After watching the Jeff Bliss’s, viral video, as well as the remix of it, created to popularize the event even more, I was almost moved to do a reflective post on the subject. After viewing a number of supportive blog posts for the Bliss position I kind of backed off thinking that I was off base in my position. Then I read Why the Jeff Bliss story makes me want to quit by a fellow English teacher.
The end of the academic year has all teachers stressed out. After giving one’s all for a year, and having it come to an end, hoping all along for the success of the students, leads one to question much of what had been done during the year, and even why it was done. When I first saw the Bliss video, I saw a kid being asked to leave the class for whatever the reason, and the kid trying to get back at the teacher. The kid began to use an attack that echoed the focus of many educators seeking to reform the system with the same rhetoric. Without knowing anything of the student, I determined he must be active on social media and had an interest in what was being said about the change in education. This was some evidence of intelligence. I also felt that everyone would see this teacher as the “devil teacher” responsible for all the ills of our system. There is probably some accuracy to both of those descriptions but I think neither is a reflection of the whole truth in this situation.
As a retired teacher I encountered many rants from students that I removed from class for disruptive behavior. What is different in this instance is the addition of social media and the educator’s perceived opposition of the position taken by the student. This was further advanced by the teacher’s negative responses to the student’s critique. All of this recorded and published to the world in You Tube Celebrity.
I was moved by the frustrations of the blogger who feels overwhelmed with the ongoing blogging, reflection, and discussion in social media about all of the turmoil in education. Much of this is flamed by the mindless, senseless and poorly planned reforms put forth by non-educators. I am not arrogant enough to think only educators can intelligently reform education, but the general feeling among educators is that the reforms are being mandated with very little educator input. That is the most frustrating part to many educators who are being targeted and maligned even by fellow educators. Educators seem to be circling the wagons and shooting to the inside.
Most educators are doing what they have been trained to do, or what is supported by their school’s culture. I hate the fact that so many teachers use the work packets to present material, but that again is what is supported by the system that they must work in. We need to improve our professional development and be open to more relevant teaching methods, employing more relevant tools for learning, as well as more relevant attitudes toward student-centric learning.
My friend and colleague Lisa Nielsen is a great student advocate and passionate education reformer. We have collaborated on a few very popular blog posts. I do not fault her for taking the side of Jeff Bliss in his rant against his teacher. Bliss made a convincing, and passionate speech against an outmoded method of teaching that stymies our system of education every day. I hope Lisa continues to follow her bliss (not the student) in supporting students in education reform. I would only hope that an “us and them” mentality does not dominate the discussion of education. There is no group more in favor of positive education reform than educators. We must keep in mind that educators are also products of the same education system that we seek to reform. They should not be the targets for the reform; they are in fact victims of that system as well. In order to educate our students, we need to first better educate our educators, and continue to educate them as part of their job. To be relevant educators, we need to be relevantly educated. That implies continuous education in a computer-driven, continuously developing culture.
I would hope that this blogger was not discouraged by the reflection and conversation going on about education reform. We need more educators involved in the discussion that has been hijacked by business profiteers and politicians. There is a planned assault on public education. We need more educators adding their voices to the needed change. We need educators to tell other educators that it is okay to give up methods of the past, that are not working in today’s system of education. It is a question of permission, as opposed to confrontation. Educators are all in favor of kids succeeding; it is but a question of how to accomplish that goal. I would encourage this blogger to hang in and continue to speak out.
If the post by this English teacher moved me, others may be moved as well. That is a skill that is not mastered by many and it is a powerful tool for change. We need more educators stepping up and speaking out if we as educators are to take back the discussion that we left to other less qualified people to dominate.
My Island View 
I completely sympathize right now with both kid and student and all of us. Context is huge here and there’s opportunity to right wrongs.
He’s a reported sophomore and thus one of the first kids to experience Texas’ new amped up standardized testing scheme-STAAR-a Pearson production. STAAR requires 5 standardized test in core every year for promotion and then a cumulative passing score for graduation for a total of at least 15. If he’s at a school that requires or allows freshmen or sophomores to take an AP class as a substitute (common especially for World History), then he still has to take the state exam totaling more than 15.
Let’s not forget that the State of Texas cut education funding by 5 billion dollars in the Spring of 2011 and STAAR was rolled out in 2011-2012. Neither the state nor Pearson provided any real training or resources to prepare anyone at any level for what was to come in May 2012. A huge looming vacuum was created and with fewer staff and resources to achieve higher expectations for STAAR, it began to collapse. Words cannot express the panic and stress that ensued at every level. Over 800 districts passed resolutions opposing all or parts of STAAR. Many of the same sued the state that STAAR violated the Texas Constitution and won on the basis of unfunded mandates, unequal funding thus the distribution of education.
The state also gave Pearson a 500 million dollar testing contract. Districts administrators, principals, teachers, students and parents started to organize trying to get out of that morass. The snake oil salesmen have profited in the last couple of years as STAAR prep materials were hastily created many before anyone had ever seen a STAAR test. A bit of panic buying occurred as magically money was found for anything that promised to increase STAAR results.
I’m a teacher and struggled to soothe fears among colleagues and students. I’ve been through the new test thing before. Our faculty decided to work at our craft and do some interesting stuff and let the test take care of itself. I have a kid that same age and grade as Bliss and down played STAAR’s proponents who constantly warned that it would be crushingly difficult for all. Luckily her teachers were of the same mind as us. That message was constant and shrill and inappropriate and hard to overcome.
I get him, I get her and sympathize with us all. Not reformers of course as I wish them ill. I especially sympathize with you Common Core states as you seem to be going through exactly what we have in Texas. We’re climbing out of this hole and y’all are slipping right down in it.
[…] educators were upset because it fed public perceptions of the “bad teacher.” One well-known American […]
[…] audience. See Tom Whitby‘s post where he shares one English teacher’s article “Why the Jeff Bliss story makes me want to quit.“ If you agree with this teacher’s perspective, comment on Tom’s […]
“Most educators are doing what they have been trained to do, or what is supported by their school’s culture. I hate the fact that so many teachers use the work packets to present material, but that again is what is supported by the system that they must work in. We need to improve our professional development and be open to more relevant teaching methods, employing more relevant tools for learning, as well as more relevant attitudes toward student-centric learning.”
Trying to unpack this paragraph…
1. What are educators trained to do?
2. Educators are trained to use “work packets to present material”?
3. Do we train or develop educators?
4. Can a school culture every totally restrict an educator from facilitating learning that is efficient, effective, and engaging?
5. Who are “we” who need to improve professional development…?
6. Is providing work packets to educators a form of professional development?
Tom,
While I agree we need more educators (AND students and parents) involved in the discussions that have been dominated by profiteers and politicians, I’m not sure we need more self-proclaimed burned-out, blocked, depressed, often snarky and of late negative, teachers in the conversation — except perhaps to illustrate how an oppressive system takes the heart out of the best of us.
This guy criticizes passionate educators for their honest and rational conversations. He considers people who have been inspired by Bliss to be frivolous. He patronizes Bliss and his supporters by saying “as noble as Jeff Bliss’s champions might think his “I Am Spartacus” moment might be, it won’t really change anything except get a black mark on his history teacher’s record.”
Can we live without the voice of educators who rail against the words of students and those who support them?
With so many educators, students, and parents who represent teachers in a positive and solution-oriented fashion, I think we can.
You can read more on my thoughts about this here http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2013/05/do-we-have-to-choose-between-student.html
The teachers at my school want to be the best they can possibly be. They are open to learning and want to be given the time to do so and the direction to do it well.
Leaders fail teachers when they do not give them direction and resources to break our to their “status quo” teaching methods – they set them up for the possibility of such rants.
The other side of the coin is that teachers have a responsibility to continually refine their craft – you’ve written about that, especially in your promotion of Twitter for PD.
Marzano’s book on Supervision has some great ideas on helping teachers improve their teaching based on rubrics that reflect _The Art and Science of Teaching_. My new goal is to slowly introduce teachers to the domains and the rubrics that will give them specific feedback on how they are performing and progressing in the profession. The rubrics are good for transparency and dialogue between educators.
The video is difficult to watch. But sometimes difficult things lead to growth.