The Dream vs. The Reality

I had the privilege on Friday of visiting Bronx Success Academy Charter School; a school which is only a few blocks away from mine and serves the same population, but couldn't be more different.  From start to finish, the most pervasive thought in my mind wasn't "why can't I work here?", but "why can't every school be like this?"

The overall culture of the school is evident immediately as you walk in the door: words and numbers on the hallway floor provide a print rich environment for the scholars; doors are open, inviting all to come in and observe the scholars learning; each classroom has 2-3 teachers actively engaged with the scholars.  It was clear to me while observing the teachers interact with the students, the respect that they had for education and the dedication that they had to helping these students achieve.  I observed a teacher in blocks class guide one scholar in a conversation that helped another child in thinking critically about the height of her block tower, which in turn caused her "to revise her plan" for her construction.  I witnessed kindergartners discuss and write about civil rights excitedly stating that Marin Luther King, Jr. "didn't care about skin, only the content of a person's character." I watched as teachers instructed small groups of no more than 10 scholars in phonics and guided reading.  Teachers, who were responsible for the learning of all students in the school, touted that they were "not classroom teachers, but school teachers."  This culture of collaboration, commitment and respect put students first and truly elevated the level of instruction and independent thinking within the school.

At the end of my visit at the school, it occurred to me that I could apply to teach at this school or one of the other schools in the Success network; however, I think that this is one of the problems that is facing public schools.  Talented teachers who are discontent with the public school system often leave public schools to teach at high caliber charter schools, private schools or suburban schools, frequently leaving the most needy students with inexperienced, ineffective or complacent teachers.  Schools in high poverty neighborhoods are not forced to change because parents can take their children to charter schools and many of the teachers who care leave the schools rather than staying and forcing a change.

I am not arguing against charter schools like Bronx Success Academy; this school and schools like it do an amazing job of educating children.  What I am proposing is that EVERY school strive to educate children as effectively as these schools do.  One way that this can be achieved is by teachers remaining in public schools and pushing for reform at the school level and for parents fighting for the best education for their children.  If we don't fight for the best education for our children, then who will?

Digging Deeper

While teacher layoffs in NYC were narrowly averted this year, one of the casualties of tighter budgets was Teacher's Choice, a program that reimbursed teachers for a small amount of the out of pocket expenses that they have each year.  At it's height, Teacher's Choice gave public school teachers $220 while last year it was $110.  While this amount is hardly enough to cover all of the extras and even essentials that teachers buy each year, it has always seemed at least an acknowledgment of the money that teachers spend to provide for their students. 

While the UFT insists that teacher's choice is not to be spent on basic supplies, but rather on enrichment activities, it seems that that is where the money always seems to go.  With smaller budgets, principals are forced to cut things they see as the least essential; and, when faced with the choice of cutting valuable personal or supplies, it's often the supplies that are first to go.  So, as Teacher's Choice is lost and budgets to individual schools are cut, it is me and my colleagues who are being asked to "dig even deeper" to provide essentials for their students.

While the pockets of the state and city get even tighter, NYC school teachers are digging deeper and deeper into their own small pockets.  How soon before there is no deeper to dig?

Show Me You're Ready...

It's a phrase I use in my classroom everyday.  I say it without thought and enforce it without hesitation.  "Show me you are ready to learn.  Show me you are ready to read.  Show me you are ready to listen." And my children do. 

For educators there is so much power in showing.  It is much more powerful than saying. We model how to do everything because our students don't learn from us telling them something, they learn from us showing them something. 

And just as we show them, they show us.  They show us that they are ready to learn something new by asking questions, by their intent looks, by their body language.  Or, they show us they are not ready by their chatting, their blank looks or their defiant behavior.  But their showing always proves more powerful than their saying.

The same holds true for our principals, our politicians, our policy makers.  Many of them say they are for our children, but their actions and policies show us that they are not.

So...

Show me you're ready...
to listen.
to read.
to write.
to believe.
to fight.
to change.
to learn.