Mr. President, Please allow me to take a few moments of your time to bring to light a horrendous problem within our country... Let me back up and explain some things about myself first, since you do not know me. I grew up in a middle class, military family. My family moved from Texas to New Jersey, down to Florida, back up to a different part of NJ, and back down to a different part of Texas all before 6th grade. These moves were due to my fathers work (and some due to his military placements). While living in NJ, my family was one of the only Baptist families for a huge stretch of the state. That was when my parents taught me I needed to be loving towards everyone, no matter how different or similar to myself. The teacher that inspired me the most was my fifth grade teacher in NJ, Mrs. McCarthy. She had fun, creative lessons. She really made education a blast! We didnt stress over tests and we didnt care about data or rigor, yet my class received a GREAT education!. It was fifth grade that I told my parents that one day I would be a teacher just like my role model, Ms. McCarthy. I spent the next 12 years prepping to be just that...a role model, an inspiration, an educator, an uplifter...a TEACHER. When I tried to get away from this fate, God made it abundantly clear that there was no way around it...He wanted me to be a teacher as much as I wanted to be one when I was 11. So the path was set. Despite the comments, Why teach? There is no money in it, coming from many who did not understand my desire to serve children. My junior and senior years in high school I got to have a real test of my strength for my future, desired career. I joined a class called Early Childhood Professions. I was able to create lessons, teach, act as a Teachers aid, and get some real, hands-on experiences in a classroom. That was in East Plano, Texas. Many students in that part of town were lower middle class or under the poverty line and I simply LOVED the children! My second year of this experience, however, was when the first full wave of NCLB started taking effect. Plano curriculum became scripted. When I graduated high school (May 2003), I vowed to myself I would NOT work for a district that was scripted, because I wanted the autonomy to teach my own lessons that I knew went with our state standards (the TEKS) just as my childhood hero got to do. Throughout college I became very frustrated with NCLB by seeing how it was hurting many children. I felt betrayed by the first president I was able to vote for. I wrote letters to congressmen and women as well as President Bush, but they fell on deaf ears and I received automated responses back. About this time I also became aware of the horrible program of Teach for America. Then you came into the picture, Mr. President. You spoke of changes that would bring hope. By this point I was very skeptical and wary of most politicians. My soon-to-be chosen profession had already been screwed by the right...and I honestly did not believe it would get any better from the left...but, I took a leap of faith...which proved to be just as bad! I graduated college in 08 and could not get ANY teaching jobs besides subbing and an after school program (which I did take). The reason I wasnt getting jobs...TFA! I was livid, to say the least. I spent over half my life wanting to be a teacher and training to be just that and then these under-qualified (they only get 5 weeks of training!) kids came in and took all the jobs out there. It took me three years to finally get a full time job at my current school! Needless to say, at your re-election I had lost any trust and hope I had in you and did not vote for you again. However, the damage had been done. Not to me...to my chosen profession!. And then with the implementation of Common Core! I am one of the few lucky teachers that do not have to deal with it (since Texas refused it), however our new TEKS are just as bad! First graders (six and seven year olds) required to do labs involving fire...Kindergarteners (five and six year olds) required to know what vertices are! Fourth graders (nine and ten) required to read five LONG passages and answer questions that are typed in 10 point font and then the next day required to answer 8 step math questions, then spend the next two days writing Personal Narrative and Expository essays! I could go on all day about the inappropriateness of my own states standards...which are only a little better than the CCSS ones. CCSS does nothing but line the pockets of already rich billionaires and screw over the very children who SHOULD be getting an education! These horrible standards are doubly bad when you put inexperienced TFA teachers into high risk schools. And then by closing public schools and creating more privatized charters...it just piles on the damage to our countrys youth! These kids are our future and education reformers are making their future very bleak by treating living children as manufactured widgets with this one-size-fits-all mentality! Now let me ask you, is it fair that a child with severe mental handicaps be required to learn at the same pace as his/her on-grade-level counterpart? If you dont know...it is NOT! Another issue I see across the country is the acceptance of over flow classes. Last year I had 30 first graders and this year I have 28! That is TOO MANY! I am a good teacher, but there is no way I have enough time in my day to effectively serve all of my kids who need me. On top of all of that, many schools are losing their arts programs and physical education! So not only are the standards inappropriate, the creative outlet kids once had are yanked away from them! This makes school extremely boring and aggravating for many kids. Recess, when we get it, is down to about 10 minutes...if that. Kids need to run, play, and get exercise! So to sum up: I am more than frustrated with the state of education in our country since I am a public school teacher. At one time this profession made people applaud. Now it is vehemently scorned and teachers are seen as lazy, unable creatures who dont know how to actually do anything. Well let me tell you what I DO, Mr. President...I teach. More specifically, I teach at a Title 1 school in Texas. That means over 80% of the children I serve live under the poverty line. In addition to that, over 90% of the students on my campus are English Language Learners (ELL), English as a Second Language Learners (ESL), and bilingual. I organize the yearly Talent Show. I expand my knowledge by going to professional development classes on my own time, which cuts into my family time since I am also a wife and a stepmother. I tutor after school, often times for free. I daily speak with my coworkers to try to find better ways to reach my students. I push four of my 28 students who dont even know letters to use sign language as an extra help. I continue to push my 6 high kids to think at a level two grade levels above their grade. I serve on extra, after-school committees that try to help out, but constantly has no way to help. I help teach musical drama to the after school club that meets at my campus (the last one in my district!). I act as a surrogate mother/father figure for the 12 students I have that have not seen their incarcerated parents in years. I get to school at least an hour before I am required to be there to completely prep myself for each day. I stay after school every day...three hours after on Mondays and Tuesdays, two hours extra every Wednesday and Friday, and an extra hour every Thursday...UNPAID...sometimes I stay more if I can. I am only required to have 12 grades per core subject per six weeks, yet I continuously have anywhere from 20-30 grades per subject per six weeks to give my students a truer picture of their grade. I could tell you every single students favorite color, animal, hobby, place, etc...yes for ALL 28 of my students. I could go on, but I dont believe I need to. So, Mr. President, the ball is now in YOUR court. I have told you what I do to help education. How will YOU help? Do you really want your legacy to education to be race to the top, TFA, and CC$$? Or do you want students to get a REAL education from the people who have given up everything to do whats best for their kids? If you are wise and choose the latter, please put REAL TEACHERS in charge of education policy rather than people like Arne Duncan who knows nothing of the daily classes he continues to jeopardize. Child and Teacher Activist - B.A.T. ^o^ 1st grade ESL and RP teacher
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 05:17:24 +0000
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