At a crossroads

I am 44 years old. I have a mildly autistic son. I live in a foreign country, that has universal healthcare, where I know nobody. I cross the border every day (to the tune of $8.00/day) to a job that is under assault and I will not likely have in five years. And, at this moment, I should be dividing my time between grading papers and washing dishes.

I feel like I have written this post before. I'm sorry for repeating myself. I just need to figure out my next move. It is likely that within 2-5 years, my school will be labeled a persistently low achieving school. Once that occurs, there will likely be a wholesale firing of many staff members, most likely the most expensive ones. That would be me.I don't wish to wait around for the bloodshed, so I need to take some concrete action. I haven't had time to take care of myself lately, mostly because I usually whipped at the end of the day, but inaction is no longer acceptable.

I could remain in teaching and just beg Ontario to let me have a teaching certificate. I will of course do that. I just wonder if I will have soured on the profession after the debacle in America.

I could move to America and find a job in a safer district, with a bigger commute. While I truly miss my home country, living without Andrew is out of the question. My hand may be forced.

Beyond that, I am clueless. I don't know what I am qualified to do. I don't have enough degrees to teach college. I'm a little past the prime trophy wife age, though this option has been urged by a few people. I'd love to find a publisher and I know I need to move my rear on that dream. I'd also love to find an investor to back me in starting a bed and breakfast.

Sigh. I'm tired of dodging bullshit everyday. It's funny to me how "it takes a village to raise a child," but apparently, it's only the teacher's fault when one fails.

End rant. Now to the dishes.

I shouldn't really be surprised

Yesterday's elections gave rationale and progressive people a few victories last night. In Michigan, we saw the recall of Paul Scott, who gave us the bill that basically through tenure out the window. He was also the chair for the Education committee for the House of Representatives in Lansing. As chair, he would have been presiding over the public comments hearing about a bill that would have lifted the numerical cap of charter schools in the state of Michigan. In Michigan, the majority of charter schools are operated by for-profit companies. Needless to say, both of the teachers' unions and most public school districts are adamantly against this bill. My union president asked me if I would like to go to Lansing and testify before the committee. I was thrilled and I have to admit that speaking before form of a legislative body is a bucket list item.

This morning, with testimony (and 30 copies) in hand, I drove to our state capitol. Sadly, my drive was in vain, as it turns out that the committee chair is busy licking his wounds and cancelled the hearing. That's really too bad, because I had somethings to tell them.

November 9, 2011
Good morning and thank you for allowing me to speak before you today on a topic of great importance: the lifting of the charter school cap, a notion I believe to be a very bad idea.
I have taught at Hamtramck High School (go Cosmos!) since 1997. In those 14 years, Hamtramck’s 2.2 square miles has become home to five charter schools, in addition to the seven schools operated by Hamtramck Public Schools. Twelve schools in 2.2 square miles is an astonishing number. It seems there has been no cap in Hamtramck, so I believe that I am uniquely qualified to tell the committee and the public what we can expect if the charter school cap is lifted.
We can expect to see an increase in de facto re-segregation of the American school system. This has already been the case in Hamtramck. The Greater Detroit Community Development Group met earlier this year with the superintendent of Hamtramck schools to discuss the possibility of Hamtramck Public Schools authorizing their proposed charter. It was explained in the meeting (I have attached a copy of the minutes along with a newspaper article) that the organization would target Bengali families specifically to enrol at the new school. How is that even possible? It is as if Brown v. Board never happened and taxpayer money will be spent on schools that look to cater to one ethnic group. Who is holding these organizations accountable?
We can expect to see a widening of the practice of not teaching what is not measured by AYP. A few years ago, I met a fourth grade teacher from a charter school in Hamtramck. After she asked me if there were any jobs in the schools, I asked her about a rumor about her school. We had heard that her school did not teach social studies (history) and frankly, report cards from students transferring to the public schools showed no social studies mark. She confirmed it and said that seeing as AYP was only measuring reading and math, social studies was dropped. Who is holding these schools accountable?
We can expect to see more schools that don’t provide even the most rudimentary basics, as a student of mine vividly details in a sheet I’ve also attached. She asked to remain anonymous, but I will tell you that she and her sister (who graduated last year) are two of the brightest young ladies I have ever taught. She quite plainly states that for two years, she didn’t even have a locker. In two years, she never used a textbook that was remotely close to new. But, that particular school offers Arabic, so I guess I can guess who their target audience is. Who is holding these schools accountable?
We can expect to see more schools that demand that their teachers use a script, as was the case of a former student of mine. Last year, she taught at a charter school that gave its teachers scripts and teachers were routinely reprimanded and written up if they were not at the appointed spot on the script at the appointed time. That school had a heavy ESL population and no ESL program. Who is holding these schools accountable?
We can expect to see more parents, especially those not born and raised in the United States, confused about the actual standing of charter schools. I have seen banners on a number of charter schools that proclaim them to offer “free tuition.” This subtly deceptive practice is bound to confuse a parent who comes from a poverty-stricken third world country where an education was the privilege of the wealthy, not a right for all citizens. Even my student who wrote of her charter school experience calls it a private charter school, underscoring the confusion that exists. Who is holding these schools accountable?

We can expect more parents to be told that there is no room in the school and that their child will be placed on a waiting list (after count day). My school doesn’t have a waiting list. Who is holding these schools accountable?
We can expect more special needs students to be told that there isn’t a program to help them, as has been the case of so many of our special education students. Who is holding these schools accountable?
No one is holding these charter schools accountable. For the most part, for-profit management corporations operate them. No democratically elected school boards. No open meetings. No books that can be accessed by any taxpayer who has the gumption.
Is it this legislative body’s intention to give taxpayers’ money to entities that are unaccountable to taxpayers? Is that the mission you have be given by taxpayers? Are schools that are unaccountable to taxpayers and ordinary citizens really what’s best for children? A lack of special services, “waiting lists,” deceptive marketing practices, scripts, a lack of basic supplies, no social studies, and de facto re-segregation? I don’t think so. Keep the cap and hold these schools accountable.

The woman from my union's office listened to me and she told me that my story needed to be told and that she'd let me know when the hearing would be re-scheduled. I plan on showing up and telling this tale.

I am, I am, I am Superman

Before I start, I want to say that I have not seen "Waiting for Superman," the movie about four charter schools in NYC. All I need to know is that these four schools choose students via a lottery. I work in a traditional public school that accepts children the old-fashioned way: you live in our district, here's some paperwork to complete, and now we'll enroll your child. I shall not talk about the movie whatsoever. Instead, I want to talk about dinner last night.

A former student (and Student Council vice-president)became an elementary school teacher. She ended up teaching at an international school in Poland for a few years. She came back this summer to make sure her Michigan teaching certificate was up-to-date and to start on a Masters' degree. She's a bright, engaging young woman who is, I'm sure, a wonderful teacher. I had dinner with her last night at Roma Cafe at Eastern Market. It didn't change my life, but I liked my meal and the wine, so I suggest it. Anyway, she told me the following story.

When she returned to Michigan, the only teaching position she was able to find was at a charter school in a lower income suburb. But, because the school didn't have enough students, it shut down shortly after school started. She was left scrambling. Luckily, she landed on her feet, unfortunately, it was at another charter school. This school is in Detroit, very close to Sharia-run Dearborn (if that lady in Nevada wins, I might just bang my head against the wall for several days). The school has the word "international" in its name, but don't let that fool you into thinking it offers several different languages. It doesn't - it offers only Arabic and only Arabic students attend the school. In my neck of the woods, charter schools are ipso facto re-segregating schools, beyond what economic class already does.

Because many of her students are new or relatively new to the country, one might think that the school would offer English Language Learning support to students. Not in her third grade class of 35 students. She has one little boy who speaks no English, and neither does his mother. The aide who works in the classroom has been told specifically to not work one-on-one with this boy. So he sits, and does nothing, because slowing down is not allowed in the classroom.

You see, my former student teaches from a script. She is not allowed to vary from the script. Students have a copy of the script and are only allowed to highlight items on the script. She is observed at least three times a day, and if she is not a script, she will be written up. For example, if at 10:30, she has not stopped her English lesson to start her math lesson, she will be written up. Then administration can have a file on her, making it easy for them to fire her, never give her a raise, and bring in a newer cheaper teacher. My former student is not protected by a union contract. She hates her job.

She is not the only charter school teacher to tell me things like this. Yes, I know that I have complained bitterly about my school district. Here's the difference, my district is overseen by a democratically elected school board. Everything is open for public scrutiny. The charter school is overseen by a private management company who answers to, theoretically, to Oakland University. The university must not be paying attention, because how in good conscience they allow this to happen. Unless of course, the private management company is kicking back a huge donation to the school. But, as X said, "I must not think bad thoughts."