Reality Check: Teaching is Political

“I don’t really like politics. I try to stay out of it all as much as I can. I just focus on my classroom.”

We hear some variation of this comment frequently when we are working with K-12 teachers, paraprofessionals and other educators.

And on the surface, the comment is one that is tempting to write off as wise.

After all, politics, with all of its distortions and backroom deals, can seem like a sleazy business – something that we as educators with a strong sense of integrity want to avoid at all costs.

But the events that have been unfolding in Wisconsin over the past several days serve to remind us that, whatever our personal political convictions, we as educators can never fully remove ourselves from politics.

Because the daily decisions that are made in schools are driven primarily by politics – by the highly partisan decisions of lawmakers at the local, state and, increasingly, federal levels.

Lawmakers, often with the input of public policy analysts, shape what children learn and how frequently they are tested, how much teachers are paid, whether teachers have the right to form unions and engage in collective bargaining, whether public preschool programs are made available to families, and, in some cases, how children are taught to read.

How do we respond to this reality – that politics, ugly or not – shapes the work that we do each day to serve students?

The first step is to make ourselves aware. As educators, we should make a habit of staying informed – and then doing our part to help build awareness in others, too. We should be reading about education in the local and regional newspapers, on blogs, on the nightly news, and from other sources.

When we collect this information, we should do all that we can to think critically, and to consider any biases that exist in the news.

From there, we can decide how we want to be involved. Do we want to advocate for children through a non-profit organization? Encourage voters to support a specific measure? Help to elect school board members that we believe will make decisions that are good for students – and teachers?

Opting out of politics is not an option for today’s educators.

How will you get involved?

Don't Let a Crisis Go to Waste: Insights on the Wisconsin Union Fight

Are you following the heated debate over the rights of teachers’ unions in Wisconsin and feeling a bit puzzled by all of the partisan rhetoric?

Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein does an exceptionally good job in this column of explaining the forces that brought the state to this point of high political drama – and why collective bargaining and benefits for teachers and other state employees should not be the focus of current budget negotiations.

Here is how Klein explains what is happening in Wisconsin, and also playing out more quietly in a number of other states nationwide:

“(Here is) how you keep a crisis from going to waste: You take a complicated problem that requires the apparent need for bold action and use it to achieve a longtime ideological objective. In this case, permanently weakening public-employee unions.”

The tactic, then – and it is both an ugly and highly effective one – is to use the budget crises that is the result of a national financial meltdown, to achieve long-term political goals.

If you are a politician who resents teachers’ unions and the political influence that they wield, what better time to hit them hard than when the average voter is fearful about the state budget and eager to see spending dramatically reduced across the board?

This is precisely the political tactic that we see at work in Wisconsin and beyond.

Do most states currently have serious budget shortfalls that need to be addressed? Yes. Are educators and their students inevitably going to have to feel some of the pain of those cuts? Yes.

But that does not mean that teachers should automatically give up their right to collective bargaining. And it doesn’t mean that class sizes should necessarily be increased. Or that after-school programs must be cut.

There are many options for cuts available – and we need to consider all of them, being very aware of the many complex political forces at work behind the scenes.

"Children will learn to do what they want to learn to do."

As you watch this thought-provoking TED talk by education scientist Sugata Mitra, you might consider the following questions:

• What is the video saying about the idea that our children are now digital natives, meaning that they do not need to be taught how to use technology because for them it is a largely intuitive process? How does this impact the way we view the teaching and learning process?
• What does the premise of his talk say in terms of educational and social justice implications? Might it be possible, with the use of some fairly simple and inexpensive technology, to educate young people in places where, as Mitra says, "the good teachers won't go?"
• Is there anything in this video that you find especially hopeful? Or disturbing? Or both?

We'd love to hear what you have to say. Please leave a comment below.

"Disengaged, lazy whiners?"

This story about a suburban Philadelphia high school English teacher, who was suspended for a blog where she repeatedly berated her students, definitely has people in education and beyond talking.

It is easy to tune in to the particulars of this case: The teacher, who has her share of defenders, called her students “disengaged, lazy whiners.” She also complained about students’ behavior, saying that students talked openly about drugs, argued about grades, and talked back to authorities.

She also criticized her students for balking at assignments that pushed them to be creative or to think critically.

On the surface, this is a story about one teacher and her blog – an online page that she says she created exclusively for family and friends.

And surely, there are questions to be answered about this specific case.

One has to wonder whether this teacher, with all of her negativity and frustration, was an effective teacher. Was she capable of supporting and caring about these students that she seems to loathe? Did her negative attitudes and expectations create a negative, hostile classroom environment? How have students been affected by this story and the revealing of the blog?

But at the same time, there are bigger questions – systemic ones.

We are left asking ourselves: How did we get here – to this place where teachers are so incredibly frustrated that they are calling their students names online? How much harm is being done, day in and day out, by teachers who are not only frustrated but seem to actively dislike their students?

And how did we get to the place where students are speaking openly about drug use and other unhealthy behaviors in front of adults, including teachers?

The point the teacher makes about students finding it difficult to complete assignments that require creativity and critical thought also is compelling, since this generation of students has spent a large percentage of their class time dutifully filling in bubbles on standardized tests. What role have teachers, schools, administrators and school boards played in contributing to this decline in creativity? How do we respond?

Certainly, the case of this specific teacher and her blog is troubling. But the greater issues – the big, systemic ones that affect children not just in this one Pennsylvania school but nationwide – also cannot be ignored.

What do you think? What can we learn from this case?

Imagine Leadership

When you watch this video, you might consider the following questions:

• Is there anything about the information in this video that you found surprising? Why? How might you use this new information in your life?
• The video highlights many leaders and the inspiration behind their achievements. What inspires you in the leadership work that you do?

What other questions does this video inspire? Please leave a comment below and share your questions and thoughts.

Coming Soon...

We at The Institute for Educational and Social Justice and 20/20 Enterprises are excited to be putting the finishing touches on our new book, Motivation, Education, and Transformation: The Change Agent's Guide to Reaching Our Youth and Lifting them Higher.

This exciting new book, which will be available for purchase in paperback and in e-book form beginning in early March, is designed for anyone who is looking for ways to more effectively reach the young people they serve.

This innovative book, co-written by Dr. Marina Gillmore, Dr. Monique R. Henderson and Keith L. Brown, includes practical, common sense advice for leaders who work with today’s young people.

The book’s authors have extensive experience working with teens and young adults, and also have a strong background in educational research, uniquely positioning them to offer insights and applications that really work.

This book will show you how to effectively motivate and educate today’s young people, with the ultimate end goal of empowering youth from all backgrounds to become transformational leaders, doing their part to bring about positive changes in their classrooms, schools, neighborhoods, communities and beyond.

Expect to be challenged, inspired and transformed!

A Child's Perspective

My daughter is undeniably mine.

Not only does she look strikingly like me, but she often behaves like me -- as a combination journalist/educator. This must be why she feels compelled – even as a kindergartener -- to issue daily reports to me on the progress of other students in her classroom.

These are some of the verbal reports I have heard during the course of this school year – her first since moving to Texas and leaving her private California Montessori preschool behind.

n Student A bolted from the classroom and down the hall for the fourth time that week. The teacher is going to the district office to have a meeting to attempt to deal with the matter.

n Student B became hysterical when he was not allowed to play with the toy trains he brings to school to use as part of a reward system. My daughter was pretty sure the boy’s behavior would improve the next day: “He sure does love playing with those trains. If he gets a chance to play with those trains, it can be like magic or something.”

n Student C has learned to say his name more clearly. The work he is doing with the “speech lady” seems to be paying off. “He can even say MY name sometimes now. And I am learning to understand him more and more!”

Here and there, I have mentioned these stories to parents and friends. I mention them, often, while making the case that I think my daughter’s teacher – and her school – are miracle workers, skillfully meeting the ever-changing and unpredictable needs of students.

But often, the people who hear the stories about the students in Hannah’s class, which includes several special education students who spend their days in regular education classrooms, are bothered by what they hear.

“Hannah is bright. Don’t you think these other children are taking away the teacher’s time? Shouldn’t they be spending more time on the kids who can and want to learn? Aren’t you worried Hannah isn’t learning because of all of this?”

When met with these questions, I don’t really worry. I know, of course, that Hannah is not only learning but excelling.

But I decided to ask Hannah about the presence of some of the special education students, to see what she had to say – curious if she ever viewed their membership in her classroom as a burden or distraction. And here is what she said:

“Not have them in my class? No! I like having them in my class. I like helping them and showing them things. Like, I help (Student C) with his lunch number. And (Student B) is so nice. He smiles all the time and gives me really big hugs and is so silly that it makes me happy. I help them with things but they help me, too. It’s like we all have to be in class together like that. We just need to be together.”

Hannah’s perspective – albeit an overly simplified one – is one that is grounded in educational and social justice. Instead of worrying about being somehow shortchanged by the system – worrying that if too many needs are represented the system will be overwhelmed – we need to do our part to make the system work – and to recognize and appreciate what each student brings to the classroom.

A Different Look at Parental Involvement

When educators talk about parent involvement, they often seem to send mixed messages.

On one hand, educators often all but beg for certain types of involvement. What are some of these “good” types of parental involvement?

• Bringing in items like copy paper, snacks, used books and other items needed for the function of the school, particularly in lean economic times
• Responding to phone calls and notes home about specific academic performance or behavior issues.
• Lending a hand at events often run by the school’s PTA/PTO. Some of these events might include family nights, silent auctions or book fairs, with proceeds benefitting school activities.
• Chaperoning school trips or volunteering through booster organizations for clubs, athletics or music, among other things.

These forms of volunteer work, some educators say, are what “good” parents do. And certainly, there is tremendous value in these activities, particularly in schools where budgets and staffs have been cut dramatically because of budget woes.

But there are other forms of parent involvement that, in at least some cases, school officials are less open to seeing. What are some of these forms of potentially less welcome involvement?

• Asking challenging questions about how the money that the school receives – from parent-run fundraisers and from other sources – is actually spent, and suggesting how that money might, conceivably, be spent more efficiently.
• Expressing opinions about how students should be taught – suggesting, perhaps, that students might need more hands-on activities to engage them in learning, or, in other cases, suggesting that maybe students need to spend more time on activities that encourage the memorization of basic information.
• Questioning whether after-school programs are effective and whether they are maximizing students’ potential to learn and explore new activities.
• Asking difficult questions about teacher performance, including how teachers who are struggling are supported at the school – and what happens if the teacher does not improve.
• Advocating for increased differentiation of instruction, so that all students can have their needs met within the classroom – whether they are two or more grade levels behind, or two or more grade levels ahead.
• Questioning student discipline policies, including situations where some students are punished, while others are allowed to break rules without consequences.

Parents should, of course, support the school their child attends. And teachers need to be respected and honored for the hard work that they do each day.

But supporting public education – at the school level and beyond-- does not mean merely serving as a cheerleader or booster, who blindly follows the school administration or parent organization’s lead. Instead, it means thinking critically about how the school is performing. Without that respectful but critical eye, many schools are unlikely to improve.

Banning the Word "College" from School?

This article about a Maine school board member asking her district to stop using the word “college” when speaking to students about their future plans seems, on the surface, to be more than a little absurd.

But in some ways, the story points to an increasing tension in this country, as some people begin to question whether college – especially with its increasingly exorbitant cost – is really the best choice for most of our students.

Of course, it is difficult to imagine a logical argument for banning all references to the word “college,” since surely even the strongest vocational and technical advocates would acknowledge that college really is the best choice for at least some of our students.

But what do you think? Is it possible that our K-12 schools really have placed too much emphasis on attending college? Should we, instead, be speaking to students more about other options, including technical schools and vocations that do not require a college degree at all? And if we do increase our emphasis on vocational training, how do we ensure that students are not pigeonholed unfairly, based in part on stereotypes about who should go to college and who shouldn’t?

What do we make of this story and the tensions it represents?