I have been mulling over and again, the state of what is happening in education with stunned silence.  I know exactly how Chris Lehman felt when he wrote his post, “Finding the Strength to Write”.  I think he spoke for many educators when he said that he felt defeated.  And I know why.  Caught between the steamroller (Oprah, Gates, Duncan, and Ed Reform) and the pavement, are teachers.  Teachers, who constantly get compared to doctors and lawyers professionally; yet, they do not receive the salaries and respect of these professionals.   Teachers, who since the introduction of NCLB; have tried to improve learning and instruction within a ridiculous timeline.  (Imagine doctors being told that they would have to have all their patients cured by 2014.  Do you think they would pick their patients carefully?  Do you think they might want to turn down some patients based on their disabilities, illnesses or subgroups?)  That’s in addition to standardized tests being the measure of student success or failure.  Teachers, who get questioned from all sides, including their administrations, parents, school boards, DESE, NCLB, and now Oprah.  This is what has many stunned and taken aback. 

Let’s face it, Oprah is a machine.  She has power and she’s not afraid to wield it where she feels it will do the best work.  Let me caution that this is not a “Let’s bash Oprah” post.  I believe her heart is in the right place and she feels compassion for the human race and animals, but let’s face facts.  When Oprah so much as suggests something, MANY people in the world, jump to buy it, do it, eat it or read it.  She can make a star out of her lawyer, her doctor, her decorator, and her best friend.  She can create a best seller out of an obscure book, diet or product.  She has the public trust and they buy everything she sells or promotes.   Her latest endeavor in trying to correct what’s wrong with education in America has many scared, and rightly so, given her clout.  And let me say, that if Oprah can help come up with a way to change the direction of education in a positive way without demeaning the very people who have dedicated their lives to educating our society, I’m behind her.  I just hope she does more homework on the cure for what ails the American education system than she did when she endorsed James Frey’s book, A Million Little Pieces.   In other words, if we are going to change the face of education in this country, let’s include some educators in the discussion.   I don’t think anyone disagrees with the statistics.  Teachers have been pleading for something to be done in order to help them educate our children.  They want positive change, but it should not come at the expense of their professional reputations.  Educators didn’t create the statistics mentioned above.  Educators persevered despite all the educational reform in the past eight years.  They kept plugging along hoping that someone in charge would see the light and help them, help their students.    Is it no wonder that educators are feeling defeated?  I will tell you who is “Waiting for Superman.”  Teachers are.  I think we have waited long enough.  I think it’s time that we, the citizens of Edutropolis become our own heroes and do what we teach our students to do in the face of adversity:  Have faith, don’t give up, try your best, make our voices heard in positive ways and if all else fails, find the antidote for kryptonite. 

 


Comments

Stephanie Sandifer link
09/23/2010 2:58pm

Hi Pam,

I followed the link here from Chris' post and I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to write and post your own thoughts.

We have to keep talking about what we know is going on -- going right -- in our schools. We need to blog, tweet, email, and speak face-to-face with colleagues, family, friends, neighbors, local politicians, and parents of our students.

Stephanie

Reply



Leave a Reply