Below you will find a letter I recently typed that will be making its way to my district's members of Congress. I am sharing this letter in the hopes that I will inspire others to take action. It's a serious topic, and I feel so passionately about it.
Dear Congressman,
I am a teacher. While
I feel that sometimes the general public views teachers as a “whiney” bunch, I
can tell you that my whining has little to do with how difficult my job
is. It has everything to do with the fact that the government is setting
unrealistic and inappropriate expectations for my students. It is saying that all students, regardless of
outside factors, should master the same rigorous standards set forth by our
state.
I have been teaching
for six years. When I began my career,
full of hope and inspiration, I taught second grade. While I loved my students, I did not have a
passion for the content I was teaching.
I had always dreamed of being a Kindergarten teacher, and when a position
opened in my district, I made the change.
This is my fourth year of Kindergarten.
When I look at the Oklahoma Academic Standards, I see objectives that I
formerly was teaching second graders.
Six years is not a long time. Why
has this push been so sudden, and so harsh?
I know that many of the children in my room can master many of these
standards. But does that mean we should expect all others to do the same? My fear is that we are creating a generation
of students who will function like robots.
They may be “career and college ready” by the standards’ definition, but
what about the social definition? What
about peer interaction? What about inspired
learning? In early childhood, this comes
in the form of play-based learning. This
is a truly research-based theory that
has been eliminated in our classrooms and replaced by drill and test
methods. I fear for my students as they
grow. Now they are innocent. They are not fazed, because I do my best to
make sure they receive a balance of play and academics. But I fear for what happens in three
years. I do not like the direction we
are headed. I foresee an even greater increase
in children with anxiety and depression issues.
I foresee an increase in teenagers who dread coming to school, an increase
in dropouts. In a society that tells
children and teenagers alike that they are not good enough, shouldn’t education
be doing the opposite?
Our State Superintendent had the audacity to say this about
teachers who gave her a failing grade, according to NewsOK.com:
“It's just a union tactic. These are
individuals that are opposed to accountability. These are individuals that are
focused on maintaining their power base in the state of Oklahoma,” Barresi
said. “They are not focused on students; they are focused on adults. I am about
improving education for the children of Oklahoma. We have lost too many kids.”
Not focused on students? I have loved and cherished every
child that has entered my classroom. I
have held students as they sob. I have
coached them through failures. I have
celebrated their successes. I have paid
lunch money for students who’ve had none.
Washed clothes that came to school dirty. Bought extra snacks for those
who come to school hungry. I have
dedicated as much time to the children in my classroom as I have to my own
children. I have given my students
confidence and a feeling of self-worth. I
have taught them to value their effort, and to strive for more.
The only portion of my
whining that pertains to me, is the fact that the government does not trust me
to do my job. Sometimes, I feel that
even my own administrators lack trust in me.
Teachers are not opposed to accountability. We hold ourselves accountable, and we want
others to hold us accountable as well. Come
in. Visit our world. See what we do, day in and day out. Then tell us whether or not we are putting
enough effort into what we do. Whether
or not we are teaching the content. Teaching
is not a quantitative skill. It is not
something you can measure by a number on a page. I have a college degree that I am still
paying for. And yet, somehow, I am not
qualified. Legislators know better. Parents know better. John Doe, off of the street, knows
better. There is no other profession
that is attacked, belittled, and questioned as much as the profession of an
educator. In my district, I am no longer
allowed to enter my students’ test scores into our online system. The administrators have repeatedly told me
that this has nothing to do with trust.
It does. This trust issue starts
at a federal level and has trickled all the way down.
My plea to you today is that you listen to teachers. The deletion of Developmentally Appropriate
Practice from our elementary schools and our curriculum will have dire effects
on our future society. Common Core and
the Oklahoma Academic Standards are a smoke and mirrors tactic that will not
solve our country’s educational issues, especially not for Early Childhood
Education. Each and every day, I am a
warrior for my students. I go in to my
classroom, into my principal’s office, into meetings with our administration,
and I FIGHT for those young children. I
have not been quiet about the fact that what is happening in Early Childhood
Education in our state, and our nation, is an absolute travesty. Teachers
across the state are giving up the fight.
They are retiring, finding other jobs to do. GREAT teachers are leaving our profession
left and right. These teachers are tired
of fighting a losing battle. I am not
that easy to get rid of. I will continue
to be a warrior. I am asking you to do
the same. Be a warrior for the teachers,
but more importantly, be a warrior for our children. Fight for us in Oklahoma. Fight for us in Washington. FIGHT.
Sincerely,
Lauren
Stahlman
Kindergarten
Teacher
Woodward
Public Schools