Amid the very contentious debate about reforming public education, some of us have to enter classrooms every day and deliver instruction to students who cannot wait for systemic change--and while I greatly admire the passion and knowledge and intelligence sometimes represented in this ongoing debate I have little faith that any of this will be resolved any time soon and, alas, even less faith that it will be resolved to the benefit of my students.
So for now, at least, and probably for some time to come, I pledge--and hope other teachers will join me--to be a subversive educator. That is, to provide quality education for our students, by any means necessary.
I am not suggesting rebellion for its own sake. Where policy supports quality education, I will obediently adhere. But, like many of you reading this, I have been doing this long enough to know that (notwithstanding the many fraudulent claims of those who have no direct contact with our students) putting students first--I mean really placing their interests ahead of all others--is very often at odds with what we are told to do in our classrooms.
Subversive educators have for decades toiled in secrecy, sometimes at great risk, to provide their students with an education that is enlightening, awakening, and inspiring. I would not be the teacher I am today without the inspiration of my subversive colleagues. I would not, in fact, be a teacher at all.
Putting students first often involves great risk. I have had the good fortune to spend my career in South Los Angeles where many high schools have a significant number of unfilled positions and where, barring serious student or parent complaints, administrators rarely keep track of the antics of their teachers. I understand that many teachers in other places operate under much closer scrutiny and far more stringent limitations. To those I say, do what you reasonably can.
Administrators and politicians and union leadership may claim that there is no disparity between what they tell us to do and what is best for students--but we know that is often not the case. When I began teaching I had a colleague who--whenever he was asked to do anything outside his classroom, professional development or otherwise--would ask, "How is this benefiting my students?" A simple question but a profound guiding principle. He did not show up to work each day to support the ambitions of administrators or politicians. Neither do I. Therefore:
Teaching should be pure joy. That so many of us are frustrated and alienated--some to the point of despair--is intolerable. We can end the suffering by making 2011 the year of the subversive educator. And if we can all conspire together on behalf of students (why not make this the decade of the subversive educator?), then maybe we can save the system; we can be the reform.
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Understanding your role as a teacher goes a long way.
Good luck.
You inspired this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-thompson/it-is-better-to-ask-forgi_b_803305.html
Love the piece--will comment on that thread.
It's the problem with academic freedom. It's the problem with giving guns to the police and turning our tax dollars over to politicians. Except that in theory, at least, professors and police and politicians operate under some monitoring. Subversive acts do not. Except that students often--if not always--know if the teacher is for real and if they are learning. They become the monitoring system.
Thanks for the comment and keep keeping it real!
I have one suggestion - when you say that you will teach the student, not the material, you go on to explain what that means in a way that begins to encroach upon what I think are my rights as a parent. Yes, I want my child to learn critical thinking (actually never a problem for mine, whom we called the "little lawyers"), but if he has enrolled in algebra, I want him to learn algebra. Throw the textbook out, devise your own lesson plans, teach the way you think it should be taught, but don't turn the class into something else you think my child needs.
By the way, it has been my experience that the best teachers say "I don't teach to the test. I teach the class, and the test scores take care of themselves." And they seem to do just that. "I teach to the test" is a lame excuse for failing to educate.
I agree that students tend to do well on those tests if they've been taught well -- another reason why it is ethically indefensible to teach to the test.
Sage advice.
This country never fails to shock me with the money wasted on destructive ideas in education.
Enough!
Let teachers do what they do best!
As a teacher I will recongize that not all of my students have the will or ability to learn and will minimize the disruption they cuase to those who want to and are able to learn.
And thanks for all the great links--I've already explored most of them and found some great stuff.
It is especially heartening to know how many other teachers I'm working with, throughout the country, to raise the consciousness of the next generation. No one should feel ambivalence about putting students first. No one should have to apologize for it. I'll try to keep spreading the word and I know many of you will too.
I can give you other examples if you'd like.
http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/573862/prentiss_whitley_jr.html