With so much controversy surrounding DISD central staff in the past week, it's important we realize that DISD isn't some student focused, cohesive group fighting against educational inequity. Should it be? Yep! Unfortunately, politics are still politics at EVERY level. Between the administration (Superintendent to Assistant Principals), teachers, and students (including parents), there is an unhealthy amount of animosity and mistrust. Why? Nastiness behind the scenes is one example, but it doesn't tell the story of mistrust in the classroom. More after the jump, read more!
In many of our schools we have three levels, all of which are working against each other. This house can not stand if divided against itself. So what are the levels and what do we do?
At the top you have the administration enforcing strict and homogeneous practices within the classroom without any intimate understanding of what happens day in and day out. What comes with that are the mountains of paperwork that seem to get bigger every year, the passing requirements, and other numbers that the school is evaluated on, sometimes to a fault.
In the middle, you have the teachers and staff who show up every day to try and make a difference in the lives of their students. Are there teachers that come to work just for the check? Are there some that are just plain bad at their job? Yes. The problem is that when you treat everyone the same, that cream never rises to the top and you have an entire group more or less united against the administration and our third group, our students.
The students are our calling. The students are our clients. The students are our future. Is that why they get to run rough shod over the entire building? There are schools where students have a healthy respect for teachers and administrators, where the majority have been instilled with values that will lead them to success. in other campuses, that is unfortunately the exact opposite.
Balance and equality are important, but the pendulum is looking like it has swung too far. What we need is compassion and mutual understanding between all levels, not just our students. We've turned unconditional hospitality and equality into a free pass for all behaviors. We need to work together by raising the stakes in our classrooms, not putting everything on the numbers.
At the top you have the administration enforcing strict and homogeneous practices within the classroom without any intimate understanding of what happens day in and day out. What comes with that are the mountains of paperwork that seem to get bigger every year, the passing requirements, and other numbers that the school is evaluated on, sometimes to a fault.
In the middle, you have the teachers and staff who show up every day to try and make a difference in the lives of their students. Are there teachers that come to work just for the check? Are there some that are just plain bad at their job? Yes. The problem is that when you treat everyone the same, that cream never rises to the top and you have an entire group more or less united against the administration and our third group, our students.
The students are our calling. The students are our clients. The students are our future. Is that why they get to run rough shod over the entire building? There are schools where students have a healthy respect for teachers and administrators, where the majority have been instilled with values that will lead them to success. in other campuses, that is unfortunately the exact opposite.
Balance and equality are important, but the pendulum is looking like it has swung too far. What we need is compassion and mutual understanding between all levels, not just our students. We've turned unconditional hospitality and equality into a free pass for all behaviors. We need to work together by raising the stakes in our classrooms, not putting everything on the numbers.
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