This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to speak out against something that has been one of my biggest challenges to educating my students here in Austin, the lethal effects of high-stakes testing. The Citizens United to Amend organized a rally in order to change the legislation that equated money with free speech and declared corporations as people. This action has far-reaching ramifications and the speakers at the rally came from vastly different organizations to encourage the crowd to call on their representatives to do away with this law.
As I approached the State Capitol, I saw a huge crowd of people gathered at the north side, which was the opposite location of where I expected them to be. As I came closer, I saw several banners with assault rifles on them. I walked slowly through the crowd of second amendment enthusiasts to the south side of the Capitol where a dramatically smaller crowd of about 100 people stood.
I felt inspired, listening to the other speakers encouraging us to do all we could to get big money out of politics. I knew that the president of Education Austin was scheduled to speak, but I did not realize that another teacher was also on the line up. I briefly worried that she’d say the things I’d planned to say, but her speech was dedicated to speaking against corporate-funded charter schools and their lobbying groups.
I was the third educator to speak and unlike my predecessors, I didn’t have my speech (pasted below in its entirety) memorized. Instead, I read my one-page, single-spaced speech off my smartphone, which wasn’t too smart an idea, given the fact that I was facing direct sunlight. Nonetheless, I delivered my speech with as much verve as I do my usual spoken word performance. As soon as I was done, the crowd applauded, several people congratulated me and a cute little blonde girl handed me a piece of paper, which I figured was an announcement for an upcoming education rally. I thanked her without reading it and folded it into my pocket for later.
Once “later” came, I remembered the paper, took it out of my pocket and much to my surprise, it was a flyer about the pro gun rally! I don’t know if her parents intentionally wanted their daughter to give a teacher a pro gun flyer or if they had encouraged her to hand them out indiscriminately. Either way, I’m glad she gave me the reminder to complain about the enthusiasm of arming educators.
Of all the crazy ideas that I’ve heard since living in Texas, intentionally putting weapons in the hands of educators is one that hits very close to home. Not only would that increase school shootings, but the increase in liability alone should make this bad idea undoable. Yet, if anyone actually figures out a way to make this bad idea cost-effective, public school will become one of the most dangerous places to send one’s child. The next “logical” step will be programs where future teachers could earn their combined teaching and gun license!
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Over twenty years ago, one of the prevailing mantras that new teachers were told was that one did not go into education for the money. You entered the profession because you cared about kids. Today, we need to make sure that everyone, not just new teachers, hears that message.
With the growing number of corporations getting into the education business, we educators, parents and students need to be vigilant that the quality of education is not sacrificed for the sake of making big business even richer at the cost of our students.
Isn’t ironic that there’s always money to administer standardized tests, hire test coordinators, buy computers for students to take an electronic version of the test, but never enough money to hire more teachers to lower classroom size or even fund an adequate number of science experiments? The only hands-on activity that Texas public school students are absolutely guaranteed to do is bubble an answer document to a standardized test.
That’s because the state of Texas will have spent over a billion dollars from 2000 to 2015 to Pearson Education. With that much money directed to a standardized testing company, it’s no wonder why I’m forced to teach to the test. The truth is, for the most academically vulnerable students, the best strategy to improve their education is to lower the classroom size so that every student receives more one-on-one interaction with the teacher. Academic achievement is not accomplished through an increasing number of money-making high-stakes tests.
When corporations use their money to influence how public schools are run, they effectively silence us, the public. Our tax dollars that are earmarked for education should be used in a manner that best educate our students. As long as we remain silent, corporations will continue lobbying to safeguard their latest cash cow.
Over the past four years that I’ve been a teacher with AISD, I have watched my classroom size grow, the teaching staff shrink and more of my time consumed in preparing for and proctoring standardized tests. I’m forced to merely touch the surface of certain topics with the rationale that students only need to know enough to pass whichever standardized test that’s currently being bought.
The objectives should not be the limit of knowledge, but rather the basis of what students learn. I struggle to give my students more, but I’m confined by time constraints, assessment schedules and very limited resources.
What I can do, however, is speak up. I speak for my students who don’t realize how their education is being shortchanged. I speak up for parents who, whenever I call, they are always willing to do anything in their power to help their child be successful. And I speak for my fellow educators who give 110%, knowing full well that they will not be paid a cent more.