LA Teacher Dead of Suicide: Was One of LA Times' Victims

[proud2BlibKansan]

Earlier today this email came across from a teacher in LA:

Rigoberto Ruelas is missing. He is one of our own, a long-time teacher and TA at Miramonte Elementary in South Los Angeles. With all of my heart, I hope he is well and will make contact soon with his family. I know all of us feel the same way and will keep him in our hearts untill he is safe again. He called the sub desk on Sunday night to request a substitute for Monday and Tuesday. He talked to his brother on Sunday and his father on Monday. He didn't return to school this week and no one has heard from him. Reports are that he was stressed out from work. In particular, Mr. Ruelas had been called less than effective(or however they put it) by the L.A. Times valueless "value-added" data base. This for a teacher who had always enjoyed a great reputation at the school.

Of course there could be many, many reasons for his disappearance. How much of a role the Times played is pure conjecture at this point. I do not fault those that would say to bring it up for discussion without the facts is perhaps irresponsible or self-serving. I would ask us to consider the deeper ramifications before leaving it at that. The UTLA home page calls the Times use of "value-added" data "reckless,destructive." I do not want to imagine how destructive in the matter of Mr. Ruelas. Do we really have to wait any longer to point out how awful, not just this latest attack on teachers is, but the entire immoral climate brought on by a well-financed campaign to scapegoat and discredit teachers?

I sincerely pray that the unthinkable does not have to happen before those behind the blame-the-teacher barrage stop and assess the damage. The wounds to teachers' reputations pale in comparison to the harm already done to thousands of our students. Their stress endured, the blame assigned imprints not just them but their families. These are flesh and blood human beings. Schools designated low-performing because of the tyranny of testing do, in fact, feel shame. A culture of hate and fear serves no positive purpose. To those who seek to privatize and charterize, however, the instability is key to their tactics. Simply put, Mr. Gates, Mr.Walmart, Mr. Broad, Mayor Villaragosa, Mr. Cortines(and too many others to list), when is enough, enough?

http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2010/09/blood-on-their-hands.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. It won't be enough until every school is privatized, I fear.

I wish Mr. Ruelas safe passage, and my deepest condolences go out to all who loved him: his family, his students, his fellow teachers.

Shame on those who seek to cause enough instability that leads to this horrible situation.

Recommended.

[Nikki Stone1]

3. This is left of a major public resource

Maybe THE major public resource.

[applegrove]

2. It is a self fulfilling prophecy. They go after teachers, fewer people want to become

teachers when they could be an investment banker. The quality of teachers will go down. What sort of wholesome person would want to wander into the fight that is now public education. In 20 years the teachers really will be less. The unions will be broken. The GOP will have won and they can put an end to the civil rights and arts education that is now taught in schools. People will be ignorant when they graduate and starved for information which they'll get from the church or the corporation. They will be fearfull little prey animals graduating from highschool easily exploited by corporations who will then use them to vote and keep taxes nonexistant on the rich.

[Hannah Bell]

9. nah, the preppie tfa recruits from harvard are lining up at the doors.

they're not going to be attacked: they're the "good" teachers.

it's interesting how in the deepest, longest recession since the 80s, private school grads are taking local public school positions paid by local tax dollars.

job security for the little trustafarians. there's so many of them these days they have to steal jobs from the plebes to employ them all.

[Initech]

4. The pukes' war on education turns tragic. Damn.

[Nikki Stone1]

5. Actually Obama and Arne Duncan are fast-tracking this

Bill Gates is running Duncan.

[emilyg]

6. I won't blame the Repubs. for this.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. They are at least partially responsible

The war on public education was started by them.

[mzmolly]

8. Horrible

story. I disagree with this new era of publicly shaming teachers. I hope he will not die in vein.