Logic of Layoffs

I just saw a flyer that went home today with my daughter. On it were pictures of seven teachers, the principal and the assistant principal...all are targeted for layoffs and will be without a job in the Fall. As an educational consultant, I do understand the economic crisis and also understand that districts like LAUSD are faced with enormous challenges that most people don't understand. Local district offices are being decimated by 50% and many clerical folks that depend on their jobs are going to be losing jobs. I taught in public schools for years and consider myself an urban educator and a staunch backer of teachers. However, I can't escape the feeling that the unions that I used to pay dues to regularly are doing a horrible injustice by protecting jobs of people based on seniority rather than quality. Granted, this is a complicated problem but teachers need to be held accountable and many are not. If principals "write someone up" with a negative performance evaluation, formal grievance procedures usually follow. Teachers with tenure are valued people but it is time to ask the question...does this system really need reexamination?
I do not advocate for the dissolution of unions. They are a strong part of the support system for teachers and others. But when we are talking about children that are expected to be the future workforce and production is horrific (in California at least), the subject needs to be broached. When people that are dedicated and good and caring are forced out and teachers that have been forced to complete anger management classes are protected...we need to reevaluate.

Things may not change but a discussion certainly needs to follow...

Crazy Teacher Encounter

I just met the crazy teacher that reminds me exactly why our urban schools are failing. A quick recap…A female teacher entered the makeshift bungalow teachers lounge at a school under construction. I said “hello” as she was preparing to use the scantron machine. As I engaged her in informal conversation, she looked at me and said, “What’s with all the questions?” Funny…I was just asking her what she taught.

She proceeded to ask me a variety of questions about my background…how long did I teach? Why am I at this school? When I shared with her that I taught in South L.A. for nearly 10 years, I saw a little of the door open. She wasn’t pleased with my presence, that much I know. I told her that I was the resource the district selected to work with math teachers. She taught math but didn’t tell me her name or grade level that she taught. I have no idea if she was supposed to be in my meeting that was supposed to start nearly 5 minutes ago. All I know is that she lectured me on the lacking values that the school placed on the teachers. She evidenced this statement with a reference to the bungalow that is serving as a teachers lounge. Every classroom meets in a bungalow. The bungalow has a small, old fabric couch that is jammed behind a roller stacked with butcher paper…8 rollls of butcher paper but 5 of the 8 rolls are unused. There is a water dispenser without cups. A teachers workroom that has your basic elementary supplies…construction paper, a cutter, a laminator. Of course, I don’t know what the district would have to do to assuage her concerns…She continued to lecture me on how the community doesn’t value teachers. It literally was a 4 minute monologue about what I don’t understand. She learned that I finished a Ph.D. eight years ago, that I taught in a rough area and that I left a good paying job to work with challenged schools. I learned nothing of her. I was insulted by her tone, her word choice, her body language. And she wonders why people don’t value teachers. After all, I am the one hired to come and help them out. Education is a funny world.

Opening Argument

First, what is school renewal and why is it important to invest time writing about school issues? I coined the term "school renewal" based on an overabundance of terminology that is used in educational and business circumstances to describe change. Change is an oft-used word that has lost it's intrinsic power with overuse so I got to thinking about what change in schools really looks at and the word "renewal" kept popping into my head.
Renewal intimates that change is intrinsic and generated organically within schools but assumes that the human resources are overtaxed and require some objectivity. While I would like to believe that schools have the capability to change themselves, I have come to know that schools need a push from external sources that can ask questions and help people take command of their own situations.
There is a lot of buzz in educational circles about the notion of professional learning communities. This idea is packed with power but leaves poorly prepared schools with a false sense of confidence that they can make immediate and lasting change. Sadly, positive and lasting change takes time and schools need to know this. Further, once they know this, they must believe this and invest in this.
I am an educational consultant and provide these services to schools. I taught in poor, urban schools in Los Angeles for nearly 10 years and am nearing tenure at a university that puts teachers into the most challenging schools in Los Angeles. I never thought I would write a blog as it seems a bit trite and self-serving. That said, I have written several articles and two books so this seems like a natural progression and an informal way for me to communicate my thoughts to myself and anyone motivated to read them. I will be investing time thinking about my work for my own sanity. I hope it helps.