Stop Humiliating Teachers

I chose this article because it had a catchy title to it and I thought it was interesting. We live in a society that sets up our education system and shames teachers. Teachers spend many hours and time working hard to create the best learning environments and they have been set to fail and be humiliated by the system.

A lot of people think...

"Our view of American public education in general has been warped by our knowledge of these failing kids in inner-city and rural schools."

but in reality...

"There are actually many good schools in the United States—in cities, in suburbs, in rural areas. Pathologizing the system as a whole, reformers insist on drastic reorganization, on drastic methods of teacher accountability. "


The biggest point being pulled from this article is that teachers are not being respected and are being pulled in many different directions.


"Teachers run from one testing regiment to another. But using the tests to evaluate teachers themselves has been questioned again and again by statistical experts as well as by critics of these programs. The heart of the criticism: the tests measure demographics (the class and wealth level of the students) more than teachers’ abilities."


It simply talks about test-taking has demoralized the profession itself. It made everything competitive and made teachers unwilling to share materials and help/cooperate to ensure that they would be high achieving and teaching to the test.



"We also have to face the real problem, which, again, is persistent poverty. If we really want to improve scores and high-school-graduation rates and college readiness and the rest, we have to commit resources to help poor parents raise their children by providing nutrition and health services, parenting support, a supply of books, and so on. We have to commit to universal pre-K and much more. And we have to stop blaming teachers for all of the ills and injustices of American society."

Honestly, it is all about the approach. We can either look at the facts and real issues or find another finger to point in another direction. 

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/stop-humiliating-teachers

The Rock of Loss

This is such a personal blog to write about because for me it stems from hurt. Rocks that I carry and now have to walk with are dealing with loss right now. I miss my grandmother. I miss going to her house every Thursday and making her dinner. I miss her hugs and kisses. I miss her support. I miss her strength.

I have to learn to live with loss and honestly I made it very far in my life without having to deal with it. One of the steps I have taken is to understand grief more and wanting to educate others. I also wanted to help my students understand how to respond to someone in grief. I was transparent about my absences from school with her passing.

I think we don't always realize how to handle sadness or loss. A lot of people avoid it or don't acknowledge it. Let's face it! I'm not a keep it to myself kind of person. I shared with my students' phrases and ways to respond to people when they lose a loved one. My favorite phrase was"I'm glad you are here today". It is simple but acknowledges a tough situation for someone. If someone is willing to open up and feels comfortable they will.

Time will help me move forward but my heart hurts often. Right now, it's Thursday and I would be with her right now. I would in her house and we would be talking. The reality is that I don't have that anymore. What I can do is acknowledge the change and be thankful that I had the time I had. I can be thankful that my son got to meet her and love her too.

I can empty my shoe of the painful rock and realize that it had just been love the whole time. As a result of this rock, I can learn to love more. I can learn to make each moment count. I can learn to live with no regrets. I will not live forever but I don't want to carry hurt with me. I don't want to get bitter with sad. I want to live with positivity. I want to live a life like my grandmother, Audrey. I will continue to impact lives like the way she has impacted mine with love and kindness.

I dislike the rock but it made me a stronger more thankful person.