for any student who gets a D or failing grade on any assessment. Obvious response by some teachers is not to fail the student. This hurts the student but it could also add to the disrespect heaped on the teachers by some administrators. As incredibly burdened teachers are with paperwork, such plans for a failed assignment would be the breaking point for some. The perception by many teachers, not just in Prince George’s County, but all over, is that there is a serious disconnect between what the administration wants and what the teachers feel they are reasonably able to do.
Most teachers are hard working, sacrificing, dedicated teachers. We are insulted, abused, and often threatened by students. We are often insulted, abused, and threatened by administrators. Parents rarely come to the school for conferences. The person on the street will say how grateful he or she is that we are teachers but do nothing to support us. The media likes to focus on the crime stories in schools or the teacher that may have been involved with sex or drugs at the school level.
As Ms. Nguyen observed and questioned, where are our values? We should be asking why have we relegated our teachers to almost a meaningless status in America. All the aphorisms aside about how the one who teaches (like the man who teaches one to fish) is put on the highest pedestal does not equate with the treatment he or she gets once they’re in their professional environment.
Myles B. Hoenig
“I ain’t gonna do this &*^(#%, B…,” said one of her more demanding students.
Although not quoted as such in Jonathan Kozoll’s “Savage Inequalities”, the tenor of the conversation undoubtedly was present when someone like he spends time in many of our schools. Is this an anomalous situation? Or, as it is perceived nation-wide, is it an ever growing problem?
Why is such profanity prevalent in our school halls? Why is it almost routine for a teacher like Baltimore art teacher Jolita Berry to be beaten senseless by a student and have it captured by a cell phone camera while others looked on and encourage it? The trauma has kept Ms. Berry from returning. Could it have something to do with her principal putting the blame on her, for using defensive words regarding feeling threatened by this student? When a teacher, young or older, newbie or tenured, knows that the climate in the school invites such vicious behavior it is no wonder that it is difficult to find committed teachers to stay on the job. It is a rare occurrence to see an assaulted teacher actually seeing criminal charges filed against the perpetrator, as is the case here. (Neufeld) It is no joke that teachers have called for ‘combat pay’ in some districts.
It was reported that Dallas was unable to attract the necessary number of new teachers, even with a $6,000 bonus. University of Texas researchers determined that to attract the amount of teachers needed would cost an average $20,000 for mid-career teachers. (Gardner)
School districts throughout the country are adding bonuses but finding that many of the recipients are bailing out and going to less challenging school districts. (Neufeld)
What has been the cause of the decay of civility and respect for teachers in America? Could it simply be an age old problem or are we seeing an explosion of disrespect unseen in our history? Growing up I clearly saw problems in our schools: cigarette smoking in the lavatories (as we called it then) may have been the more serious of offenses. We even had special schools, alternative schools we called it back then, for students who needed a greater sense of discipline in their lives. Fortunately, we were not exposed to ROTC in public schools to ‘offer’ such remedies. Talking back to teachers happened. Probably always have. If you had kids who talked back to their parents then you’d likely see them lash out at teachers. We weren’t all Beaver Cleavers but then again, we weren’t all Jim Starks either. (Rebel Without a Cause)
One wonders how much of this is a cultural problem. Quynh Nguyen wrote in the Minnesota Daily a simple reflection of how she views respect. She says, “In Asian society, students revere teachers for the simple fact that knowledge is power and that it is generous of teachers to share it.” (Nguyen) In America, we seem to memorize this mantra, “Knowledge is Power”, yet do not incorporate it into our being. It’s almost as meaningless as “Winston tastes good as a cigarette should” or “Ajax- laundry detergent- is stronger than dirt.” Can you hum them? A corollary to “Knowledge is Power” could be “Speak Truth to Power”. In our day, we see how useless that can sometimes be.
One other main consideration for why we see such chaos in our schools and why teachers are so disrespected can be easily traced to NCLB, No Child Left Behind. Ms. Berry is one of the more notable and nationally known victims of this federal law. One of the main aspects of it deals with how a school is labeled, vis a vis its discipline problems. Simply put, if a school were to take serious, even drastic action against a student who commits a serious violation, short of criminal assault, that school is eventually deemed unsafe and is threatened with restructuring, involuntary transfers of staff, demotions of administrative staff, etc. The message given is if to avoid punitive action, slide on the consequences to violators. The deeper message is directed to the student most likely to know how to play the system. That message is that one can get away with creating all kinds of hell for a classroom and can avoid suspension.
Often we see other ways of demeaning a teacher’s professionalism with everything from forced grade inflation to changing grades in order to increase graduation rates. In Prince George’s County the new directive is to provide educational plans, with parental sign offs, for any student who gets a D or failing grade on any assessment. Obvious response by some teachers is not to fail the student. This hurts the student but it could also add to the disrespect heaped on the teachers by some administrators. As incredibly burdened teachers are with paperwork, such plans for a failed assignment would be the breaking point for some. The perception by many teachers, not just in Prince George’s County, but all over, is that there is a serious disconnect between what the administration wants and what the teachers feel they are reasonably able to do.
Most teachers are hard working, sacrificing, dedicated teachers. We are insulted, abused, and often threatened by students. We are often insulted, abused, and threatened by administrators. Parents rarely come to the school for conferences. The person on the street will say how grateful he or she is that we are teachers but do nothing to support us. The media likes to focus on the crime stories in schools or the teacher that may have been involved with sex or drugs at the school level.
As Ms. Nguyen observed and questioned, where are our values? We should be asking why have we relegated our teachers to almost a meaningless status in America. All the aphorisms aside about how the one who teaches (like the man who teaches one to fish) is put on the highest pedestal does not equate with the treatment he or she gets once they’re in their professional environment.
Myles B. Hoenig
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