From Caitlin Casement,
“I worked in urban schools for 25 years. On Wednesday, June 13, 2012, I received my final send-off from the school district I worked for for all of those years…—among the retirees who left with me, more than 200 had served at least 25 years, and one woman had taught for 50 years…….
Some, like me, are being driven out through harassment campaigns conducted by vindictive and insecure administrators threatened by our vigilant advocacy for our students—and to save money on our salaries by hiring less-experienced teachers.
The rest, cowed by witnessing this intimidation and fearful of becoming the next target, keep their heads down, their classroom doors closed and don’t make waves while they wait out the days until they too can retire.”
I suspect the “reformers” think that anyone who has stuck with this for more than a decade is either stupid or incompetent or a trouble-maker–plus at the top of the salary scale.. There’s even a drive, coming from the same corner, to forget about all “qualifications” altogether. Or claim a few months to be “highly qualified.”
We’re going 180% in the opposite direction as Finland. And for a good reason. The Finnish direction works best when society truly is concerned with everyone. The good old USA isn’t. Or so it seems.
My best to Ms Casement and her two hundred friends and colleagues.
From: www.laprogressive.com/retired-teacher-speaks-postout
Filed under: 2012 Posts |
Deborah Meier on Education 
http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/07/19/hundreds-of-parents-sign-petition-critical-of-nestm-principal/ about how our teachers are working in an atmosphere of antagonism and negative (deconstructive) feedback… and how some parents have chosen to TRY and fight back.
Deborah, I’ve spoken with Caitlin via the web and I know of too many people like her and those she describes. The end game is to end the oral history of what makes good teaching and replace it with resources bought from educational entrepreneurs in schools run by other educational entrepreneurs.
By the time I worked my final day last winter, I was being stalked daily by both administrators as they repeatedly called me into the office for more closed-door harassment sessions. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before in my life.
When will it be mainstream for teachers to run the schools? Why is the idea of teachers running the school and making the decisions about staff, salaries, schedules, curriculum, budgets so far fetched? I would love to see schools started and run by teachers everywhere. The role of district administrators in the operations of the school should be severely curtailed. That is the only way the teaching profession can escape what is quickly becoming an apocalypse.
Go visit Mission Hill – a public school in Boston – which is run as you describe…..but how long will it last??? Deb
What is unfortunate is this is a process that seems to have universal reach. I feel the same thing is happening in parts of the province I teach in. It is like ‘reformers’ with all their new ideas have resolved there is a better way to pursue learning than with teachers.