" I want to introduce your new teacher. -Administrator"
"I don't give a f*** about her. -Student"
" (Name), she's a nice teacher. Now you need to go to class.- Administrator"
"No! -Student"
Imagine being a teacher in today's schools, where discipline has taken a back seat to the notion that each student represents a number that affects school funds. Or imagine being the above new teacher, who at the end of the school day, was observed asking how to assign detention to students who refused to leave her class, disrupting the learning environment, and her first day. The idea of discipline in today's Public and Charter schools have lead to high teacher turn over, a sense of normalcy with lower student test scores due to failure to reach learning benchmarks, and an increase in At-Risk students, exposing the lack of consistency and in-depth procedures among School Administrators in US schools. Has the number of children in the classroom eclipsed the need to educate our students? Has discipline of children and students, taken a backseat to the financial bottom line of schools?
"How do you handle a student who refuses to do work in your classroom -(unnamed Principal in new teacher Interview)?"
Interviewing teachers have come to expect the above question which outlines their classroom discipline plan and method for resolving behavior issues of prospective students. However, the question has gained a double meaning as student discipline has increasingly been placed on the shoulders of teachers, often causing teachers to illicit fearful classroom experiences with problem students. School Administrators have made a huge gamble, exchanging discipline for alternative behavior models for handling discipline, such as restorative justice, least restrictive environments, and tracking learning & behavior accommodations, which results in paper trails, Individual Education Plans (IEP), and behavior referrals. Alternative behavior management models have come to replace detention, out of school suspension, and expulsion, the older model for deterring negative behavior. In fact, in many Public and Charter schools, Administrators have put the bulk of burden of discipline on Teachers, which is unprecedented, a violation of Teacher Union negotiated practices, and extremely cumbersome. The effect is a reported reduction in suspensions and interventions, with the development of Alternative School systems. In true embrace of these methodologies, school administrators have instituted such models in classrooms across the nation, increasing numbers to positively report, while ignoring a growing trend. High annual teacher turnover and burn out has begun to change the faces within the classroom annually, and often by semester, as teachers in response to the new workload, prefer to resign positions in less established, Alternative Discipline schools for institutes with firm administrations and proven discipline records. Gone are the days when elementary children and secondary students could hope to be taught by the same teacher as their older siblings. Gone are the days when school Administrators and Principals held together strong schools with values, conviction, and accountability. In fact, the truth about high teacher turnover in today's schools, particularly charter schools, is a symptom of their problem. How can a school with over 60% teacher turnover, produce a graduation and college acceptance rate at 80-90%? By placing behavior management in the hands of teachers, and out of the office of administrators, who ordinarily would develops in-depth school-wide discipline plans to institute in the overall school plan and culture. This is a total violation of the essential goals of restorative justice and alternative behavior models, and the evidence of the hidden facts of discipline gone array in today's schools.
As a result, Teachers dedicate 25-30% more of their classroom planning and teaching time to resolving behavior issues. The extra time is often unpaid and highly stressful, resulting in additional parental, IEP, & counselling meetings. By the end of the school year, teachers are exhausted from literal physical fatigue, emotional drain, and lack of personal time, which is reduced by additional time spent on behavior modification. In comparison, while teacher work schedules have increased across K-12, School Administrators, Principal, Vice-Principal, Deans, have less work loads, shorter days, arrive late/leave early, and an increased salary.
Lighter work loads for schools administrators does not mean the job is getting easier, it means there has been a transfer of work to teachers. If a student is sent out of class for constant profanity, or being a class disruption after multiple warnings, and the Principal sends the student directly back to class, the unresolved issue is left back in the hands of the teacher, while creating the thought in the student's mind that there are no consequences for misbehavior. The unresolved misbehavior must be dealt with during class time, and often leads to miscommunication and worst problems, then the initial issue. Essentially, this type of cycle is a violation of most Teacher Contracts according to established procedures incorporated in many Teacher Union Contracts in the 1970s. However, this type of situation is becoming more common in schools with less resources, novice Administrators, and overloaded Teachers. The alternative behavior model has created less work for Administration, but drowned the teacher in a cycle of behavioral management and stress. Essentially, we are witnessing the fall of the American Public School system into disrepair. A disrepair that may be the strategy of private investors and educators.
Doing A Job: Principal
The initial benefit for having a professional clerical team for public schools was because on site School Administrations could record on site data, organize essential functions of schools outside the classroom, and handle problem situations should they arise, leaving the teacher, the job of simply teaching. This argument was dominant in the early negotiations for higher salaries, and has continued to the present day with the highly important piece, Administrative accountability. Principals answer to School Boards, and their direct Superintendent Supervisors, and are often sucked into the political theater which engulfs both the School Board and the office of the Superintendent. Principals also receive evaluations which assess their performance through Administrative benchmarks and are completed by their immediate Supervisor (who is not onsite), and teachers. Often, this evaluation process misses the everyday nuisances, like does the Principal have a strong presence on the school campus, in the hallways and in the classroom? Does the Principal promote, encourage, and enforce a positive school environment. Thus, the possibility of retaining School Officials whose performance on paper is proficient, but concerning real onsite criteria, may not be included in an evaluation such as teacher support, workday routine, event planning, and communication is lacking, creates a stressful workplace for teachers. The real physical presence of Administrators on campus, in classrooms, and in formal assemblies of the students, is a major factor in establishing school culture and deterring negative behavior. Often, the lack of resources to have a sufficient number of Administrators, such as Deans, to effectively operate a school site becomes the first symptom of a declining school, failing school-wide policy, and overburdened Teachers. Still, a Principal can set the tone for a great learning institution with an visual implementation of planning, or become engulfed in the politics of the position and find themselves behind a desk, behind a closed door, while teachers struggles to educate students, and balance their lives with long work hours.
The Union Vs. The Union:
This article is not anti-Union and promotes a more robust representation. It is important to know, teacher unions have to fight to negotiate working salaries fairly distributed by the budget and for the rights of teachers in violation or accused of wrong doing. This fight often can be resolved between the County Representative and the teacher. However, when negotiation and mediation have run its course the court system will decide where the violation has occurred.
A Teacher's Union which primarily defers to resolutions between the School and Teacher is an extension of the school system. This type of Union cannot fight in the best interest of its teachers because the "in house" investigation rules and regulations are entirely different from a court case, and often uphold violations of the teacher's negotiated contract. A Teacher's Union which uses the local court system is in fact a true representation of the teacher and can obtain the rights and privileges teachers deserve. Still, school Administrators, Principals, Deans, Board Members, & Superintendents all enjoy an alternative unions, and inflated salaries made off the backs and often in opposition of teachers. Educators should understand the entire system and when their interests are placed against each other. Only then can the fight to educate be waged appropriately for America's schools.
Conclusion:
Is the number of students in a school more important than discipline? Why is high teacher turnover an indication that school Administration has become docile and ineffective? Finally, will the Teacher's Union be able to appropriately defend the rights of teachers? If the strategy against America's Public School System is to allow them to self implode from disorganization, then higher numbers, lack of teachers, poor Administration, and poor representation will be the causes, to the effect. The people who benefit from this failure, other than the peons in the halls of power, will be the Private Education Institutions, the American Penal Systems, and the large Corporate interests. The people who will suffer, will be the average Americans, who cannot afford private schools, the minorities, and the poor. Unfortunately, the people who will suffer are the majority of Americans.
Written by Mr. Cowan Amaye-Obu (Teacher)
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