[lbo-talk] Subject: Re: Confessions of a bad teacher

[Jordan]

[WS:] Actually, they make a distinction between learning disability
(e.g. Down syndrome) and emotional disability (e.g. AS or autism.)
>From what I hear from my wife, the latter are much harder cases to
work with, especially that behavioral problems are often coded as
"emotional disabilities."  Public schools, especially those in
wealthier neighborhoods, often do this to get rid of disruptive
students whom they cannot legally expel.  My wife works in an ED
program in a low income school (by choice, since she prefers not to
deal with rich people who feel entitled) and says that most of her
students' problems originate in their households and communities
(usually some kind of abuse or neglect), but a typical school response
to those problems is "more discipline."  Teachers who try a
non-confrontational, non-disciplinarian approach with "problem kids"
are often seen as wimps by their peers and administrators, and often
can result in negative evaluations.

Wojtek

I worked in Special Ed and regular ed classrooms (public and private) from preschool through high school in various capacities for about eight years in Hawaii.  I've also spoken to special ed teachers on the mainland and overall it's not that different.  I could write a book about the dysfunction of the overall system, but in lieu of that, here are some comments that might contribute to some of the lbo-talk discussions:

At least in Hawaii, kids with the kind of "emotional disabilities" Wojtek describes - namely, poor kids from poor neighborhoods, some with completely fucked up family situations, and almost all in public housing - are warehoused in special ed.  Some of them are there because they cannot meet the basic skills level of regular ed, some because regular ed. teachers did not want to deal with them at all, some because their teachers (rightly and wrongly) felt threatened, some simply because they had too many absences.  It was frustrating and sad (to say the very least) to see bright kids waste away in horrible Sped classes - and I'm talking about 30% of many classes. I remember standing at the windows - barred from the inside and out - with one of these kids.  He grabbed the bars smiling and comically mock screamed, "let me out!"  There is so much truth in humor...
Even though I wasn't supposed to, I advocated for the brighter kids to get "kicked out" of Sped into regular ed.  Even though many regular ed classrooms were lacking, the kids had a slightly better shot of being intellectually challenged in some way.  I was successful a few times.  Sometimes the kids seemed happier and would even seek me out to ask me questions about class - or at least not totally stifled with busy work. Never ending, mind numbing worksheets, filling in unending blanks, and multiple choice circles...There are myriad subtleties to all of this e.g., there were a couple of good teachers in the bunch but the structure of the system was even against them.  The best teachers I came across either left or planned to leave because of the onerous paperwork they were required to fill out everyday and the IEP meetings they had to attend and or organize - and of course because of the constant assault on their pay and benefits.  I'll just leave

 it at that for the moment.  The truth is, the chances of even those kids I "helped" making it all the way through high-school with anything to show for it are slim to none. 

Special needs kids are included in the standardized test scores.  This is insane - and it helps schools fail the NCLB standards, moving the whole privatization process along at a steady clip.  The last school at which I worked was going on it's third year of non-compliance (there was another term they used that escapes me at the moment, "non-performing" or something) and in talks with private contractors (from the mainland of course) to come in and "help."  Of course they were legally required to take that step.

The Confessions of a bad teacher piece: There is a lot to say, but I'll just focus in on one thing to elucidate a systemic problem.  Surprisingly it sounds like he doesn't understand that the bureaucracy does not want to be bothered by special ed - or really by students in general.

"I know that after she began throwing things, I sent her to the dean’s office. I know that a few days later, I received notice that my lesson had been rated unsatisfactory because, among other things, I had sent this student to the dean instead of following our school’s “guided discipline” procedure."

He committed one of the biggest sins of the system but didn't quite understand why. He annoyed the level of bureaucracy above him.  The dean had to see, talk with, and deal with the kid (usually they are simply sent back to class right away or the next day).  This sin was well understood by the teachers I worked with.  Of course, this leaves them without any real support from above - and if kids really act out or do something "bad," they are suspended.  Talk about motivation!  They can actually get away for a week or two!  But I digress. The role of the teacher is to control the classroom and keep the students away from the upper echelon - and this is a big one: avoid lawsuits at all costs.  There is a fear that runs through all Departments of Ed and the fear of lawsuits is a biggie - especially when it comes to special ed.  But I don't think it is just about avoiding lawsuits.  The fear is spread throughout the system on all levels.  It is

 used to control.  For example (and I'm not saying this is a good thing, but) if that teacher sent one kid to the dean on a daily basis, they would find a way to get rid of that teacher because that teacher was not able to "control his classroom."  It is a fear of rocking the boat, of disrupting the "functioning" system, of stepping out of line.  Of course this goes for teachers that want to experiment at a high level as well - remember I'm not talking about schools in wealthy areas, but much of this applies to them as well and gets into those areas of indoctrination and control, etc...

To go slightly off topic for a sec.  I worked at feeder schools for Punahou and worked with many of their students over the years - and actually at a Punahou sports program one summer.  To my mind, the Punahou experience was the main influence on Obama, and people tend to quickly gloss over it when they consider why he is who he is.  

He is the product of one of the most elite schools in the world.  While it has gotten a little more diverse since he attended, it is still about as exclusive as you can get.  Some of the parent discussions I've overheard there could easily have come out of the mouths of any colonial elite of the last couple hundred years.  The whole place is privilege.  Just because he lived in an apartment and worked at baskin-robbins means absolutely nothing.  He was indoctrinated by the upper class and serves them well today...

Another slightly off-topic, but germane fact:  While I was at the last big public school a couple of years ago they began bringing in drug sniffing dogs.  I'm not mentioning the round the clock security that all schools have or the huge - massive - ROTC presence...Again this is at one of the biggest public high schools in Hawaii that has one of the biggest populations of kids from the "hood."

The teacher's union in Hawaii sold them out a long time ago.  I watched the whole furlough process forced down their throats.  It's too long of a story to rehash, but suffice it to say, they were offered a huge pay cut with more work or massive layoffs with more work left for the people who survived.  Most didn't even know the negotiations were going on with the state until they were almost concluded. Then they were shown the deal and encouraged to take it.  I worked for a private agency that contracted with the state, so I took the pay cut as well.  Of course I didn't have a union, but same result...

Well, hope this contributes something to the discussion.

Aloha,

J