Teachers: Why are you so pissed?

[Smarmie Doofus]

Here's why I am.

My reply to a poster in a "group" ( only the initiated see group postings; I want EVERYONE to see mine.)

Poster had asked why parents were unsympathetic to teachers. I said mine weren't and.........


Truth be told: they're not *enough* on our case. I'm in special ed so the dynamic may be different here than with most educators.

But I wish they'd insist on being MORE involved.

They want their kid to make progress and *I* want their kid to make progress. That's a powerful confluence of interests. We are... or should be.... natural allies.

What's the problem then?

The problem is as follows:

Mandates, rubrics, alternate assessment bureaucracy, redundant assessments of all varieties, crazy-ass mandated online curricula, crazy-ass scripted curricula, money paid under the table to ensure adoption of the foregoing, district administrators, school-based administrators, corporate $$$chool "reform", professional memo-writers, principals who fail to see that required services are delivered to handicapped students, contracts with elevator repair corporations who never quite manage to fix the elevator so that they keep getting called back to the tune of "mucho dinero", anti-unionism, half-baked teacher evaluation $cheme$, Arne Duncan, the idiotic insistence on micromanaging every aspect of classroom instruction ( including where one stands and where and when one moves) Bill Gates and predatory philanthropy, administrators who come to school late every day and leave early, economically comfy DEM politicians who enable all of the above but who can afford to send their kids to private schools where *none* of the foregoing goes on.

I could continue. You get the picture I hope. Boy.... that felt good.

Add to Journal Self-delete Edit

I do believe I'll add it to my journal. " 'Why'... I said to myself.... not' ". ( 10 point bonus for ID-ing that quote!)

[Blue Meany]

1. I have concluded that the school "reforms" initiated under Bush

have one purpose: to set up schools and teachers to "fail." That will pave the way for a "free market" solution to the education problem created by these reforms, which will at once damage teachers unions (and thus contribute to the ongoing goal of defunding the Democrats) and provide profit for crony capitalists.

[blue ivy schlotsky]

2. Sounds like what they're doing to the Post Office

and what they are doing in Europe.

[Blue Meany]

4. With the Post Office, definitely...

Republicans want to privatize everything, so they set them up to fail. One wonders how capitalists will make money once they have "mined" the commons for everything of value.

Europe, I think, is more complicated, but I think in the financial system as it exists, someone has to fail. The question is who is going to assume the costs for the failures that are built into the banking/monetary system. The fairest thing would be for investors to take the biggest hit, since the interest they get on loans is for the risk of loss they take. But the EU is essentially controlled by banksters, who do not want to eat the losses, so they are going to try to force ordinary Greeks to do this, even this will take Europe back into recession.

[fascisthunter]

6. they are definitely setting the Post Office up to Fail

their hostility for it is out in the open.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Hmm. Hard to add to your list but I'll try.

1. People (mainly elected officials) who believe they know what's best for our kids even though they don't KNOW our kids and don't even live in the children's community.

2. The assumption that teachers are the reason schools are failing.

3. The assumption that schools are failing. They are not but no one's listening to those of us being blamed for the failure (see #2 above).

4. The failure to meet the needs of the children by providing wrap around services.

5. The excuse that we can't afford what we know we need to do to meet the needs of our children (see #4 above).

6. TIF financing and other shady tax giveaways which steal needed revenue from our public schools.

7. Stupid administrators who believe none of the above matters and if we were just better teachers we would see great growth in student achievement with the meager resources we have.

8. Administrators who refuse to support teachers and blame us for poor classroom management when they refuse to enforce the Code of Conduct.

9. Anyone who believes the answer is instruction while ignoring classroom management. This is why half of our new teachers quit within 5 years.

[Smarmie Doofus]

5. Ok, Ok, I left out a couple.

Actually, I left out a lot.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. This could go on for days.

I for one could write a book.

Here's another one -

A state senator in MO has filed a law that would dissolve an unaccredited district (except the unaccredited district where SHE lives is exempt) AND prohibit hiring ANY teachers from that unaccredited district. So the district is dissolved and all the teachers are fired - and can not teach anywhere in the state.

And the bill has passed out of committee and is awaiting a vote on the floor of the Senate.

This senator is the same one who tried to abolish child labor laws in MO last year. She's a nutbag.

[Smarmie Doofus]

9. Please tell me she's not a Democrat. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. No. But ...

we do have a Democratic state senator who is nearly as bad. He has several nasty bills this session.

But I'm sure you know teacher bashing is a bipartisan affair

[DCKit]

7. You malcontent. When I was a disabled kid.....

It's the Republic way - Kick the crutches out, then blame the system you caused to fail, for failing.

De-fund the schools, then blame the schools.

De-fund the schools, then say we need charter schools.

De-fund the classroom, then say the teachers are failing.

If I had a good answer on how to fight back, I'd give it to you, but I don't. However, I totally agree with getting your students parents involved. At the very worst, they'd get a chance to see what's really going on.

[Smarmie Doofus]

13. "Disastercation", then .

One might say we've at least coined a new phrase.

[DCKit]

14. I'll use it!

[Bruce Wayne]

10. The closing quote almost comes from Bobby Kennedy.

"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?"

Is there any quote more Democratic?

[Smarmie Doofus]

11. That's not it but I'm giving you the 10 point bonus anyway.

It's from the movie "All About Eve." The Celeste Holme character says it.

But I love the RFK quote also.

[ibegurpard]

15. kick

[Smarmie Doofus]

16. Thanks. Don't mind if I do. n/t