Big Fish and Little Fish: Corporate Reform is Everywhere

I never quite understood why so many teachers in NYC felt so negatively about Mayor Bloomberg until I moved here.  I mean, he always seemed so sensible on the Daily Show.  What I didn't quite realize is that behind all of his liberal talking points there doesn't seem to be much interest in real democracy.

As you may know, Bloomberg is attempting to appoint Cathie Black (a corporate manager with no meaningful experience in public education) as chancellor of New York City Public Schools.  In order to do this, he will need a waiver from the state, as Ms Black (surprise, surprise) does not have the legal qualifications (you know - those things people agree to through some version of the democratic process in order to safeguard public services from cronyism) to be chancellor.  Black has refused to meet with parent groups (but Oprah has endorsed her), and Bloomberg, possibly feeling some pressure from the public (although I suspect his ego is usually a pretty good barrier against the heat) has said that finding an alternative to Black would be very difficult, and the state should clear Black to be the next chancellor as soon as possible.  I'm sure it would be very difficult, Michael; people know you're looking for a new chancellor now.  They might (gasp) want to be involved in the process (double gasp)!

The more I investigate the degree to which the corporate reform movement (CRM) has gained traction in the US, the more it scares me.  Many of my fellow bloggers have expressed hope lately that the movement has begun to lose its footing.  They point to Fenty's loss in DC and Rhee's departure, to ongoing research that consistently proves merit pay is a stupid idea and charters are not a silver-bullet solution, and to Diane Ravitch's attempt to spread common sense.  I, on the other hand, am MUCH more skeptical.  It's my guess that this movement is just beginning, and that we'll be stuck with it for at least a few decades, or at least until the next politically amenable dumb idea with lots of common sense sounding talking points and zero practicality in real classrooms comes around to help candidates win elections.

It's people like my former superintendent, Mary Alice Heuschel, who just won Washington State's Association of School Administrators' award for best superintendent, that I'm alluding to when I say the movement is everywhere. It's also people like Jim McIntyre, the superintendent of Knox County Schools in Knoxville, TN (the district in which I completed my teaching internship).

Earlier this year, Heuschel penned an op-ed for The Seattle Times in which she did an exquisite job parrotting the CRM's most commonly used talking points: teachers are the only factor that matter (at least she said "school-based"), RTTT is a great program, and we should tie teacher and principal evaluations to student test scores.

And then there's McIntyre.  I've recently been in conversation with a few teachers in Knoxville and have heard stories that remind me of my time in DC.  Teachers in Knoxville tell me they are not allowed to speak negatively of the superintendent for fear they may lose their jobs.  They tell me McIntyre's approach is completely top-down, which makes sense since he went to Eli Broad's academy.  One teacher in Knoxville, who refuses to identify him/herself for fear of losing his/her job writes,

"What makes this guy even worse is his constant courtship of Knoxville's political elite and the connections he's made in hopes of securing himself a state-level position in Nashville (God help the whole state if this occurs).  It is very frustrating as well that he has ingratiated himself to our corporate-controlled media who are entirely unreserved in singing his praises without question - serving as an echo chamber for his public-relations staff and serving to rile up the locals against those greedy, tenured teachers."

In another email, the same teacher says,

"I have worked in Knox County Schools for 13 years and have NEVER seen morale so low.  The sense of fear and uncertainty among front-line staff is absolutely palpable.  Veteran educators are leaving in droves or retiring early and are being replaced by low-aid replacements from 'alternative' teaching programs - one of whom SHOT two administrators at Inskip elementary - leaving one of them paralyzed for life.  And as I mentioned, we are forbidden from speaking about what is happening."

I find this to be really frustrating.

Whatever it is about this country that allows us to believe that treating schools like factories is a good idea...

Whatever it is that allows the public to believe that putting inexperienced teachers in the toughest classrooms is a good idea...

Whatever it is that makes it novel and inspiring to claim that we've just figured out that poor black kids in Harlem can learn (as if there was ever evidence that they couldn't) if you only give them a chance...

Whatever it is that makes us believe that parents, communities, students, teachers, and administrators deserve no voice in how their schools are run...

Whatever it is that has society convinced that teaching is something you only do when you're young unless you're somehow inept or unmotivated to do better for yourself...

Whatever that thing is, it's disgusting.