The Administrator, My Rage and Charles Darwin

Charles_Darwin_by_Maull_and_Polyblank,_1855-cropBe honest now!  Has anyone ever made you so angry that you had evil thoughts?  My dad used to say, “I’m so mad I could spit nails!”  I believe anyone who is or ever has been a parent or teacher has had that experience, troubling though it may be.  The story that follows is definitely a tale from the dark side of ‘The Force’ and I probably don’t come off so well.  But I offer it in a spirit of Socratic inquiry to test our preconceived notions and cherished assumptions.  Or maybe I just feel like spittin’ nails!  So work with me.

A district administrator had visited our school and toured the classrooms to keep tabs on how we ran our school.  After the students left for the day, we had a faculty meeting during which the administrator gave us her evaluation which clearly demonstrated that she didn’t have a clue as to what modifications to standard procedures were necessary at an alternative (CDS) school.  Through most of it we just bit our tongues and took it.  Then she went too far.

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The Unspoken Obstacle to Any Educational Reforms and the Common Core

PMDiconIt’s the most serious obstacle to real educational reform yet no one is talking about it.  It is the worst omission in the Common Core but no one is debating it.  It is absolutely crucial to any discussion of teacher evaluations yet everyone acts as if it doesn’t exist.  I’m an expert in the subject yet no one in my school district had the courage or the foresight to ask me (or any other expert on ‘at risk’ students) about it.

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“All My Teachers Are Racist!”

RacistAll my teachers are racist!

“It’s not my fault my grades are bad.  All my teachers are racist.”  And his mom believed him.  He was her little boy, her darling.  He wouldn’t lie.  And don’t try to tell her that sometimes parents who truly love their children can be their own child’s worst enemy.  She had to learn from experience.

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