Teaching to Change the World – chapter 4

“Our profession as seen from inside teachers’ lounges and in the conversations of professionals and in the presentations and workshops at conferences . . . is not a bloody battleground of competing ideas, but it has been made to appear so by a press hungry for dramatic stories and by impatient policy makers and a frustrated public looking for the same kind of simple answers that popular opinion often demands–answers that offer scapegoats and saviors. . . ” (Oakes & Lipton, 158).

How long does it take for the drama of the outside world to seep into our schools and affect our attitudes towards one another?  My guess, not long.  In fact, we’ve had rumors going around my school this week that made me think our administrators are too worried about what others say and how others view us.  Their actions seem to be paving the way for the ”bloody battleground” that Sheridan Blau claims we don’t have within schools.  This worry seems to be causing them to point fingers and place blame, rather than support and offer encouragement.  (Isn’t support and encouragement part of the job description of an administrator????)  It seems as though my fellow teachers and I are becoming scapegoats.  I hope that I don’t seem like I’m whining.  I’m all for raising the bar and having high expectations for teachers, but if we don’t start supporting eachother within our schools we really are going to give the media something to talk about and it’s not going to be pretty.