Where's the Kool-aid?

Warning- You might want to turn away now. This is just the opinion of one tired, completely disgusted teacher. My disclaimer for you before you read is that in case you didn't know it, you're reading the blog of an awful teacher, a failing teacher, one who doesn't care about her students or want them to be successful in life. (Yes, that is what I have been told. I am NOT exaggerating.) Consider yourself warned. :)

I had to listen to more discussion today about how we teachers stink, how we are failing our children, and all that drill..... NEVER mind that all but three of my kids' scores went up on their second math benchmark, many of them significantly!!!! (And, to those critics out there, YES, I care very, very much about those three who didn't improve and will continue to do everything in my power to help those students.) Never mind that my class average jumped 10% from last quarter. I know it's still bad, and we still have a long way to go. I knew that before I passed out the stupid tests!!!! I know it better than anybody else because I walk that road every single day with the kids- not them!!!!

All I wanted was a half an hour to plan the big picture for next week with a colleague without having to hear how awful I am. Half an hour. Thirty minutes. I couldn't even get that. I mean, seriously, we can't even applaud ourselves for one minute for the growth our students made before we get back to the hard work of helping all our children grow and learn and become the people they were meant to be. I wasn't even applauding myself because I knew someone would have something to say, and sure enough... good thing I didn't hold my breath.

I think all the mean-ions (I can't insult the cute little minions from the movie by using the same name for these people, so I'll change it up a bit) and those who profess themselves to be "in the know" about education today have all been to the same "kool-aid meetings." It's like they've all swallowed the same poison. Yes, our students need help. Yes, they are behind, and our education system is failing. Yes, many teachers are not up to the quality that is needed, and in some cases teachers are to blame. But folks, there are so many other issues at play here. And for every awful teacher, there are so many more hardworking, devoted, loving teachers who are working themselves to death to meet their students' needs, find ways to fix the problems, help kids catch up, AND do all the stupid stuff that the mean-ions tells us to do- clean your whiteboard, put this up on your bulletin board, don't cover more than x % of your wall space, don't use tape on your walls or doors, show student work but don't put it here or here or here, post an EQ, state goal # and objective #, and a series of "I can" statements for everything you will teach in the day in advance, BUT make sure your whiteboard is clean and "streamlined," attend six million meetings and "opportunities for professional development" which are not really opportunities but one more "meanion" who has all the answers but really doesn't- just another person getting paid big $ to act like they know it all.

I am NOT making excuses. If we are going to fix the system, we have to address all the issues; otherwise we will never change a thing and the system will continue to fail the children we are supposed to be serving!

I keep trying to think of a good comparison. Cancer rates seem to have gone up in the last 100 years. We don't look at dr.'s and blame them for the increased rates of cancer. We don't say that dr.'s don't do enough and that they are failing the patients because they got cancer in the first place. We look for the causes of cancer, and we encourage people to avoid things that cause it such as smoking, high-fat diets, unhealthy lifestyles, etc. I am obese and have been for a long time. If I get a heart attack and become very ill, I would be absolutely stupid to blame our nation's medical system. I can't say, "Oh, the dr.'s should have written a PMP (personalized medical plan) or they should have implemented this special program or tried this approach." It will be my own stupid fault. And anybody who knows me would probably tell me that I was wrong to blame anybody but myself. It's rough. I have all these excuses and reasons, but in the end, it will be my fault if I die or get sick from obesity. And hate it I will, but I hope that I don't go seeking a scapegoat for my own failures.

The cold, sad truth is kids don't get to choose their lives. They can't pick what kind of home they'll grow up in, the neighborhood they'll live in, the types of parents or how much support they'll get at home. They don't have much power to choose good role models from early on or the ability to make their parents help them with homework, read to them or do all the things that "should" happen to help them be successful. And families don't always get all the breaks. Failed relationships and divorce happen, people die, moms and dads abandon their kids, layoffs and unemployment exist. Crime and poverty. Abuse and neglect. Hunger. Drugs. Alcohol. Welcome to the lives of many of our kids. Welcome to the lives of some of my students.

Now come back in my room, and look at how much behavior is improving. How much students are learning to control their anger, express their emotions in more appropriate ways, talk out their feelings, accept their failings and move on. Look at how much my kids are learning to get along with one other, even kids they don't really like as much. Look at the decrease in cussing, fighting, throwing of objects, hitting the teacher, screaming, and crying and at the increase in smiling, happy children and amount of work completed. Look at how grades are slowly improving and the growth in my kids' benchmarks. Look at how much harder they worked and longer they took this time to complete their tests over 1st quarter. None of that shows up on your little data sheet I notice, but THAT is the stuff that will make my kids successful in life. Data THAT!