Oh no he didn’t!
Raging against Arne Duncan’s call to turnaround the nation’s lowest-performing schools, the chairman of the Atlanta Metro Association of Classroom Educators, John Trotter, fumed “He wants to replace everyone … except the ones who matter, the children.” The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s ed columnist Maureen Downey quotes Trotter saying the children in failing schools are the main problem.
“They are unmotivated and lazy. Yes, there are many incompetent and idiotic and mean administrators who need to go. There are even some bad teachers, but these are really rare. The problem starts with the students. What is Duncan going to do with some so-called students who act like miscreants each day?”
This is the kind thing you hear in the teacher’s lounge when someone’s having a bad day, but seldom outside, and almost never in public. Teachers have all the reason in the world to be upset by simplistic “no excuses” posturing, and complaints about ”putting the interests of adults first.” But if accurate, this is the kind of intemperate diatribe that makes it all too easy for those who would paint teachers as sandbaggers and excuse makers to point and say, “See! I told you so.”
Not smart. Not helpful.
Update: Eduwonk says, “See! I told you so.” Joanne Jacobs uses Trotter’s vitriol as a way into an Edweek essay by Richard Kahlenberg, who argues “it’s impossible to change a bad school without changing the mix of students.”
There’s plenty of blame to go around for the dismal state of education in this country- students, parents, teachers, administrators, bureaucrats, unions, and just the general anti-intellectualism of our culture are all part of the problem. But we need to stop pointing fingers at everyone else and figure out what we can do to help make things better.
Sad. Really sad.
This guy represents teachers? Not me, please. As a teacher, I chose to believe that I actually had control of how students did in my classroom. Unfortunately, this guy takes the opposite view. What’s the point of teaching if you don’t think that you have the ability to shape students’ knowledge, views, and yes, even motivation towards school.
It doesn’t end with the quote mentioned here… check out http://www.theteachersadvocate.com/ for more of Mr. Trotter’s rants that reek of the worst aspect of teachers’ unions – to make teachers unaccountable for the work they are supposed to do.
Please find something more important to do, Mr. Trotter… like increase teachers’ pay, improve teacher training, or *ahem* help promote the status of teachers in society, rather than lower it…
Apologies for ranting here…
I really hope no one takes this guy seriously. Sure, we have our sure of challenging moments with the children, and some are more, well, challenging than others…but replace them? This may sound corny, but I have love in my heart for all my students, and, as Jeremy said, I have to do my best to bring out something good in all of them.
Jeremy “…chose to believe that [he] actually had control…” of the success of his students. Belief is nice, but what is the actual truth? Probably, Jeremy has not always had complete control of his class (neither have I).
Unfortunately, Mr. Trotter, though no help to teaching with that public statement, makes a point; without the ability of teachers to deal with discipline or other behavior issues that ruin it for others, Trotter’s complaint–a complaint about a symptom–will remain pertinent.
Teachers don’t have the control of the classroom–by design and fiat–they used to have. This is a problem, and results in Trotter’s fairly accurate sentiment, but useless diatribe.
It’s also rather telling that folks are now acknowledging, however inadvertently, that a school’s goodness or badness correlates to SES and poverty, or to put another way, the students who populate the school. Trotter just isn’t that aware of what he said, yet…
@TFT I certainly haven’t ever had complete control of my class. I agree that classroom management is the 800-pound gorilla of education. But Trotter’s is exactly the wrong attitude to have about it…
That’s basically what I was saying Jeremy. Trotter exposed the gorilla but he did it in a way that we don’t like.
Not just “in a way we don’t like” but in a way which makes it easy to dismiss. There’s an important discussion to be had about discipline, disruption, and the right to a classroom environment that is conducive to learning. Trotter’s approach makes that conversation nearly impossible.
The ugly truth is that the kids, suffering whatever horrors they must due to environment and position, act out in ways that schools cannot deal with. Trotter’s unpleasant comment is a symptom of impoverished neighborhoods/schools. Since there is no hope of ending poverty, or even addressing it, apparently, the symptoms become the disease.
We need to acknowledge the sense of hopelessness not just among students, but within the profession. Trotter’s pathetic complaint gets our ire up, but we cannot deny where his sentiment comes from; powerlessness, all around.
I almost spit out my coffee.
I attended a school that had a very significant level of poverty. It did not have a problem with bad behavior. The association of poverty with bad behavior has grown since the 60s generation tossed out standards of civility, individual responsibility and self-control that had been in place, with highly desirable effects, for multiple generations.
His complaint about wanting better students reminds of a line from Mel Brooks’ The Producers. After having problems with the author during the production of the play, he said, “Next time I produce a play, no author!”
It appears, from my 33 years of teaching in both urban and suburban schools, that John Trotter simply said what others have been afraid to say…the truth! Though his statement may be politically incorrect, his statement is very true. If the students are acting like “miscreants” (as he stated), there is not much that we as teachers can do. Our authority in the classroom and our ability to discipline our students must be restored. If not, we are just grasping at straws in our efforts to improve education. Ouite frankly, I thought that John Trotter’s honesty in his statements were refreshing!