Education Reform Bill SB24
“It is my humble opinion that
education is the one institution that has to be the priority. If citizens aren’t educated none of our
institutions are going to survive”.
Todney Harris. (educator)
As a veteran educator, I cannot
support this initiative. I have seen my
fair share of changes to the American educational system but this initiative is
by far the most unfair and disrespectful attempt at education reform thus
far. I cannot believe that this type of
bill has been introduced in the state of Connecticut. This state has always been the gold standard
of the educational world. Connecticut’s
standards have been copied and put into place in other states. I really do not understand how this type of
thought process regarding educators has come into being. I understand the pressure that the Federal
Government has enacted on states due to the No Child Left Behind Act. However, enacting such sweeping changes to
our current system is not the answer!
Most importantly, enacting such measures in an attempt to preserve
federal dollars and preempt the consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act is
a futile attempt at best.
I will state for the record that
any attempt at reform must have the direct input from the educators. The language in this bill obviously hasn’t
been reviewed by any educators whatsoever.
I just have to ask a question:
Why is it so hard for politicians to ask educators what is best for the
profession and most importantly for students, when we are the professionals who
have the experience and the expertise?
Thus far, I am not alone when I say that the professionals who care and
nurture children want an answer to that particular question! I have heard it asked by novice and veteran
teachers for many years. I don’t recall
citizens constantly questioning the authority and judgment of lawyers and
doctors as they progress in their respective professions. I am quite sure that lawyers have made
incorrect judgments and innocent citizens have faced consequences due to
negligence. Also, there has been
numerous malpractice lawsuits brought against doctors for negligence as well. These
professions aren’t under fire for the miscalculations of a few. There are many mitigating factors that probably
influenced the miscalculation. As a
result, the professions haven’t suffered any major rebuke from the public. Yet, educators are constantly under fire from
the public and politicians. I can state
for the record that there are plenty of mitigating factors that prohibit
students from learning. I know full well
that educators have not created these problems.
However, education is the only profession that expects solutions to society’s
problems! The buzzword that all educators
across the country are hearing constantly is accountability. If you are going to make teachers
accountable, then parents need to be included in the reform conversation.
Next, I
wish to speak about the relationship between parents and teachers. In my humble opinion, in order for student
achievement to function at the optimal level, parental involvement must take
place! Students across America perform
at their highest level when parents offer their encouragement, love and support
for any and all educational activities that students of the modern world will
encounter. Let me be clear: all parents must be involved in the educational
careers of their children. Skills that
are a requirement of the modern world aren’t going to just magically
materialize. If parents do not take a
personal stake in what is occurring educationally, how can parents expect to
achieve results?
My experiences have led me to the
conclusion that a parent who is completely involved in the educational lives of
his or her child yields maximum results.
The parent who is not completely involved yields little or no results. The connection is clear and truthful. The children who have learning disabilities
or behavior issues have the most parental contact from an educator due to the
fact that these issues consistently interfere with the learning that takes
place in a classroom setting. These
parents become disconnected to the process and it takes a toll on the educator
and the student. It is almost impossible
to strategize methods to deal with the societal problems or issues that
students bring into the classroom on a daily basis. Parents of children with behavior issues or
undiagnosed disabilities expect the educators and the school system to become
surrogate parents and take care of the issues that they have created.
I have spent thousands of dollars
in educational institutions in preparation for becoming an educator. I have spent thousands more preparing myself
for being an administrator as well. As
of now, my professional experience and college experience will mean absolutely
nothing if this bill is allowed to pass in its current form. How can my license be revoked based on one
year of bad data? How can I be forced
back into a college program based on a biased view of my performance? It is my opinion that this bill unfairly
attacks teachers. Also, I believe that
the veteran teachers are the target of removal!
One thing that I have learned from the current trends within the field
of education is that organizations such as Teach for America and Americorps are
definitely gaining support from corporations and states such as Connecticut due
to the fact that they have brainwashed the public into the perception that they
can teach in a more cost effective manner.
I especially don’t like the fact that I have to constantly defend myself
to the public as it pertains to being an educator. I do not believe in being a teacher who in inflexible
to change. I would go so far as to say
that the behavior of modern children dictate ultra preparedness. If a teacher is in a classroom unprepared
then that teacher will not be a teacher for very long. These kinds of teacher are weeded out
naturally. Everyone can spot a “bad”
teacher dead on. It doesn’t take such
sweeping legislation such as this to incorporate good judgment and remove a
teacher who isn’t up to par.
I would encourage all members of
our wonderful state who are elected officials to visit schools! An impromptu visit would give all elected
representatives enough information to make their own judgments! One last thing, teachers do the very best
with what they have! Remember, not all
districts are created equal! The poor
students are the children who are at risk.
I find this legislation discriminatory.
It is the students in the poorer districts who are going to suffer from having
a lack of quality educators.
Sincerely
Todney Harris
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