tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post5304982619625830925..comments2024-01-06T06:09:29.140-05:00Comments on An Urban Teacher's Education: How Did I Get This Way!?!?james boutinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09625944306253098621noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-80910058879470112432012-05-30T11:10:42.940-04:002012-05-30T11:10:42.940-04:00James, your experience seems to mirror mine pretty...James, your experience seems to mirror mine pretty remarkably. I blog at http://supervidoqo.blogspot.com/ and have begun podcasting. If you'd be willing, I'd love to interview you about your experiences. I've read that teacher burnout is at historic levels, and there are many reasons for this - political, structural, etc. Anyway, drop me a line @ eeeeeeeli@yahoo.com if interested.Elihttp://supervidoqo.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-26342924588090599192012-05-20T14:22:43.080-04:002012-05-20T14:22:43.080-04:00Anon at 757: I didn't say you don't have a...Anon at 757: I didn't say you don't have a right to be angry. I hope people are angry. In fact, I hope people are extremely angry. I agree that corporate reform is reprehensible in many ways. But unless we want phrases like "The revolution will not be televised" to merely make us feel better in the moment, then we better think carefully about how we explain our side.<br /><br />There are a whole lot of people interested in education and education reform who think corporate reform is truly in the best interest of children because they don't have the experiences to help them understand that it's not. They've been duped by the media and the polished CR talking points. If you want to tell them why CR is wrong for our children and wrong for our country, then do it intelligently, by explaining carefully and calmly where it goes wrong. Do it like a foaming-at-the-mouth conspiracy theorist, and you should expect them to discount your point of view.<br /><br />Anger is fine, but we have to be careful it does not sabotage our purpose.james boutinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09625944306253098621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-41781161182787762102012-05-20T07:57:46.114-04:002012-05-20T07:57:46.114-04:00James, you are one of the privileged few. Get over...James, you are one of the privileged few. Get over yourself. You write about it, some of us live it. It impacts our children of color, our teachers of color, and our communities of color. Some of us are rightly pissed off and angry that our children, those children of color, are being used as pawns in this so called teaching reform. Maybe Ms. Deed just needs somewhere to express her feelings, and your blog is as safe a place as any. It hurts to walk around your school and community with your mouth taped shut. However, you're right fighting words need to be translated into action. The revolution will not be televised!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-33419152504820344722012-05-19T19:13:42.889-04:002012-05-19T19:13:42.889-04:00I think that saying "I'll do ANYTHING to ...I think that saying "I'll do ANYTHING to see my students succeed" is like saying "I'll do ANYTHING to lose weight." Is it great to lose weight? Sure. But not if that means taking laxatives, purging your meals, or exercising to the point of injury. Pursuing "good" outcomes (student achievement, losing weight) can definitely be taken way too far.TeacHerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08641784616684869834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-81337586328791022142012-05-19T01:32:59.182-04:002012-05-19T01:32:59.182-04:00Miss Deed: I am well aware of the references you&#...Miss Deed: I am well aware of the references you've made and have written about them extensively. I worry about your tone though. When educators sound like they're ranting - as I believe you do here - they're often taken less seriously. Rather than complain as we would to one another in private, I think we need to be careful how we talk about these issues in public. It's important that explain clearly to the public why privatization is so harmful, and why TFA is so ridiculous. When we just sound angry, and like we're only interested in saving our jobs, we only play into the other side's hand.<br /><br />http://www.anurbanteacherseducation.com/2011/05/open-letter-to-anti-corporate-reform.htmljames boutinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09625944306253098621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-4443365582797814132012-05-19T01:25:48.450-04:002012-05-19T01:25:48.450-04:00I hate to tell you this but your education about e...I hate to tell you this but your education about education isn't fully educated yet. There's worse yet to come. There's the vulture philanthropists, that 1% who wants the big $ of the education industry. Right now NYC and LA are seeing teacher cleansing hit its strides. Soon we will be replaced with cheap TFA temps working off their student debts before heading off to lucrative private sector jobs.<br />Why? You ask. Because people like Bill Gates and Eli Broad are all about the bottom line: profits. Sure they talk about s bad teachers and Oprah has their backs (she may as well be a corpulent white male at this pointy)and putting students first, but it is all bull shitaki. TFA temps are an ideal solution because they will be paid nominally and mostly with federal $ (our taxes). They will have no need for tenure, health care, insurance, pensions or unions which have to be bought off. We know 1% ers hate to pay a decent wage or give up benefits. They wont becxome advocates for students or expect recognition of contracts. This is America today.<br /><br />Walmart Waltons notoriously give most employees 39 hours to beat them out of HMOs, sick days, vacations and raises. We the people cover the Medical, the disability and assorted costs for our fellow working poor. Not to worry, they may dodge taxes and operate with lower ethics than most street grifters, but these guys are always ready with a check , those giant ones that they smile with as they take pictures for the newspapers theyve bought out.<br />With their thugs installed in leadership, who can say how the money is spent? In LA, it sure isnt on educating kids. But, hey, they made a fortune from the opportunities this country and Democracy afforded them and people respect that. Proof that education failed and isn't worth saving. Hope lies in autodidactic proliatariates and prozac,<br />that is all<br /><br />hemlockontherox.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05831480206116656603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-51585193026472252832012-05-16T19:12:01.612-04:002012-05-16T19:12:01.612-04:00You grew up, you became less idealistic (as people...You grew up, you became less idealistic (as people do as they get older and/or more experienced), and you realized that you alone cannot change the world.<br /><br />It doesn't make you a bad person or a bad teacher. Everything that teachers hear now is about how we do not do enough, when we probably do more "off the clock" then about 99% of the population.<br /><br />You have come to realize what the veteran teachers around you knew, which is that a career in education is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to pace yourself if you want to survive in education, and that means pulling back sometimes.Wyrm1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-69189885918177686902012-05-15T21:45:15.889-04:002012-05-15T21:45:15.889-04:00This story illustrates why the Teach for America c...This story illustrates why the Teach for America crowd so wants to get people out of the classroom as soon as possible -- to get them into decision maker roles before they get hit by reality. That way they can continue to spout their nonsense of ed deform and almost get themselves to believe it. <br />I was lucky in that I connected up with a group of teacher activists with a political perspective in my 4th year of teaching. We met every week for 10 years and became activists in out local school community and in the union fighting for equity. Working in the classroom I believe goes hand in hand with a political battle for our kids. To do one without the other leads us feeling frustrated and guilty.ed notes onlinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15018047869059226777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-6954756601326254452012-05-15T20:10:19.362-04:002012-05-15T20:10:19.362-04:00I'm presently on example 4 and fear example 5 ...I'm presently on example 4 and fear example 5 is only moments away...<br /><br />In some ways I AM turning into exactly what I said I NEVER would...on the other hand - I could never look my students in the eye, turn away and punch the clock...K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03364666702821023855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-23312954808846212682012-05-15T15:14:34.752-04:002012-05-15T15:14:34.752-04:00You articulate well what other teachers also exper...You articulate well what other teachers also experience. It isn't only our educational system that is unequal and unjust, but of all the institutions it is the one where inequality is most deplorable because education should be the route to equality. You, and others, are providing some light.Nanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00080494892714481505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-18781155162289749592012-05-15T14:01:37.137-04:002012-05-15T14:01:37.137-04:00James - it is funny that we have followed such a s...James - it is funny that we have followed such a similar path: UT education, internship, urban schools. Everything you're saying is what I'm feeling. We should email with each other.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06795816244811479374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-88289473664428688722012-05-15T10:04:06.635-04:002012-05-15T10:04:06.635-04:00>Is that just the jaded man's way of saying...>Is that just the jaded man's way of saying he's jaded?<br /><br />Nope. I never wanted to work too hard. I wanted to have fun in my life. I would have liked to teach at an alternative school back in the 80's, but they didn't pay enough (and expected endless work). I ended up teaching community college, and have always tried to balance my amount of work with how I help my students. I agree with you that the image of the self-sacrificing teacher is a very wrong one.<br /><br />Schooling is messed up in so many ways...Sue VanHattumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10237941346154683902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-44869444137459550422012-05-15T06:05:01.562-04:002012-05-15T06:05:01.562-04:00I never wanted to be a teacher. During my student ...I never wanted to be a teacher. During my student teaching, I hated teaching. I'm now in my 7th year of certification and my 5th year of teaching (4th year in an urban setting). Now more than ever, I want to be an educator. <br /><br />Like you, I am frustrated and tired. I'm fed up with being told I'm not doing a good enough job and sick of worrying about having a job. The lovely governor of my State has a new evaluation system for teachers based on student growth (and nothing more!). <br /><br />At the end of the day, I am not a teacher for the governor, the community I work for, or the school that pays my salary. I am a teacher for the students. Each day I go in and teach them because I can't give up on my kids, even if some of them have given up on themselves. And I have my days where movies and worksheets happen, but then I have my days when for the first time in 8 months, the students finally hit that "ah" moment and understand how literature reflects life. <br /><br />If at the end of the day the administrators don't like what I do, or the governor declares I'm "ineffective," I will gladly hand over my certification and move on knowing I have done everything *I* could. <br /><br />It's May...and I think we're all tired. But September will come again.Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204596403583582893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-16604407218738284422012-05-15T01:49:15.349-04:002012-05-15T01:49:15.349-04:00Donna: Thanks for the kind words. And, luckily, th...Donna: Thanks for the kind words. And, luckily, that's not what I meant. By "last" post, I just meant previous post.james boutinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09625944306253098621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-78745471543144647602012-05-15T01:47:30.101-04:002012-05-15T01:47:30.101-04:00James,
Is this your last post as you've writte...James,<br />Is this your last post as you've written? I'd hate to see you stop!Donna Brumbaughnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-13332080923096226042012-05-14T23:50:18.158-04:002012-05-14T23:50:18.158-04:00I am right there with you James.I am right there with you James.Katie Bordnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09579913450224834864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-89461517557847931802012-05-14T23:45:21.627-04:002012-05-14T23:45:21.627-04:00There is much that is wrong with the American scho...There is much that is wrong with the American school system. Thank you for sharing your experiences - I've started following your blog.John Y. Jones, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01357368610090883765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-25990385325184918712012-05-14T23:17:02.977-04:002012-05-14T23:17:02.977-04:00James. I like your stuff. Please send me an emai...James. I like your stuff. Please send me an email tds12@psu.edu . I would like to ask you a question about blogging. TimTim Slekarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14530203945041573825noreply@blogger.com