If you haven’t yet seen the documentary “Waiting for Superman,” you should. Immediately. It came out this weekend on DVD and I’ve watched it 3 times now. It’s about the state of the education system in America, and it spotlights some of the policies that are holding us back, as well as some things that are working, and working well. It was especially interesting to me because one of the little girls it follows lives in the community where I teach high school- in East LA. It gives some background information and statistics of the Middle School that most of my students attended, as well as the High School where they would be slated to go if they weren’t enrolled in our charter. It’s amazing film.
And it made me think about a lot.
I’ve only been in the classroom for 7 months now, and already I’m seeing that, as much as I can do in my solitary classroom, and as much as I can help my 120 students towards their goals, the only way we will see education reform on a larger, national basis is through dealing with problems that are deeply embedded in the system- a system that is set up to fail our students.
I’m reading a book by Michelle Fine called Framing the Dropouts (again, if you had time, I recommend it). In the first chapter alone she begins to outline how even though we have a public school system with equal access, it is producing unequal outcomes. While every student in America has access to free public education, genuine quality education is largely based upon how affluent and how “white” a community is. Minority neighborhoods, as well as those of lower socioeconomic status, have historically achieved on a much lower level than their wealthier, white counterparts. These are facts that TFA feeds us on a weekly basis, and at this point, they are deeply rooted in our still-forming philosophies and pedagogies. The reasons for these gaps are many, and the solutions have been proven (as cited in “Waiting for Superman,” schools like KIPP Charter schools are based in primarily minority neighborhoods and typically experience the greatest achievement and gains of any schools in their regions), yet the nationwide policies are at a standstill and creating barriers to true progress.
I speak with humility, and with the understanding that I am only in my first year of teaching. I know I have a long way to go. But there are some things I’ve realized about the system that seem very basic- very common sense. Those are the things that frustrate me the most.
I honestly do believe that the greatest factor inhibiting our students from learning are the teachers. This is very touchy subject because we want to believe that every single teacher does what they do for the right reasons. But it’s simply not true. Teaching is so, so difficult. I’ve never been so tired and so worn out in my life. It takes time to become good at it, just like any other profession. What gets me, is that teachers across the nation complain that our profession is not taken seriously, yet they refuse to submit to the same standards of other professions, i.e. evaluations, performance-based pay, continued education, consistent feedback, and constant reflection and revision of skills and practices.
My charter district is moving towards total performance-based pay, and there are many districts across the country who are attempting to implement similar policies. Yet when these policies are introduced, they are met by great resistance by the majority of teachers (particularly, the unions). These teachers are the ones who say that they can’t be responsible for the scores their students receive on tests; they can’t be responsible for what their students learn… Wait… what was your job again? To teach? That’s like a doctor saying they have nothing to do with whether or not a patient gets better, or a lawyer saying they have nothing to do with whether or not they win the case. Yes, there are outliers; there are extreme situations in which teachers can do everything in their power, and a student still slips through the cracks. But how can a teacher say that their students’ scores do not reflect on them? What it sounds like, to me, is that they would rather be a part of the unions. be granted tenure, be paid the status quo, and never have to grow in their professions. It’s easier, for sure. But it’s not beneficial to our students.
It is stressful to be constantly evaluated within the classroom, but I don’t mind it, because I truly want to become better at my job. I know that as I become better, my students will learn more, which is the ultimate goal. If teachers want to gain respect in the classroom, we need to be the first to start treating our profession with the respect it deserves, which means, in part, agreeing to being evaluated on our performance, and accepting the reality that comes with all other professions: if you aren’t good at what you’re doing, you shouldn’t be doing it (or at the very least, if you don’t care, or you aren’t even attempting to grow, you shouldn’t be doing it).
I get offended when I hear people say that teaching is easy because we get summers off. Come spend a week in my classroom. Spend hours every night grading, planning, calling parents. Spend your weekends in the library, or at Target shopping for school supplies. Spend your weeknights in professional developments and in data-analysis meetings. Then tell me if you don’t think you deserve a few weeks off. At least, if you’re doing it correctly, you should feel the need to have a few weeks off.
Yet I understand where they’re coming from. Because I can be certain that some of the teachers I had in middle and high school were definitely not working this hard. There were some classes I took where for weeks on end we would sit and do absolutely nothing. These are the teachers who should not receive the privilege of being in the classroom; I’m not talking about the teachers who are trying- who are working hard, countless hours. I”m talking about the ones who don’t plan, who sit on their asses when they should be in front of the classroom, and who act as though they hate the very students who are in their classrooms. Our students deserve better.
To me, teachers who blame the students’ lack of learning on the students 1. are too weak to take responsibility of their actions within the classroom, or 2. have the underlying mindset that their students really are just too dumb and incapable of learning. Either way, they should not be a part of the education system.
I know that education is the work that I’ve been called to. It’s the single greatest national injustice of our generation. If I am harsh on myself and fellow teachers, it is only because I believe so much that our students- ALL students (no matter their race, gender, socioeconomic status)- deserve the best. I believe that it really is a privilege to be a part of this movement, and that those who don’t view it as such are just getting in the way of true reform and change.
I hold myself to these same high standards. If I ever start to take my role in the classroom lightly, if I ever refuse to be evaluated because I don’t want to listen to constructive criticism or put in the work to better myself, if I ever start to treat my students as though they are incapable of learning, or if I ever start to say that my students’ learning is not my responsibility, then I don’t deserve to be in the classroom.
When teachers begin to take their professions more seriously & take pride in what they do and responsibility for their actions, maybe the rest of the nation will follow.
These things being said, my students are awesome and I love them more and more every day. Some days are really rough, some days I’m really tired, some days my students are super hyper, some days they play tricks on me, or each other, some days I’d rather sleep in. But there has never been one day when I leave and dread coming back the next day because of them. Here are a few little gems from the past few weeks:
— Student comes in and offers to empty my 3-hole punch. “Yes, that’d be great! Thank you so much!” 15 minutes later, as different student stands up to leave the classroom, little white paper dots go flying. Helpful student who had offered to empty my hole punch had not specified to me that he wanted to empty the hole punch into the other students hoodie. Lovely. I made him pick up the pieces one by one.
—All my kids know that I love the Celtics, and they all (obviously) love the Lakers. During a lesson last week, they had to take a paragraph that had vague details and rewrite it using precise language & sensory details. When I asked for volunteers to read their examples, hands flew up all across the room. I soon found out why: all the hands that volunteered were hands of students who had written their entire paragraphs about how the Lakers are better than the Celtics.
—When having my students write persuasive essays about the DREAM Act, one of my students got mad at the use of the word “alien” in the name of the bill, and drew pictures of alien faces, labeled them “Mrs. K” (they can’t spell my name. I typically go by “Miss”), and stuck them all over my desk.
—On Valentines day, I got suckers, cards, chocolates, and a heart-shaped cupcake 
good times.
go watch “Waiting for Superman”
go read Framing the Dropouts.
