Another Teachers Perspective

To Whom It May Concern,

As a concerned citizen, educator and parent of four children I am writing to you over the latest attempts by governor Cuomo, State Senators and Assemblymen who voted in favor of  educational “reform” laws which are threatening to destroy our public school system.  I fear the more that local control of our schools is handed over to the federal and state governments the worse our public education will (has become)!  The federal and state governments are using money to coerce local school boards to adapt their misguided policies threatening to withhold millions of dollars if they do not.  This is not only unethical but is unconstitutional!  Our founding fathers created the constitutional principle of Federalism  to prevent the Federal government from over riding the power of state and local governments.  Governor Cuomo’s educational plan is crippling the true stakeholders (i.e. school board, administrators, teachers, PTA etc…) who have a vested interest in implementing policies that meet the unique needs of their own communities(the true intention of Federalism!) which they not the Federal or state governments know best.  In addition, the Common Core curriculum is hindering a teachers autonomy and creative and is quite often forcing the implementation of unsound educational policies in our classrooms.  Under this national curriculum, teachers now have very little say in what, when and how to teach and lack the necessary decision making to be creative and think out of the box with their students, removing excitement and spontaneity throughout education. Classrooms are turning in to study labs where teachers are forced to emphasize the vernacular of the common core tests rather than authentic learning.  This is not the classroom I want my children sitting in nor is it the work environment I envisioned when I entered teaching twenty years ago.  Take a look at successful fortune 500 companies who spend a great deal of time money and effort creating an environment where their employees are encouraged to be creative and think different not bogged down with bureaucratic rules and nonsensical mandated policies that will punish educators and unfairly remove good teachers from their jobs!  What  teacher is going to thrive under those circumstances? Tenure was initially created to protect teachers from political witch hunts.   Cuomo’s plan is a blatant political attack on teachers that will have dire consequences if something is not done!  No teacher objects to an evaluation system, we simply want a fair system that doesn't punish teachers for things they have no control over!

Moreover, standardized testing as a means of determining the job performance of a teacher does not differentiate the unique qualities of each community and grossly disregards socioeconomic factors that clearly effect a child’s ability to learn(please read world renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow’s “hierarchy of learning”) .  Those that are espousing all children can learn and blame their teacher if they do not,  subscribe to radical egalitarianism which denies what modern psychology and sociology has learned about  the true nature of cognitive learning and child development over the last century.   It also removes parent accountability and (at the older age levels) student accountability.  Under the governor’s plan there is no taking in to account a child who may have excessive absences(In my own classroom I have roughly 30% of students who have poor attendance in spite my numerous attempts to inform parents of this issue to no avail) nor does it take in to account students who live in abusive environments, single family homes, poverty, “latch key” kids, parent/student apathy, behavioral problems, truancy  and countless other psychological/sociological factors. In communities where there are high rates of poverty some students enter high school reading on a fourth grade level! How is a teacher going to show “growth” when many of their students are well below their grade level?

 Education is a partnership between three people and if 2/3 of that partnership are not upholding their responsibilities should the other 1/3 be fired? Personally, If my own child does not do well on a test I do not blame my child’s teacher, I blame my child and myself! I then withhold things(ipad, cell phone) from my child until he improves and explain to him that we need to study more at home and you need to work harder in class.  This is teaching my child personal responsibility and not to blame others when he fails, a practice I see too often in my twenty years as a high school teacher.  Unfortunately, many parents are too busy or are simply ill equipped to guide their child through their educational career and are overwhelmed with their own problems. 

It is important to note what is truly motivating the forces of change throughout our public school system.  If it was purely about improving education I would be screaming the loudest!  The reality is private sector test companies as well as charter school investors have made huge financial donations to Governor Cuomo and other government representatives on both the state and federal level  as well as spending millions of dollars on a public campaign intended to discredit public school teachers.  They have now become powerful lobbyist who are trying to drive out the unionized public education teacher for their own financial gain.  As a result,  governor Cuomo is attempting to rig the system making it impossible for most current public educators to survive so that they will be replaced by the hedge fund companies who now see a door has opened that will allow them to make millions of dollars off of our children in public schools! This is morally reprehensible!

Finally we are often compared to the Chinese when it comes to our “failing” education system.  One thing I can assure you is the Chinese are not waging war on their own teachers! In fact, quite the contrary, for thousands of years the Chinese have been influenced by Confucius philosophy called Filial piety, which emphasizes teachers are to be treated with great respect and education is to be valued and approached with the utmost seriousness and dedication.  It is time we start doing the same!

Sincerely,

Michael Brdey