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Teacher bloggers make asides in their blogs about how nobody reads except teachers. This is always said with a wink because deep down we all want it this way. It’s that us-four-no-more thing that happens at church. And between Larry and the Beeve.
Blogging will fail as a tool for widespread change in the education system if teachers do not stop this.
I mean, I hate to be a bitch, but this thing is irreparably broken. The school system, that is.
Learning, however, continues unabated.
If all we do is talk about methods and lesson plans, we can do that at school. I know we accomplish more together with the world of teachers and all that 21st century, flat-world jazz, but for what?
All the professional development in the world is rearranging chairs on a ship that’s going down, as they say. If we’re not going to use this thing to fix the ship, we deserve what we get.
But who cares what happens to us? What happens to the next generation of people if we continue to do this? Or the one after that? How, precisely, does a Dark Ages happen? Because I do not want to be at the helm of that ship.
So, as John Stewart said to his colleagues in the media, “You are huuurrrrttting us. Stop hurting us.”
Except I say it to myself as well. It is we, the teachers, who are hurting us if we don’t use this new-found, and short-lived, communicative power to work toward change in the system.
The little guy never holds on to power long. We have to leverage this power now.
14 responses so far ↓
1 Olivia // Dec 18, 2007 at 12:36 am
you mean Wally and the Beeve? Small detail, but my OCD-ness won’t let me go to bed without at least asking.
2 Taylor // Dec 18, 2007 at 2:13 am
Actually, I was referring to Beaver getting into a secret club and excluding his friend Larry because, “That’s the whole point of a secret society. To exclude guys.” Or a similar quote.
Then Larry made up his own secret club which was fake, then excluded Beaver.
Just a way of saying that for some reason we feel the need to exclude one another to feel important. Read: Sunni and Shia, Methodist and Baptist, Mormon and Evangelical, “real” gangstas and not real gangstas, country club members & riff-raff, or whatever.
3 graham // Dec 18, 2007 at 2:37 am
Well I agree with you but I for one would be happier if more teachers were to just read blogs. I think we are more incestuous than that ….maybe that’s what you are getting at; preaching to the converted etc…..like what happens at conferences where everyone nods at everything and we all go home feeling good…but the ones who matter aren’t there are they.
So what’s the answer Taylor? What do you want me to do?
4 Taylor // Dec 18, 2007 at 7:42 am
I don’t know exactly. But I want us to figure it out instead of having a circle jerk.
Figuratively speaking, that is.
What do you think?
(And thanks for commenting. You and me, Graham. We’ll change the world. Wonder Twin powers, activate!
5 ken // Dec 18, 2007 at 10:05 am
well, you got me thinking…that’s a good thing, right? I mean, blogs and such should provoke thought, eh?
but it seems if you’re going to point out a problem, then shouldn’t you be providing some idea, some suggestion, some game plan (one that is free from circle jerks)?
I wait upon your call to action…you and your Wonder Twin.
Can I be Gleek?
6 NYC Educator // Dec 18, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Great post. I couldn’t agree more.
7 woodlass // Dec 18, 2007 at 5:20 pm
Educators must continue to blog and comment, because much of the media is biased against teachers, particularly in NYC. There’s also not a lot of money being put into in-depth education reporting. So it’s up to us who still work in real classrooms with real children to keep telling it like it is, to correct the spin and change the paradigm.
I think we are making headway with this. Reporters are checking the blogs and they even call some of the blog authors for info or contacts. And they write about what the “bloggers” say. These are good signs that we are no longer all that helpless or voiceless.
PS: It’s not only the media that needs to be corrected, but the union itself. In this town, the UFT has been collaborative, undemocratic, secretive, and downright weak. It stifles the oppositional voices and censors the website, even though they soak us for more than a 1000 bucks a year in dues. Sophisticated, veteran blogger teachers expose some of the union’s scams.
8 Taylor // Dec 20, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Dear GOD — a thousand bucks in dues?
@Ken I’m still thinking…..
I will say this, however. When the problem isn’t even correctly identified, “calls to action” can’t be made.
There is no agreement across the various involved groups [notice my avoidance of the word “stakeholders”?] about what the purpose of the public education system is.
That’s the first step.
9 Dawn // Dec 21, 2007 at 10:16 am
[… It also relates to this excellent post by Taylor the Teacher who seems to be encouraging teachers to start speaking up about school issues in their blogs…]
10 Stan // Dec 21, 2007 at 5:26 pm
I think it’s a very tricky business, speaking publicly about your employer while you’re currently employed. Every time I write a blog post relating to anything specific happening at one of my schools, I always have a sinking feeling that something terrible is going to happen to me: nothing will change in the system for which I work.
I definitely empathize with the “rearranging chairs on a sinking ship” metaphor, and I’m constantly outraged by the anti-teacher sentiment so predominant in the media and the public at large. It would be nice to see some sort of counterbalance to this take shape.
I’m very honestly skeptical about how much actual change to “the system” can be affected from the inside out, though.
Glad to have stumbled on your blog!
11 Bloggrrl // Dec 27, 2007 at 7:52 pm
One way that blogging is changing the system is by spreading ideas like “unschooling” and other homeschooling ideas.
I agree that the system is broke. After 15 years, I am tired of working on it. It keeps getting worse, and the people who run the whole thing seem to be dumb and evil. I would like to get rid of it and do something different. Maybe I’m biased because of what I see every day as an alt ed teacher, dunno.
At any rate, you sound like a fun teacher to have, and what counts at the end of the day is what you have taught someone. I try to remember that, anyway.
12 Taylor // Dec 27, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Bloggrrl, you are the coolest teacher blogger ever. We’re not worthy. I was reading your blog a while before I even realized you’re a teacher. Rock on!
13 Taylor // Dec 27, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Stan, sorry I missed your comment before! Welcome.
I agree nothing will happen from the inside, but parents and teachers and taxpayers together…. maybe.
14 jose // Jan 6, 2008 at 5:53 pm
A-mazing. That’s been my struggle as of late with other teacher bloggers, too. It’s probably why it’s important to blog about something else besides your career.
Well said.
jose’s last blog post..Short Notes: All You Need Is (Link) Love
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