I am a teacher in the state of South Carolina. We all have been working under a threat of impending doom this year, and like a black cloud, it colors everything. I have watched friends lose their positions. I have watched friends sacrifice themselves so others can keep their jobs. I have watched my fellow teachers, at both private and public schools, who were once once bold and confident, now cower in the fishbowls their classrooms have become. Watching other teachers picked off one by one creates an atmosphere of fear and changes the way we teach the children of South Carolina. Governor Sanford could have decreased the layoffs by accepting federal education money. He chose not to.
Teaching is a profession that takes incredible hubris. Most people don't do public speaking all day long. Most people don't do their jobs in full view of a hundred or more people a day. Most people aren't evaluated each and every moment of their jobs by a sometimes not friendly audience of students, parents, and administrators. Teachers do. To do our jobs well, we need to be audacious. Effective teachers make bold claims, assert their authority, take risks. We must be inventive and imaginative and respond to new challenges in seconds. We must think outside of that proverbial box. And we must have confidence that we will be supported by our administrations as we do it.
If we know a teacher will be cut, and it might be us, we no longer have the confidence to be bold. We retreat to safety and routine and self-doubt. We no longer think "Wow, this is new. I can do this!" We think, "I better stick with what is tried and true." We try to be not noticed rather than be noticed. We want everything to run smoothly so no one looks too hard in our directions because no one, even the best of us, stands up well under a microscope. None of us wants to be the scapegoat of the week. So, we diminish our authority, our power. We make ourselves smaller than we really are. This philosophy of stagnation is a death sentence to effective education.
South Carolina's education system consistently ranks low on national scales. The "tried and true" teaching methods in SC just aren't working. We desperately need innovation. Thus, we are not in the position of turning down federal education money on an abstract political principle. We need all of our teachers to feel empowered -- not threatened.
Governor Sanford has pushed teachers to seek cover. He didn't think about the larger consequences of his actions. He didn't consider what would happen to teachers if he refused federal money for education. What would happen to the quality of education. What would happen to the children of South Carolina. He only thought about scoring political points in a battle of words far away from the reality of our children's lives. I am thrilled that the South Carolina Supreme Court has called him out -- and said enough is enough. Because this is enough.
3 comments:
We could end up like CA. Last year CA Dept of Education issue over 10,000 teachers their "pink slips". This year, as of 14 March, the CA education system has issued more than 26,590 pink slips. Last year they were 47th in the US in the amount spent per student. Wonder where they'll rank next year.
Amy, you are so right with your assessment of this sad situation. I know if I were unable to teach, to do the job I have loved for fifteen years, my identity would be left with an empty hole in it. And the best teachers are those who dare to be creative and imaginative and inspire those traits in their students. How sad it is when the very qualities that make great teachers are the ones that are suppressed by the powers that be.
Hi Amy,
I'd love to hear your thoughts on how to go about improving the effectiveness of our educational system. I understand your concern of the immediate loss of program dollars, that would not have been a wise choice, but that also doesn't excuse the fact that in general, the system is failing.
Cheers,
Tony Primavera
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