AN ANONYMOUS PARENT The positive aspect of this dialogue is that the parent is beginning to discover teacher abuse as a real force. This parent is commenting about teachers being silent about methods. She has only reached the tip of the iceberg of silence issues. But this is a beginning, and with more people uncovering the truth about why our schools are failing, we will have action. We know there is passion out there, and we know that people really care about our schools. As the puzzle comes together, hopefully so will they. Hi! Just thought I would share something from another listserv I am on. It may help explain why so many teachers keep quiet even though they may agree with the trend toward a more research based method of teaching. If they do speak out, they risk being ostracized or flamed by their peers. It then becomes a decision to either keep quiet and just use research based practices (and I mean scientific research- not the "research" they speak of in the email below) in their own classrooms or do they try and make changes by talking with their colleagues about what is the "right" way to teach and then have a crummy work environment, where your peers make your job miserable for you. I speak not really from personal experience, but from experience of friends of mine who are teachers in other districts. My point (in a round about way) is that many teachers DO care about the "right" way to teach but are stuck in a position that their hands are tied. Read the following from my kinder-l listserv and weep :( Note the "researchers" quoted.) Excerpts from another frustrated teacher- I say by continuing to educate ourselves and sharing that education with each other. And by not being afraid to question what we're being told to do, relying on our professional knowledge and instinct. I teach in Florida where developmentally appropriate teachers are becoming a dying breed-our teachers are tired of being beat up and told that we're responsible for students failing in a biased and ridiculous school grading system. The children we teach are far from failures-they're being asked to do things that set them up for failure... It's up to us to research and respond and support each other by sharing and encouraging. Having a support group either on campus or close by helps-my support group draws upon anything we can to back our beliefs. Alfie Kohn, Jim Grant, NAEYC resources, Rachel Kessler, Carla Hannaford, Regie Routman, Donald Graves, and the 4 Blocks/Building Blocks resources are all great starts-also the Courage to Teach program and other programs which help teachers grow and learn in a connected sense... There is lots out there to support D.A. practices-we've just got to bring it out and share! I look forward to hearing about more here. Top PARENT STORIES
