Sep 14
Dear NYC,
Do you see
the lovely, little girl rushing up steps of P.S.139 in Brooklyn? Yes, that’s
her, the one with the long, spiral curls. It’s her first day of Pre-K and she’s
mine.
As a teacher
myself in the New York City Department of Education for fifteen years, I wanted
to publicly announce that I’ve been nothing but kind, generous, and
compassionate to every kid who’s ever stepped inside my classroom. The boy who
received a perfect score on his Regents exam, as well as the one who threatened
to set my hair on fire. The young lady who read her poem in Urdu at the
city-wide competition and brought the house down, as well as the boy who said
he’d shoot me after school. The student from Guinea who handed me a note
regarding her genital mutilation as a child, and the boy who came out to me in
a personal essay. The one who blindsided me into a blackboard, and the one who
waited tables at the local IHOP. The nineteen-year-old who laughed when I
caught him having sex with a fifteen-year-old in a stairway, and every kid
who’s called me a punk-#@* before eight-thirty in the morning for the past
fifteen years.
There has
never been a single child in New York City, in or out of my classroom, that I
have treated with malice or not offered compassion, understanding, and forgiveness.
You have my word on this.
And now it’s
time to return the favor.
For
forty-something years I’ve dreamed awfully big dreams. Every single one has
turned to dust except for the vision walking up those stairs. You will cherish
and honor every second that she graces your hallways. I’ve seen this system at
its worst and you will not be sneaking anything past me, understood?
Some of the
most shocking, eye-popping experiences I’ve had in my adult life have taken
place inside NYC public schools, and I’m not talking about troubled kids. I
witnessed Bloomberg era cruelty first hand. I saw what you did to those
teachers. I watched you starve those kids of funds so you could gain control of
their buildings, and I’m keeping a watchful eye on the current administration’s
handle of mayoral control, as well.
The largest
school system in the country still has no true path as to where it is headed.
Although, there is one certainty. Every day that I entrust you with my
daughter’s care, she will come home safe and happy and excited about the world,
otherwise, you’ll have a lion at your door roaring very specific questions.
Frankly, New
York, I don’t particularly trust you. The ‘danger and romance’ you offered in
my twenties and thirties no longer appeals to me. Broadway, Central Park, the
Brooklyn Bridge still leave me in awe but lose their luster once I admit that
your school system has left me frazzled and shell-shocked. Its instability,
indifference and lack of true leadership, I swear most times it appears you’re
making it up as you go along. I just received word that my school district has
changed yet again. At this point, I no longer bother asking why. It’s just your
way.
So I’ve got
my supplies ready for another year, and I’ll get that bulletin board decorated
tomorrow because we both know I’m decorating it just for you. It presents a
good front, doesn’t it? But there’s one thing different about tomorrow. It’s
the first time you’ll be seeing me as a parent, which brings us back to the
little girl on the steps. Unfortunately, New York City Department of Ed, you’re
all we’ve got right now. So this is just a note from a father wishing you a
very, very successful school year.
J.B.
McGeever’s collection of essays, Small Rooms and Others, will be published by
Unsolicited press in the fall of 2019. He lives in Brooklyn with his family.
Yes, the problem is biology. Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, in a fervent Saturday address, reiterated his call for an end to admissions tests at the city’s eight specialized high schools.
ReplyDeleteCarranza, speaking at the weekly National Action Network event in Harlem, squeezed in a few shots at President Trump while advocating a change in the city’s educational status quo.
“There’s a question to be asked,” said Carranza, who took over as chancellor April 2. “Either black and Latino students cannot, because of biology, genealogy . . . be successful in schools. Or perhaps the policies and the regulations need to change. They need to change.”
Carranza noted that fewer than 10% of the students admitted to the city’s specialized high schools are black and Latino despite constituting 70% of the student body citywide, and cited the Specialized High School Admissions Test as the primary reason for the disparity.
“We’re the only city in America that requires a single test for admission to a public school,” he said. “So I’m asking the question . . . ‘Is that OK?’ I’m asking the question, ‘Is that justice for our kids?’ ”
Mayor de Blasio supports abolishing the admissions test as well, although backers of the current system cite the test as merit-based for all students. Carranza argued that too much attention is focused on a single test rather than a student’s body of work.
“You have brilliant black and Latino students . . . if they don’t do well on that test, given one day, for one time period, for one opportunity, if they do not do well they don’t get the opportunity,” said the chancellor, who derided the current system as “neither reliable or valid.”
Carranza, who came to New York from Houston, closed by asking the parents of students to join the fight for change.
“We must be warriors for our children, not for the status quo,” he said.
Does Carranza really think that including middle-school GPA's (with all the attendant grade inflation), letters of recommendation, etc. is going to lead a more objective process? That will only allow fraud, cronyism, nepotism and the like increase, not decrease.
ReplyDeleteFACT: You will have absolutely no influence on DOE policy as a parent anymore than you do as a teacher. If you make waves you will be retaliated against due to the fact that you are a teacher. The DOE is a cabal and will not tolerate any rocking of the boat!
ReplyDeleteMy family and I will be just fine, thanks.
ReplyDeleteCarranza also preached the racial disparity of high suspensions of Black and Latino kids over Whites to Rev. Al Sharpton. Carranza seems to advocate reverse discrimination instead of fairness. Destroy the only successful schools we have, which will further segregate the system and let everyone do anything without consequence. The Mariachi player should go back to Texas, we have enough DeBlasio ass kissers.
ReplyDeleteI survived as a teacher for 32 years 5:26 and I was not exactly quiet. Bryan will be fine too.
ReplyDeleteYou should look up the case of Nicole Suriel. I was the co-President of the PTA during that year and constantly reminded the principal about all the shortcuts that were being taken. Keep thinking you have control. In the end you have very limited say during the hours that your child is in school.
ReplyDeleteGood luck though!
After reading some of the comments, it appears as though I'm about to learn some kind of lesson. I can assure you this will not be the case or I'll simply pull my child from the system. I wasn't anticipating this kind of opposition from a teacher blog. The DOE is a cabal only if we allow them to be. As the essay mentions, I'm primarily concerned with safety and happiness at the Pre-K level. Are you really saying that I have no control or strong say in this matter?
ReplyDeletePretty much. Look what they’re doing to the middle schools. I went to curriculum night yesterday and the teacher informed me that there have been 3 different math programs in the past 3 years. My son is in 1st grade. He goes to PS 87 on the UWS, which is a respected school. If they’re not getting it right, who is?
ReplyDeleteI’d love to believe in the public school system too, but experience has taught me otherwise. Plus the parents early on seem to understand “public education,” but slowly and surely advocate only for their kid, and not what is best overall.
I’d trust the system, but still have a back up plan if you see it’s not meeting your child’s needs.
Three different math programs and an unexplained bruise on my daughter's cheek are not the same argument, David. But I see what you're saying.
ReplyDeleteLots of cynicism here Bryan. My prediction: you will be fine as will your daughter and your wife.
ReplyDeletePerfectly fine, James. Just different points of view. Thanks for the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteIf every educator treats/teaches each student that enters the threshold of the school building as if they were his/her child, J Bryan and all parents could rest a bit easier. I certainly did this but alas some colleagues did not for whatever reason. Good luck
ReplyDelete