Sure, keep blaming the teachers, why not?

For the last two decades or so, as public education in the United States keeps getting worse and worse, the teachers keep getting the blame.  Its our fault kids don't meet state standards on standardized state assessments and national standards based on nationally normed exams.  What no one talks about is the fact that the only thing teachers control at any level within the classroom is...well...nothing.  Standards and tests and levels and curriculum are set and chosen by people higher up the educational food chain and pay scale than we are, mostly by people who have never ever been a teacher of the content or grade level that they are choosing or creating the curriculum or standards for.  We, the folks who work with the kids all day, every day, year in and year out, are not considered experts at our craft or content or management.  We have to get our directives from those powers that be that I previously mentioned.  And, those directives can be sure to change every two to four years or change when a new power that be takes control and that person has a stake in some new fangled way of teaching Math, or Science, or Social Studies, or penmanship...oh wait, that got tossed out.  Kids don't need to know how to write or sign their names, we live in a digital age!  That is, unless they want to fill out a job application or sign a legally binding document...but that's not important.  

Why do teachers leave the chaos that is the educational system in the US?  Especially in urban areas?  Because we can't take it anymore.  The expectations are too high with zero voice and zero support.  For example, in several schools I have worked at personal safety is a real issue.  Urban middle school students have a lot of issues going on in their hormone and emotion filled bodies and when they snap-and snap they will under the pressure of life-its the teachers who feel it.  Sure there are "Behavior Deans" and "Security" personnel at high poverty urban schools.  The issue is that there are not enough of them.  In the five different urban schools I have been in, none of them had a system in place to actually prevent violence or protect teachers and staff.  Its only by the grace of God that I haven't been hurt or been in a situation where a student got hurt because of rampage of another student in my classroom.  "Well, why don't you just call for help?" you ask, with an accusing tone in your voice.  Well gee, why didn't I think of that?  I DID call for help.  My coworkers DID call for help.  Dozens of times.  We called the behavior team number, we called each secretary in the office, we called the social worker, we called the special education teachers, we called every single number in the entire school directory to get help...and guess what?  No one picked up the phone.  This is not an isolated incident.  It doesn't just happen to me.  Teachers are completely unsupported in certain situations and left without any sense of back up.  Its a very scary place to be-to be responsible for 25-35 young lives with no back up.  Its a feeling of complete helplessness and fear that you can do nothing about.  There is always some reason for no one coming...they were dealing with another discipline issue....they were at lunch duty....they were out of the building...they were away from their desk for a meeting...there isn't enough staff...there isn't enough money...and on and on and on.  Its only a matter of time before something truly tragic happens when one of those kids snap in a classroom and teacher calls for support and no one answers and no one comes.  Then what?

As outsiders look at the data for high poverty schools and the so called 'ratings' and 'teaching ability' of those teachers, do they consider these factors?  Do they consider other factors?

For example, I was teaching in a high poverty school where I had to use a curriculum that was designed to be taught in a 90 minute class period.  I had 50 minutes.  Students were expected to use this very expensive online computer program and record themselves reading.  This highly effective program required the use of headphones and microphones.  That worked.  I didn't have any.  I requested them.  Oh, there's no money for that, you have to work with what you have or buy your own.  This curriculum also expected each student to have a workbook/textbook that they wrote in every single day.  Its a very interactive program where students need to highlight, mark text, answer questions, use graphic organizers, etc IN the workbook.  Yeah, there was only enough money for five or ten workbooks. So, not only could students NOT write in the required workbook at all but we didn't have enough for every student to have one book at the same time.  Just make copies for the other kids, right?  Um, have you seen the copy budget or the actual copiers in urban schools?  Not gonna happen.  If the copier is working and doesn't run out of toner or jam every other job, its a good day.  The other component of this program was independent reading.  Students had to read books at their reading level for 20 minutes a day.  Where did these books come from?  Yeah, no where.  The program also had lovely audio books the kids could listen to.  But yeah, no CD players or headphones were available.  That year, I spent a small fortune on my classroom.

Of course, when test scores came back, my kids made gains but certainly not the gains the district or school expected.  Oh I also forgot to mention that there was a knock down, drag out fight probably once a week....and attendance was spotty at best...and kids kept choosing to switch classes...and my class became the behavior dumping ground rather than reading intervention course....and parents didn't come to conferences or return calls or sometimes even have the same phone number for more than a week..but none of that is considered.  I am expected, as the teacher of these kids who are below grade level, to catch them up.  Build relationships with them.  Have high expectations.  Teach like a champion.

Reality is, my time teaching in urban schools always felt like I was attempting to swim across the ocean with no arms.  But, I am expected to make it across faster than the person swimming in a climate controlled pool, with googles, a wet suit, flippers, a cheering squad, and every other possible support and resource known to swimming.  

We have to look at the whole picture when looking at the job teachers do.  We have to look from the top down and the inside out.  We have to consider every aspect of the job and the classroom and the school before we compare teachers or decide who is the best and who is the worst.  I'd love to see some of those bad teacher blaming folks who think they can do it better to take a month in some of the classrooms I have been in.  If you can do it better, then do it.  Otherwise work to support teachers.  Encourage teachers.  Reform schools.  Call on administrators and school boards to change their policies.  Demand better resources and support for the teachers.