First Year Teacher - Why US public schools are failing

Jim Wynne

Staff member
Admin
#1
I want to share something I came across in my web travels. It's a blog written by a neophyte public school teacher tracing the first three years of her career. It's called "First Year Teacher," and I came to it at the end and started reading backwards. The post I read first was the teacher's resignation letter and if you read nothing else in the blog, it alone will tell you a lot about why our public schools are failing.

Oh, I know there are a lot of reasons, from incompetent teachers and administrators, to clueless elected school boards, to intractable students, to uninvolved parents. Like most complex problems, there are no simple and direct answers. But I think that one of the biggest problems is that we don't do enough to support and promote the best and the brightest, because they're the ones who can have the greatest impact on the less fortunate. Read it and weep.
 
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Jim Wynne

Staff member
Admin
#3
Re: First Year Teacher

True story:

My sister-n-law came out of college (~20 years ago) with a degree in primary education. She did her student teaching in a Chicago public elementary school (K-8). One fine day when she was taking her group of first-graders down the hall to the library, an eighth-grader groped her and made a crude comment. Not one to take such things lightly, she got her charges settled in the library, went back and found the kid and marched him to the principal's office. Once there, she sat him down in the anteroom and went inside to tell the principal what had happened. The guy was nonplussed, and asked, "Did he hurt you?" She answered that he had not.
"Did he have a weapon, a knife or something?"
"No--no weapons. He grabbed my rear end and said, "---"
"Look--if you're not hurt, and he had no weapons, why are you wasting my time with this?"
With that he got up and escorted her to the door, where he stuck his head out and said to the kid, "Roger, keep your hands to yourself--do you understand?" The kid said, in his best Eddie Haskell voice, "Yes, Mr. Frobish."
End of story, except to say that my sister-in-law decided at that moment that if she was going to teach, it wouldn't be in the Chicago public schools.
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#4
Re: First Year Teacher

Seems to me many teachers AND principals should read through the thread Ethics - Moral law vs. Criminal law

The problem arises from the primary factor when they don't "parse" [inside joke for English majors] the situation to see all the ramifications to themselves and the public.

The second and maybe most important factor is they see themselves as "all alone" in this situation when there are probably many others who would be in their corner if they knew they could be protected against retaliation by some imbecilic superior.

The sheer fact some church dioceses and Sees are paying millions in compensation to victims today (when the nefarious activity could have been nipped in the bud instead of keeping it "secret" to protect the institution) should be an eye opener to administrators who don't want to make waves.

My advice in these situations remains unchanged:
Protect yourself and family by seeking COMPETENT legal counsel BEFORE you try to right wrongs by whistleblowing.

Competent legal counsel is important. Do not go to the company counsel first. Time and again, the company counsel has been exonerated by courts of violating client privilege with the whistleblower BECAUSE the company is always the primary client, not the whistleblower.

Just because the direct supervisor tells you to "forget" a situation is precisely the reason you should seek counsel.
 
L

Laura M

#5
As a school board member, I'll try not to be offended by the remark....:)

However, I find this hard to believe. I really don't believe that a teacher whose identity could probably be found, posting this kind of information would not have been disciplined. Plus the other blog information indicates she/he is still teaching, rather than resigned? I suspect that this is a little suspicious. Our district suspended a student for making internet statements about a principal, and another for 'REDACTED harrassment' against another student. I doubt a district would tolerate a teacher doing something similar.

Maybe I'm naive, but a 'resignation letter' on the internet, and still teaching don't add up for me.
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#6
Laura M said:
As a school board member, I'll try not to be offended by the remark....:)

However, I find this hard to believe. I really don't believe that a teacher whose identity could probably be found, posting this kind of information would not have been disciplined. Plus the other blog information indicates she/he is still teaching, rather than resigned? I suspect that this is a little suspicious. Our district suspended a student for making internet statements about a principal, and another for 'REDACTED harrassment' against another student. I doubt a district would tolerate a teacher doing something similar.

Maybe I'm naive, but a 'resignation letter' on the internet, and still teaching don't add up for me.
Probably easier for Jim and me to believe because of recent news about a Chicago teacher who got caught over a similar blog. I didn't take the time to find the Chicago Tribune articles, but here's one to show the story had more than local exposure. http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/nation/14400789.htm

Nobody said the teacher was bright or right, merely that there are more than one or two teachers who have been similarly stymied by refusal of immediate supervisors to take action when they file complaints (and/or suggestions) about "risky behaviors."

The thread is pertinent because many folks write in to the Cove when they are frustrated over coworkers and superiors apparently "violating" ISO Standards. In many of the cases, the truth is the person who writes to us in the Cove has an imperfect understanding of the real situation, but in a significant number of cases, the situation is as perceived by the writer.

Many of our fellow Cove members then suggest the original poster look for other employment. My suggestion is to look for an attorney before he does anything else because there is an excellent chance the writer may be entitled to protection and/or compensation.

Simply asked, Laura, what mechanism do you have in your school system for someone to make a complaint similar to the one in the blog at the top of this thread without fear of retaliation? How is the complaint investigated? Has any budding scandal been swept under the rug by a "quiet resignation" with a promise of a "good" reference? I've seen "quiet resignations" in business corporations. I suspect public school systems have made similar errors to Roman Catholic and Lutheran school systems which have lately been discovered to have hidden similar scandals for generations.
 

Jim Wynne

Staff member
Admin
#7
Laura M said:
As a school board member, I'll try not to be offended by the remark....:)
I didn't say anything about all school boards, or individual members. Like everything else, some are better than others. I will say this, though: I believe that the idea of the governing bodies of public school systems being elected at large, with no requirements for any sort of credentials, is hopelessly anachronistic and needs to be changed. Where I live, the public school district is the largest employer in the county, and school populations have been growing almost exponentially for the past 10 years or so. The elected school board as currently composed has done a creditable job, but there have been times when I've seen as many as five hopeless dolts (out of a seven-person board) get elected, and it seems that you're going to have at least two at any given time. What corporation with thousands of employees and a mission critical to society at large would allow important decisions to be made by people who are elected in a popularity contest?

Laura M said:
However, I find this hard to believe. I really don't believe that a teacher whose identity could probably be found, posting this kind of information would not have been disciplined. Plus the other blog information indicates she/he is still teaching, rather than resigned?
Read the two posts that followed the one I originally linked to, starting here. I see no evidence anywhere in the blog that the content is anything but genuine.
 

Jen Kirley

Quality and Auditing Expert
Staff member
Admin
#8
Re: First Year Teacher

Jim Wynne said:
True story:

My sister-n-law came out of college (~20 years ago) with a degree in primary education. She did her student teaching in a Chicago public elementary school (K-8). One fine day when she was taking her group of first-graders down the hall to the library, an eighth-grader groped her and made a crude comment. Not one to take such things lightly, she got her charges settled in the library, went back and found the kid and marched him to the principal's office. Once there, she sat him down in the anteroom and went inside to tell the principal what had happened. The guy was nonplussed, and asked, "Did he hurt you?" She answered that he had not.
"Did he have a weapon, a knife or something?"
"No--no weapons. He grabbed my rear end and said, "---"
"Look--if you're not hurt, and he had no weapons, why are you wasting my time with this?"
With that he got up and escorted her to the door, where he stuck his head out and said to the kid, "Roger, keep your hands to yourself--do you understand?" The kid said, in his best Eddie Haskell voice, "Yes, Mr. Frobish."
End of story, except to say that my sister-in-law decided at that moment that if she was going to teach, it wouldn't be in the Chicago public schools.
This would not have happened in the school where I worked. :whip: I enjoyed the administrators' full support of my discipline efforts, which I tried to limit in order to pick suitable battles.

I'll read attachment in the first post later, with great interest.
 
L

Laura M

#9
Wes Bucey said:
Simply asked, Laura, what mechanism do you have in your school system for someone to make a complaint similar to the one in the blog at the top of this thread without fear of retaliation? How is the complaint investigated? Has any budding scandal been swept under the rug by a "quiet resignation" with a promise of a "good" reference? I've seen "quiet resignations" in business corporations. I suspect public school systems have made similar errors to Roman Catholic and Lutheran school systems which have lately been discovered to have hidden similar scandals for generations.
Well, I admit it is difficult for teachers to get to the BOE. Chain of command usually has things resolved at the supt level. We periodically get anonymous letters, but those are difficult to address. This teacher should have been able to go to the superintendent, without fear. If accusations were true. However, if false, they would be in trouble themselves. I guess I'm just thinking there is more to the story.

I am aware of resignations for someone grabbing a student in a disciplinary action, and teachers not granted tenure for poor performance. In NY we have a 'finger printing background check' so if someones been arrested or convicted of a crime you know before you hire them. As far as 'good references' I've seen a couple that are simply... 'has worked in X school district for # years, had good attendence, was (for example) a coach, leader of a club, or whatever else. Very generic, not the "well-liked" "inspiring" etc, none of the words you expect to see. I'm told other districts would recognize and read between the lines. So hopefully we are better than the blog implies.
 
M

morgand - 2006

#10
Re: First Year Teacher

Jennifer Kirley said:
This would not have happened in the school where I worked. :whip: I enjoyed the administrators' full support of my discipline efforts, which I tried to limit in order to pick suitable battles.

My mother and 2 cousins are teachers in 3 separate districts. Between them and my mothers teacher-friends, I could tell you similar stories that would make you cringe; not including what was going on when I was in school myself.
 
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