By Kristin
Well, as we might have guessed, things have started to fall apart at Central Falls High School.
While I'm not one to shy away from taking a side, today I'm not going to write about whether the teachers should be fired or not. Instead, I'm going to write about the fact that when Superintendent Frances Gallo searched Central Falls High School one night in response to a rumor that there was an effigy of Obama hanging somewhere, she found it, hanging upside down on a white board and holding a sign that read, "Fire Central Falls Teachers."
It made me think of how we sometimes overstep that line between protecting our students and trying to rally them. The students sitting in our rooms are not our colleagues or friends. They are not our troops. There's a line that teachers shouldn't cross, even though it can be tempting.
You know what I couldn't stand when I was in high school? Teachers complaining. My life was busy too, filled with problems at home and lots of stressful work to do. The last thing I wanted to have to listen to was some teacher whining about pay, work load, or administration. So, I've made it a policy to refrain from complaining to my students.
Teaching is a lonely job because we spend our days with kids. We love them, but we're not one of them. It can be tempting, especially in high school where kids are politically savvy, informed and articulate, to think of students as equals and so behave as though we're colleagues. It can be easy to think that we're in this together, fighting the good fight against anyone who imposes his or her will on the sanctity of the classroom.
But we're not. When trouble comes the children shouldn't be in it at all unless they take action independently of a teacher's suggestion. Teachers should be strongly united in an effort to protect the interests of students. We shouldn't be linking arms with them and asking them to fight to protect our jobs, reduce our workload or increase our pay.
At least, that's what I think. I know other teachers think political issues are an important part of the classroom and the teacher's personal perspective an important part of the lesson. And as you might have guessed, I'm opinionated and political, so it's not like we don't talk politics or policy in my classroom.
But when it shifts from a discussion to hanging an effigy on the wall, it seems to become less about the lesson and more about one person's opinion - the one person being paid to be in the room, the one person in the room by choice. I vote "no" to hanging effigies of the President on the wall of a classroom, regardless of the situation.
It’s a tough time right now to be a teacher. We’re under fire from all sides, and held accountable for results that are beyond our control.
But no one, under any circumstances, should ever hang an effigy of a president in a school. That crosses the line.
The teachers at CFHS have my sympathy and my support, but not when it comes to a horrible act like this.
Mark, I generally agree with your comments. But we as teachers need to reevaluate our roles when a MAJORITY of our students are not putting forth the effort or doing the work required. Such is the case at CFHS, where more than half are failing all their classes. The school must change the way it is structured, and the teachers must change the way they instruct. Clearly what they are doing now isn’t working.
That’s a sad sign of both the climate at that school and the overall climate of American political discourse right now. It’s shocking to me, and I hope it remains so, when I see an American president compared to Hitler, for example. Hanging an effigy is definitely crossing the line, and if the teacher in that classroom really responded as reported, that’s embarrassing too.
On the broader idea of politics in the classroom, I’m proud to say that while we discussed and analyzed political discourse, including campaign speeches, in my American Literature classes last year, most students were unsure whom I’d voted for. Whichever way they guessed, I never told them if they were right or not. Instead, I focused on what I admired or worried about in each candidate.
Mark, I agree! But even if you’re fired without justificaton, keep it out of the classroom and do your job.
I am in the camp that politics should be kept out of the classroom unless in situations of two sided discourse or political analysis. Teachers, in my belief, have no right to bring their own political beliefs into the classroom unless the purpose is to encourage students to critique their positions. We want them to think for themselves. Kids can be influenced by a dynamic teacher who loudly espouses their politics, but what we should want our students to do is not blindly follow our politics but to have the capacity to listen, read, learn, and make up their own mind.
In the article you reference, Kristin, I found a line from a student which I think needs to be emphasized:
“I think it’s the teachers’ fault and the students’ fault. It’s the teachers’ fault for giving up on us, but it’s also the students’ fault for not trying,” said one student, whom CNN is not naming because of the possibility of retribution. “A teacher can’t make a student study.”
This student speaks the truth that is easiest to ignore. We cannot force our students’ hands. That doesn’t excuse the effigy and is not meant to shift blame. However, it is a reality. I consider myself and my colleagues good teachers. However, there are kids who simply choose not to do the homework, despite the fact that they have otherwise demonstrated the skills I want to see. The picture is always bigger than a bunch of lazy teachers.