Thursday was the last day of school for my children. Due to various circumstances, it was not only their last day for the year, but it was their last day ever in the school they attended for the past two years. In many ways, it was a wonderful place. My children learned a lot. I learned a lot, as well. I learned that it is more work to get your children to and from school, on time, with everything that they need than it was to homeschool. I learned, in the words of Roland Deschain, that there is a time to use the fist and a time to use the feather. I learned common core math strategies - kinda. But, what I learned most of all was that, here in Kentucky anyway, teachers are under attack.
Let me say that again. Not only do these heroes deal with over-crowded classrooms, students who do not have the foundation to be invested in their education (more on this later), standardized testing being the benchmark against which their effectiveness is measured, long hours, buying their own supplies, and so much more. Now they are under attack in every way from every level.
Let's start in the classroom with the students themselves. In that instance, when I say teachers are under attack what I mean is that I don't remember visiting the school a single time during which I did not see a student either attack a teacher physically, or spew forth profanity-laden diatribes. Chairs were thrown, doors kicked, and materials were destroyed, daily. I saw the teachers manage the situation as best as they could, with compassion beyond what I could do. Some of them stepped aside to cry for a minute or have an asthma attack privately, and then they marched back into the classroom, a smile on their face, to teach again. So much talk has been dedicated to school shooting, and rightfully so, but what we fail to see is these smaller - relatively - attacks that happen daily.
When these events happen, teachers turn to parents and administrators for guidance. While there are certainly many parents and administrators who give support, backup if you will, in many cases the teachers find themselves under attack from the very people who should be helping them. Many parents simply do not answer the calls or emails. While this benign neglect of the situation is not helpful, it is at least not antagonistic. Other parents, however, show us exactly how the children in question learned their habits. On at least four occasions, I was called some variation of "bitch" by a parent who was exiting the school while I was coming in. Simply because I had the audacity to be sharing a doorway with them while they were upset. I can only imagine what was aimed at those with whom they were angry. I saw parents screaming at teachers and staff. I saw a parent kick a chair. I have heard parents berate teachers for having the audacity to discipline their children. I saw an administrator repeatedly insult teachers, tear them down emotionally and mentally, and enact policies that further bind the hands of those who are "in the trenches." I saw the same administrator repeatedly and actively disregard unanimous decisions made by the teachers in regards to policy and staffing.
If that wasn't enough, the media, and certain government officials have joined in the carnage. Recently in Texas, a community member had a habit of driving through the pick up line at a school. This is dangerous on many levels. Students often do not exhibit the situational awareness needed to navigate traffic, especially at the end of a school day, and driving through an area in which they were moving put the students in danger of being struck by a vehicle. Students cannot be released to a person who is not on "the list" of approved individuals. Having a person not associated with any students driving through the area puts children at risk. Additionally, this action is inconsiderate as it contributes to chaos and confusion. After many attempts to verbally redirect the person driving the car, a teacher put his safety at risk by laying on the vehicle in an attempt to stop it. Rather than being lauded for his selflessness, the media portrayed this as a "teacher attacking a motorist." Don't believe me, you can watch the video here. Here is Kentucky, teachers fighting for their pension were labeled "thugs" by the Governor. To make matters worse, he doubled down on his verbal attack by blaming teachers for children's death or becoming victims of sexual assault.
And now, adding injury to injury, the State of Kentucky, lead by a former clergy member, are in the process of taking over Jefferson County Public Schools. They state that the schools have not been effective in closing the gap for disadvantaged students. I have spent a lot of time here telling you what I have seen. Now, let me tell you what I have not seen. In my many, many hours spent in the school, I have not seen a single politician in the school, witnessing first-hand what happens and what the teachers do to try to educate every single student to the best of their ability. I have not seen a single politician at any of the school events, educating parents about ways to make sure their family has housing, electricity, food, clothing, or help with substance abuse, physical abuse, finding a job, and more. I have not seen a member of the clergy in schools volunteering, reaching out, or providing any of the above assistance. They blame the schools for not closing the gap, but here's what they fail to grasp. A student who is hungry cannot close the gap - the school provides not only free breakfast and lunch, but provides backpacks of food for summers, breaks and weekends to those who are in need. Yet it is the job of the state and the community (including the church) to make sure families are fed when they are unable to feed themselves. They are not doing their job. A student who is ill cannot close the gap. Yet the State and the churches are not doing their part to ensure that students have access to health care when the families are unable to provide this. A student who is being abused or neglected cannot close the gap. Yet the substance abuse, physical abuse, and neglect take place in the same communities as these churches that are casting stones, they take place regardless of calls to DHS. A student who is homeless or living in squalor cannot close the gap. The school provides assistance with clothing, housing, and utilities, and yet the churches and politicians create such a maze to navigate for assistance, looking for every opportunity to say no. Now it is those people, those very people who have dropped the ball in so many cases, who have added to the already astronomical role the schools must play, who believe they should be the ones to set the policy and run the school system. They are taking the power away from the stakeholders, those of us who ARE in the schools daily, and adding it to their load when they have a history of uninvolvement, fiscal irresponsibility, disrespect for the system, and improper implementation of the programs already in place to aid their constituents and community. It is, in short, another attack.
We need to do better. We trust teachers with our children for 8 or more hours a day. We trust them to help us mold the minds of our little ones to achieve to the highest of their ability. Some parents trust the teachers for far more - babysitting, feeding, raising their children. The least we can do is to stop the attacks and help them do their jobs.
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