I am sitting at a table with a number of very knowledgeable and very talented professionals who are discussing education reform and the neo-reformists. It is a fascinating discussion — performace pay, tenure, charter schools, federal dollars, etc. We are talking about how “teacher quality” is such a big buzz word and how people say the problems are due to the quality of teachers instead of some of the genuine issues — scarcity of resources. The best teachers in the universe will still only be able to do so much with a class of 28 or 29 kindergartners.
The disparity is so vast. And the perception of both our members and our staff are so different. My perception right now is that our teachers are distraught. They are being asked to do more and more and more with less time and resources. And they are distraught. The teachers I hang out with are basically saying, “We’re dying out there.” They really want to make sure their students are successful and it is becoming so difficult. It is also sucking the joy out of teaching and the life out of our members. One of my friend’s son is in his first year of teaching in New Orleans. He is at a charter school — a high school where he teaches Spanish. He is in the classroom from 7 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon. He goes home and begins grading papers. Needless to say, the conditions are what most human being would find impossible. One of the students at his school who is 14 is pregnant — she was gang raped by the school’s basketball team. What did the cops say? “Be careful, boys.” I am serious. He is in his first year of teaching and getting no support. He’s making a decent starting salary — some $46,000, but how long will this young man last?
I have the distinct honor of having one child in an urban school district and another in a rural school district. It is amazing where people are putting energy — the parents — in times of economic scarcity. On Vashon, we have an entire community flipping out about the kind of “dirty dancing” going on during school dances. We have parents who are crusading to “change the dance culture” on Vashon Island. The irony, of course, is that we are going to see Joey Eisenberg in Flashdance at his high school tonight. Meanwhile, in Seattle, we have everyone simply rolling over as the school superintendent tears programs in half to save a few bucks.
How can we, as a union, be intentional about vision and about positive change? The only thing our members care about is kids. Yes, they have to make enough money to pay their mortgages and get their own kids to college, but really all our members care about is that their students get the opportunity to reach their full potential –not JUST their academic potential although that is very important, but that they reach their full potential as human beings. How can we allow kids full time to learn to be whole human beings when so many weeks are being stolen from them to put them through test after test after test? How can we, as advocates for our teachers and other school employees be out in front in a landscape that is shifting beneath us all the time?
I still say that the Gates Foundation (no matter how well meaning they are…and they are well meaning for the most part) is the largest non-elected policy shapers in the world. They have a gargantuan amount of power and it is fascinating to see how it is playing out…and a bit scary.