I Wish More People Realized This

I just ran across an article entitled, “Teachers ‘Persist Where Others would Lose Hope.'” The article can be found here.

The article is written by Isabel Song, a high school junior in Colorado Springs, Colorado and it was posted in “Teaching Ahead: A Roundtable,” a part of Education Week Teacher. 

Isabel recognizes how hard teachers work and how thankless the job seems to be. “Teachers do not receive the amount of recognition they deserve, especially in America,” she writes.

I sure wish more people recognized this simple truth. Most of the teachers I know are working relentlessly every day to make a difference in the lives of the children they teach. Yet, while more and more is added to their plates, fewer and fewer people even think to stop and say “thank you,” much less offer any recognition.

Isabel gets it. She is only a junior in high school. What is making it so hard for everyone else to get?

 

 

Diane Ravitch Responds to Common Core in NYT

Almost as soon as I posted the last article from David Brooks, I found an article by Diane Ravitch. Read her criticism of the folks at the New York Times who don’t understand the problem with the Common Core Standards here.

David Brooks’ Commentary on Common Core

Those who have followed my blog over on TeachersinTransition.com know that I haven’t developed a firm opinion about Common Core. I have listened to the debate from a somewhat elevated perch, frankly, because I don’t have to teach them, and I don’t have a dog in the hunt, as some might say.

Having said that, I do like to monitor the discussion, and I noticed today that David Brooks has come out with a commentary, characterizing much of the debate as a “circus.” He may be right about that.

I am going to share his article here. Feel free to read what he has to say and come to your own conclusion.

About This New Blog

Hello! Welcome to my new blog, “Teachers in Distress.” I have been considering launching an independent blog for a while thinking that I needed another vehicle for reaching out to my “tribe” which is made up of teachers…teacher leaders, teachers in distress and teachers in transition. I have a whole brochure style website over at http://www.teachersintransition.com that you are welcome to peruse at your leisure. I also have a LinkedIn discussion group that I moderate that is also entitled, “Teachers in Distress.” I recently learned, however, that it was best (according to experts who know more about this sort of thing than I) that the best use of a blog is to have it posted separately from my website. I had never thought of that, but I decided to take the advice of the experts, so here I am.

I am going to be playing around for the next few days getting comfortable with this particular format and approach, so I hope you will be patient and kind in these early days. It is my intention that I will be bringing you high end content on all things related to teachers, education policy, and my thoughts on the need to save and preserve public education.

I will share posts from other bloggers that I follow, and I hope you will choose to participate by adding your thoughts and comments in the comment section.

The ground rules are these for anyone wishing to leave a comment. If you disagree, that is fine, but there is no call for anyone being disagreeable, rude or disrespectful. I reserve the right to take down, disapprove and otherwise block comments that are rude, disparaging or unkind whether they be directed to me or any of the commenters who have taken the time to weigh in on a topic.

That being said and those being the ground rules, I look forward to frank, candid, and informed debate.