This blog has been created to encourage teachers in the New York City public school system to speak out against the fact that they/we are so unfairly blamed in the mass media for the terrible failures of the Department of Education. Its aim is to foster honest, professional and mature public discussion of what actually happens in New York City public school classrooms, as opposed to what the DOE says happens, and what the media so happily want to believe - i.e. that if students fail, it is the fault of the teachers.
This blog is based on the premise that the reason so many of our city's most vulnerable students do not pass has very little to do with teachers (who in the most part are highly qualified and dedicated). So many students fail or drop out because the DOE from the earliest years imposes a shallow curriculum that does not help students develop intellectually. It does not give them the tools to develop the skills, knowledge or work habits that they need. Not only is there no intellectually nourishing or challenging curriculum, there is no way to impose good citizenship. By the time students get to high school (often through "social promotion") they understand that there are no effective sanctions against unacceptable behavior; and therefore - naturally - unacceptable behavior is rampant. Teachers have no legal power to control behavior in their classes. The laws we work under make it impossible to maintain a safe, calm learning environment.
Poor curriculum and ineffectual disciplinary procedures are the real reasons our most vulnerable students are not succeeding. Only profound REFORM OF THE SYSTEM ITSELF will solve the problems we face. All NYC public school teachers who have the interests of our students at heart and who want "to make a difference" are invited to join the discussion.
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Bravo. I look forward to reading what you and other teachers have to say on the matter. Our school system is a disaster and it needs to be confronted.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that a shallow curriculum that doesn't interest students contributes to the climate of failure that exists in many of our schools, but... In my opinion, poverty is the issue and always will be. Without real macroeconimc reform (very unlikely), with a livable minimum wage, real jobs programs for real jobs (not jobs shipped overseas), and progressive tax reform, then all education reform will be in vain. Who cares about reading and writing when our neighborhoods and families are in shambles?
ReplyDeleteDear Mr Dubble-Ewe,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. Although I agree with you that economic reform is absolutely necessary, I believe that the education system in this city of immigrants was never perfect, but it was never the way it is now. What is different now is that young people are actually allowed to stay in school and use it more like a youth center than an institution of learning. By high school level students are actually refusing to engage in the education process. They come to school to hang out with their friends but refuse to study. This isn't the fault of the teachers or of the individual schools. It is all over the city. Until the public becomes aware of this phenomenon the media will continue to blame the teachers, or the parents, or the students. But it is the education system itself that is ultimately responsible as it is under the system's rules that we must work under worse and worse conditions.