Teachers and Administrators Need To Get Mad For The Right Reasons

The reactions and responses continue regarding the Rhode Island and Central Falls High School shake up…in another article entitled “R.I. School Shake-Up Is Embraced by the President” by Steven Greenhouse and Sam Dillion, “…two unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, were so angry in the hours after Mr. Obama first endorsed the firings…”

My feeling is that these unions are doing what they should in the interest of their group right?  They support anything that benefits their group and reject anything that goes against it.  So that leaves both teachers and school administrators to grapple with their dilemma; and I call it a dilemma.  I think it really comes down to this…if you are not making positive results in your position whether that’s teaching or administration, how do you justify remaining in that position?  How do you feel good at night knowing that students are not being educated and are leaving that school ill prepared for the road ahead?  How do you make peace with students who do not succeed under your tutelage?  What really is your underlying fear?  Fear of not having a paycheck or fear of feeling that you can’t make a difference?  Why do we feel the need to protect people that are not doing the job?  Should we keep the same people in the same positions and expect different results?

“I ripped the Obama sticker off of my truck,” said Zeph Capo, a midlevel official at the Houston Federation of Teachers who trains classroom teachers. “We worked hard for this man, we talked to our neighbors and our fellow teachers about why we should support him, and we’re having to dig the knife out of our back.”  I’m actually glad that they are getting mad about it…the fact is they should be getting mad at the fact that students are failing in this system.  They should get mad at the fact that something drastic needs to take place so that students don’t fail anymore.  They should get mad at the fact that it’s always easier to stand with a crowd even when the crowd is wrong than stand alone for something that is right.  They should be working on a plan that helps to move students in the right direction instead of playing political hardball.  The knife they are pulling out of their backs was actually put there by their own unions…who perpetuated the perception that as long as you stick with us…you won’t have to worry about being accountable to anyone.