tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post5452261614683490649..comments2023-09-12T06:07:05.184-07:00Comments on The Real Mr. Fitz: A Teacher's Letter to Obama: A Lesson in IronyMr. Fitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976033823825697790noreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-62845518780408758602013-11-07T04:24:27.095-08:002013-11-07T04:24:27.095-08:00Mr. Fitz for President!Mr. Fitz for President!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07432898845598674214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-26508757816885283032013-11-06T17:36:00.548-08:002013-11-06T17:36:00.548-08:00I've taught gifted students for 15 years, and ...I've taught gifted students for 15 years, and they invigorate me every day enough to last through the frustrations you've listed, but my heart goes out to teachers who don't have that. <br />One of the frustrations my students and I share about standardized testing is that kids who score in the 99th percentile on state standardized tests have no where to go but down every year. Couple that with trying to teach gifted kids at grade level, then expecting them to show one year's worth of growth from that 99th percentile.3D Modular Polyhedra funhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07186989079497010850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-89611226720779196092013-11-03T19:43:09.913-08:002013-11-03T19:43:09.913-08:00You put forth a good argument. You provided many e...You put forth a good argument. You provided many examples of irony in the public education system to support your point. After reading this letter, I agree that testing can be stressed to heavily, but I do not think it is inherently bad, just overused. I especially noticed your accusing tone in reference to the “powers that be” through use of “you”. The diction, such as “micromanage,” “vilify,” “discourage,” and “data wrangling”, you use is very emotional. It definitely conveys your frustration with how the government handles public education.<br /><br />The details, examples, and perspectives of various groups and people you used also provide support for your assertion. For example your use of detail about the education methods in Finland and your inclusion of the perspective of testing companies made this letter better-rounded. While this letter is certainly biased, it is written in such a way that you seem credible and worth paying attention to. I thought your statement “I can’t think of a single thing going on in public education right now that makes me want to stay in my profession” was rather severe, but also indicated how serious you are about the issue of public education. Although I may not agree with everything you said, I think you made a sound argument.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404451049788268172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-70865845775166676442013-08-08T21:06:41.530-07:002013-08-08T21:06:41.530-07:00Your letter is still pertinent to the problems of ...Your letter is still pertinent to the problems of Education. <br />Well said, Sir.<br />Thank you for saying it so well.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15366745369624462392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-14049697513539239812013-07-08T07:00:41.666-07:002013-07-08T07:00:41.666-07:00This is very interesting letter. Just got the chan...This is very interesting letter. Just got the chance to read this while I am looking about the <a href="http://www.jackmyers.com/media-business-report/20562299.html" rel="nofollow">Obama Education program</a>.Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14369328801499873607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-73587958079140814782013-06-22T15:48:24.398-07:002013-06-22T15:48:24.398-07:00The only thing I would do if I won a lottery is ke...The only thing I would do if I won a lottery is keep teaching like I do, and use the money to fight the deformers! I'm not in life for the money.Mr. Fitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00976033823825697790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-64718467226824270992013-06-21T20:02:08.780-07:002013-06-21T20:02:08.780-07:00Those links didn't work but I forwarded to arn...Those links didn't work but I forwarded to arny by way of a letter he sent me. It may not get to him but I am going to keep trying! I follow Michael Moore so I sent it to him!wandaann1954https://www.blogger.com/profile/14955963106882771708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-63011177090628497762012-10-16T09:32:17.151-07:002012-10-16T09:32:17.151-07:00Beth-- keep refusing to be a cookie cutter. None o...Beth-- keep refusing to be a cookie cutter. None of us, the kids or the students, are cookies!<br /><br />Beverly-- Thanks for your comment. I only wish I'd gotten a better response when I actually sent this. I'm going to try again... Hearing from someone like you, who's been through it and come out the other side, gives me hope. I still have nine years to go... if I last that long.Mr. Fitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00976033823825697790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-19574817980977590182012-10-16T09:28:12.146-07:002012-10-16T09:28:12.146-07:00Thank you for your eloquent expression of many of ...Thank you for your eloquent expression of many of the feelings I had during my 30 years of teaching high school biology in an urban school district. The love, care, and concern I had for my students and their mostly positive responses to my efforts, kept me going in spite of the ironies. I have been retired for 10 years now and as I reflect on what was a satisfying career, I do wonder how I did it. <br />Your letter should be sent and resent to the President and the Education Secretary, to school board members, community activists, teacher preparation institutions, and anyone else with a concern about the state of public education in this country. Maybe if we admit there is a problem and then clearly identify its many parts, then we can begin find solutions - some of which we have known about and ignored for years.Beverly Cottmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16994056005768898844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-82184800965765541732012-10-15T17:40:37.504-07:002012-10-15T17:40:37.504-07:00Thank you for writing this! (I had a big blurb wr...Thank you for writing this! (I had a big blurb written and then it was eaten by cyberspace.) It's so wonderful to know that it's not just my colleagues and I who feel this way, but that teachers all over feel the same. I refuse to be a cookie cutter teacher. I will do what's best for my students. I know they and their parents love how my classroom runs. Thank you again, and God bless you and all my fellow teachers.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03516694129652510144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-82132699282977652642012-06-04T12:57:38.871-07:002012-06-04T12:57:38.871-07:00Thank you so much for this letter. As the husband ...Thank you so much for this letter. As the husband and family member of many people who have become teachers in NC, I've seen the failures of our public educational system. <br /><br />Our failure in part is that we are seeking to standardize something that can't be standardized. It is an oxymoronic concept that you can standardize the development of individuals. <br /><br />We could go through any of a hundred problems with education. But whether it is the lack of parental involvement, the complete disregard for the teaching profession in our nation, or the terrible lack of funding for education, we must ultimately face the issue that the very results we are asking teachers to produce are in complete opposition to the methods thrust upon teachers to produce them. <br /><br />That any teacher is effective is an exceptional accomplishment in today's world. And any politician that speaks as though they have the solution for education illustrates his/her immense ignorance of an issue so deeply complex with roots reaching into every facet of our society. Changing the current paradigm requires not reform, but revolution. Until then, we will simply waste a lot more money failing our children, our teachers, and the future of our nation.Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10434160823248911173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-23097851393495739352012-05-14T21:44:11.701-07:002012-05-14T21:44:11.701-07:00This is so very sad. I recall when school was some...This is so very sad. I recall when school was something different. Certainly it's never been flawless and there have, no doubt, always been unscrupulous goings-on within the system. Still, it's a different creature than what I remember. As a child, I wanted to be a teacher. Reading this assures me that what I'm doing is far more rewarding. I'm a homeschool mom. <br /><br />I hear what you're saying and so happy that what you want from your career is what I have. The sad thing is that neither of us "has it all". You aren't doing what you intended to do but are on the payroll (such as it may be!) while I am doing exactly what you want, but I don't get paid (monetarily) for it. Even so, I'd venture to say that I'm getting the joy, the fun, the adventure of it all and that this is the true reward. <br /><br />I have a few friends who are teachers that homeschool their own. I wish that teachers could attain their noble goals. Their hearts are in the right place. What a brick wall you've been placed against. It isn't fair.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04388349658945788011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-18752206651508304042012-02-02T03:50:44.952-08:002012-02-02T03:50:44.952-08:00Teacher of the Year was also called The Kiss of De...Teacher of the Year was also called The Kiss of Death in the Florida County where I taught. Whoever won at the school level could be assured of getting the WORST class assignments, shifted to teach out of field, asked to teach three or more preps, asked to sacrifice his plan period to take on another class, or piled with administrative requirements involving preparing and giving pointless inservices.Purl Buttonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09111658454474340981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-37074629076752353592012-01-29T16:17:24.829-08:002012-01-29T16:17:24.829-08:00.
Rod wrote:. "Mr. Johnson, ... You state tha....<br /><b>Rod wrote:</b>. <i>"Mr. Johnson, ... You state that conservatives are out to destroy America's leading role in the world..."</i> <br />.<br />I don't recall ever making such a statement.<br />.Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-7332155098488360062012-01-29T12:44:35.540-08:002012-01-29T12:44:35.540-08:00Oops! There, they're, their
LOL! Please take...Oops! There, they're, their<br />LOL! Please take it in good humor, from one imperfect English teacher to another.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435166289606690437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-85681417662169609562012-01-29T12:26:36.230-08:002012-01-29T12:26:36.230-08:00Mr. Johnson, I think you have an ironic misconcept...Mr. Johnson, I think you have an ironic misconception. You state that conservatives are out to destroy America's leading role in the world, when conservatism is all about exalting the leadership of America! It has not be a conservative who has been traveling the world apologizing for our country. We conservatives are proud to be American and have no desire to emulate the European model so promoted by liberals. Liberal idealism has stunted competitiveness, limited creative ability, and dumbed down the general public to the point that the average newspaper is now written at a sixth grade level or below, compared to an eighth grade level or above back in the fifties!<br /><br />Another irony in your assumptions is that American educators are conservative. I am a retired conservative teacher who found himself to be a minority when being educated, as well as, educating.<br /><br />Mr. Johnson, please take your blinders off!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435166289606690437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-12479672879507818052012-01-29T12:11:52.141-08:002012-01-29T12:11:52.141-08:00The networks wouldn't publish it.The networks wouldn't publish it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435166289606690437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-27179216137322387102012-01-29T09:13:56.526-08:002012-01-29T09:13:56.526-08:00I've only been out of the classroom for a litt...I've only been out of the classroom for a little over a year(also to raise my family), but it's amazing in just that amount of time how miserable so many of my teacher friends are rignt now. So much more being required by the day and some simply not getting a COL raise but many even getting their wages CUT by up to 10%. Wonder how big the but is all these politicians are taking... HA! that would be the day!Angelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08622252791739012108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-72319317674707118992012-01-29T00:23:09.645-08:002012-01-29T00:23:09.645-08:00Dear Mr. Fitz,
Thank you for your letter.
I am...Dear Mr. Fitz,<br /><br />Thank you for your letter. <br /><br />I am an eighth year Middle and High School Math teacher and worked for the first five years in Duval County, FL. While there, I experienced exactly the phenomena you described. I am also pleased to say that one positive thing that arose from my time in Florida was access to high-quality, inspirational professional development as well as opportunities to attend national conferences and receive some tuition reimbursement that helped me earn my Master's degree. One of the additional ironies of working in a broken system is that the abundance of skills and growth resources given to teachers makes them even more painfully aware of how impossible it is to implement them in an inhospitable environment.<br /><br />Two years ago, I accepted a position teaching in another public school district. This district have an equally diverse population- my students run the gamut racially, socio-economically, and also in prior experiences and preparation- a truly heterogeneous mix. The real distinguishing factor about my new school is the relationship between administration, teachers, and parents. <br /><br />For the first time since I began, I am truly free to exercise my judgment in the classroom. I am encouraged, no, REQUIRED and inspired, to apply my creativity and training to deliver content that is rigorous, well-constructed, and student-driven. I feel limited only by my own creativity and shortcomings when it comes to designing difficult, ambiguous, and engaging tasks for my students. Our district is certainly keen on seeing that data is used to justify instructional decisions, but I believe it is the support of my administration that has made the difference between data forming a prison versus data forming a launch-pad.<br /><br />I am not writing to brag about my great school, but to point out that there is hope.<br />I believe that the defining characteristic that makes my current school functional and my previous district dysfunctional schools is the trust that is developed between competent, informed leadership, competent and informed teachers, and students. It is a hard job for administration to fully support teachers in the classroom. Their jobs come and go more easily that our own and that scrutiny is as bad or worse. However, when that little leap of faith is taken, teachers blossom. <br /><br /> I still fight daily student apathy and excuse-making, however, it keeps me on my toes and demands that I make the curricula relevant and meaningful. That is a challenge that revitalizes me as opposed to my former teaching assignment that provided opportunities for me feel increasingly fettered and incapable. If I return to Jacksonville, I will teach there again. I still have more tears of frustration to offer!<br /><br />Therefore, I say, keep up the good fight. Students will always be impacted by teachers that take the tough road toward meaningful instruction.MissMichalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15017988025559228070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-14087050721394807382012-01-28T22:13:26.772-08:002012-01-28T22:13:26.772-08:00Here is a little more irony; It is not the role of...Here is a little more irony; It is not the role of the Federal Government to run and control education. The very fact that there is a Department of Education that oversees Education and makes mandates State to State is ludicrous. It is the role of the States and local boards and legislature to oversee education state to state. The influence of the federal government rests in something called Title I. How much longer before teachers are facing malpractice because we fail to meet the criteria that is being forced upon us by an entity that is not even constitutionally responsible for the legislation that governs education. In truth the Federal Government had slowly been taking control of education, because they do not believe that individual states are capable of running education. In truth President Obama through the race to the top grants is in a more manipulative position than any other president before him, including Bush. He is even controlling what local schools serve in school lunches. It is absurd, and yes, isn't it ironic that the more we attempt to do, the further away we move from the doing.Mary E. https://www.blogger.com/profile/04578356883575964675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-39117074930809174472012-01-28T20:30:34.468-08:002012-01-28T20:30:34.468-08:00As a retired librarian who was replaced by a para,...As a retired librarian who was replaced by a para, your performance might not even be evaluated when your district decides you are a luxury they can't afford.Stories by Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08559855116747153240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-78444671569202464592012-01-27T04:16:13.073-08:002012-01-27T04:16:13.073-08:00I left teaching 12 years ago to start a family and...I left teaching 12 years ago to start a family and all of this was just beginning. My husband is an elementary teacher and is as unhappy as I have ever seen him in his 20+ years of teaching. Every day when he leaves he'll give me a rundown of the meetings he has that day to address various issues...parent concerns, testing results, special education students, training on a a new website for teacher accountability, etc. etc. Little time is left for him to actually create, teach, plan, collaborate, assess, or just be with his classroom and enjoy the learning that is going on. In the next few years, I will be having to make a decision whether to return to the classroom. At this point, if nothing changes, I really doubt I will return. One of the best lines of your letter is "it becomes clear that the real goal, all along, was to force public schools into failure by setting impossible goals for them, and then to privatize education. They said one thing: "Let's save the schools." They meant something else: "Let's drive them to their own destruction." I never dreamed of doing anything else than being a teacher. Sadly, I think I will have to change my dream.Plan to Savehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10474785230097647344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-56343606158735976012012-01-26T20:05:37.235-08:002012-01-26T20:05:37.235-08:00Mr. Fitz,
It's interesting that your letter c...Mr. Fitz,<br /><br />It's interesting that your letter cites Finland's as a model education system. I've taught overseas for 15 years in some pretty exotic locations: Botswana, Estonia, Dubai and the Dominican Republic. In every school, in each of those countries, I was allowed to be as creative as I wanted to be, my salary was comparatively high, and I was respected as a teacher. <br /><br />When I came back to the US, I spent a very short time looking into teaching positions. I soon discovered that my Master's in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and years of experience did not qualify me to teach in public schools. Despite a lack of teachers in our area, I would have had to jump through a number of hoops before I could work with a single student. These requirements were both time-consuming and expensive (teaching standards test, blood text, background check, fingerprints, 20+ page applications, and, eventually, some kind of state certification). While I understand the need for many of these checks - put in place to protect children and weed out unsuitable teachers - the result was I went into the private sector and never looked back. <br /><br />I LOVE teaching, and I've never had a job I enjoyed as much as several of the teaching positions I held overseas. No matter how jaded and frustrated teachers feel, they all must have the rare connections with students that keep them in the game. Unfortunately, I found that getting in the game in US wasn't worth the effort. And judging by the comments of experienced teachers, the game here seems to have been hijacked by politicians and the testing industry. <br /><br />Thanks for sparking this discussion. I'm not sure what the solutions are, and I wouldn't be speaking from relevant, local experience. But I suspect untying funding and incentives from test results are a good start. Allowing local administrators (and peers) to award merit pay for creativity and unconventional results would also be a good idea. On a broader scale, radically increasing teachers' salaries and reducing class sizes would be great. We could do that if we spent as much on education as we do on defense. <br /><br />Best of luck getting the powers that be to listen!<br /><br />WillUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08365392424549063090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-41288249363091943982012-01-26T11:35:53.168-08:002012-01-26T11:35:53.168-08:00.
Hello, Cathy.
.
What heart rending your letter s....<br />Hello, Cathy.<br />.<br />What heart rending your letter speaks about. I am so concerned for what portends for the future. <br />.<br />I don't think it is "just by chance" that so many teachers are in line with your thinking. And, I wonder about that. Is there some purpose afoot to demoralize the very people charged with the enlightenment of our children as they grow through their formative years as citizens? I'm concerned that it is part of the purposeful dumbing down of America. But, why? To what purpose?<br />.<br />And, on the obverse, are there school that are doing the good you expected? What about the religious and other private schools? Are any teachers talking about that?<br />.Phil Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06756814849309388483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272944311961529197.post-27252272226820733452012-01-26T09:32:38.940-08:002012-01-26T09:32:38.940-08:00Your letter so eloquently expresses the frustratio...Your letter so eloquently expresses the frustration that I have been experiencing the last few years. I'm to the point where my spirit is slowly being wittled away, especially as I am a very creative teacher. Prior to my position as a public school music teacher, I was employed at a Charter school, and I can assure you that scripted teaching and data collection began with the Charter school movement. My spirit completely died in this environment where being talented and creative, in addition to being an EXCELLENT teacher were completely unappreciated. As a matter of fact, I was marked down for being that way. And now for the ultimate irony: I find myself in the same situation. My dream job has turned into a nightmare, and I find myself in the throws of yet another death. I'm not sure what type of irony you would label my concluding remark, but it is ironic that I returned to school as an adult (and practically went broke to do so), so that I could change over from being a classroom teacher to beginning a new career as a music teacher. In the creative arts, testing and data collection have commenced and now my music classroom, which has served as a respite during the day for children to be creative and expressive, is being morphed into an academic subject. This is only the tip of the iceburg. I could write pages upon pages. I appreciate your blog and being able to share.Cathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09699966943611741330noreply@blogger.com