POLITICAL INSIGHT NUMBER THIRTY: The divide and conquer technique
is not the sole property of the administrators. Unions will promote
teacher strikes while they work behind the scenes supporting districts'
abuse of teachers. Why? Strikes anger parents and maintain that healthy divide
that assures business as usual will go on in our
schools. With the threat of retribution hanging over teachers, they
know not to act alone.
If their union calls a strike, they can feel
somewhat safe participating, as the administration cannot fire the
entire staff. If the unions were sincere in their intent to support
teachers, why would they help bury individually abused teachers, and
leave the opportunity to abuse in tact? Fighting for money leaves
a negative taste in citizen's mouths, particularly since they are not
aware of the true plight of teachers. Fighting for rights, when an
individual teacher experiences abuse at the hands of the district,
would serve to erase some of this prejudice as it would generate
sympathy. But teachers striking, mostly over money, creating chaos in
the parents' lives as well as their children's lives, reinforces
the idea that teachers are not there for
their children, precisely what the system wants the public to believe.
This also gives the false picture that teachers are powerful, and
further misleads the public about this profession. Occasionally when
teachers strike, they mention working conditions, but they do not bring
up harassment and violations of rights because they cannot prove this,
as it is all so covered-up via legal means - mostly gag orders, or
psychological destruction of the potential leak of information.
They use striking as the only venue for relief even though it
does not address the burning issues of teacher abuse that a higher
salary cannot justify. Believing that more money might make it
more bearable, they alienate the parents further; even if they
succeed with the strike, it is only a question of time before
the axe will fall on their heads, punishing them behind the scenes.
They believe that at least their lives are somewhat better with this higher
paycheck. Yet, any teacher with a healthy soul does
not have a price for relinquishing her spirit and finds herself
torn between living in her integrity or keeping her
job, with the extra money providing no real psychic relief.
Furthermore, it is only a question of time before anyone who
shows leadership in terms of promoting a strike, or even participates
in real negotiations, will be targeted if that person has the misfortune to
be employed at one of our numerous corrupt school districts.
In the early 1990's, the president of the local union of Avoca School
District #37, Wilmette, Illinois, who was the librarian at one of the two schools
in the district, took a proactive stance as part of the negotiation process. This
led to a possible strike and disruption in the community. Needless to
say, Superintendent Sloan, whose top down tyranny was
challenged, became infuriated.
Legally, the teachers had a right to
challenge the Board for better working conditions. However, legal does not count
in many of our public schools. A teacher had better not
try to assert any rights if she wants psychological safety and job security in a district
such as this. In the end, no strike took place.
However, contrary to the law,
Sloan terminated all the non-tenured teachers
who participated in the union that year, which included
numerous teachers. It is simple to terminate
a first year teacher, although it is illegal to do so because they
participated in union activity. He was not concerned, knowing how the
playing field fit right into his hands. There are laws, and then
there are ways around laws.
However, retaliating against
the librarian required more effort, as she had tenure. Furthermore, due to her
high profile position, he couldn't be obvious. So first he moved her to the
other school, more than likely believing she would be unhappy with this
change. (Any time a teacher changes positions, it
necessitates significant extra work to become up to snuff in that new
area.) Then a few years later, Sloan had the principal demote her into
a floating substitute.
This meant she had to report to duty each day to
substitute for any teacher who might be absent. If none were absent,
which happened some days in this small district, she was to co-teach.
Normally, co-teaching means a planned project done by two teachers. In
this case she was randomly assigned classrooms with no front time
to acquaint herself with that curriculum.
Certainly, this position was
far less rewarding, and at times humiliating, as she was no longer the
master of her own area. Although the contract obligated the district
to pay her the salary according to the teaching scale, her job duties
now consisted of teacher-assistant-like activities. She was given a
desk that was plopped into the science lab, where she could
stick out like a sore thumb as having no purpose there. She was
reprimanded for petty issues on many occasions. She was at their
mercy, something they had little of because union activity
is a no-no in a corrupted districts.
In many districts teachers take on the
bully mentality they see directed at them. Steeped in
disrespectful methods of control throughout, education encourages
REVERSE INTIMIDATION from teachers.
Teachers can strike, or use the union to perform reverse intimidation tactics, but
they will pay dearly. No one could
prove the superintendent demoted the librarian in retaliation for her union activity, but one
need only read the other teacher stories to see that this is a
common practice. The union had to know the true reason for her fate,
given that it is happening all over our country. But they look the
other way and continue to encourage strikes, since strikes are good for them.
It gives the unions an image of being authentic.
Meanwhile, it keeps teachers distanced from parents, the only people with
the real power to change our schools by VOTING OUT
corrupt regimes.
Top
POLITICAL INSIGHT NUMBER THIRTY-ONE:
Political cronyism and carefully constructed systems throughout
this maze make it almost certain that voting out the power brokers
is not going to happen. Each
aspect of this shallow universe operates with the confidence that this
is their secret to keep. Often, corruption starts
at the School Board level, with opportunist using this post for status
and power rather than for the children. However, sometimes
people who care about our children are voted onto Boards once the
community becomes aware that something needs to be done about
their schools.
Even if independent people finally gain the power, and are successful in
cleaning out the toxic power brokers in their district, they will still use whatever legal
means available to silence the whistleblower, or abuse the teacher, rather than publicly
accept accountability for their District's collective malfeasance.
If one School Board member,
elected public officials that they are,
across America had the integrity to admit teacher abuse exists, the ball
would start rolling in the direction of reform. Instead, cover-up is the method
of choice, using the pretense that fiduciary responsibilities
forced them to crucify the whistleblower. Since they listened to
the whistleblower, knowing she had spoken out for the good of the district,
they can hardly rationalize that this same person would want to
destroy the district financially.
In addition, they have the ability to sit down with the whistleblower
and negotiate an end to their power play and discontinue utilization of teacher
abuse against her if she agrees
to take a reasonable settlement, a settlement that would be far less
costly than continued legal fees, particularly since her goal was
exposure and to help the children. Beyond that, it isn't right to
keep lying and harassing a teacher just to win a trumped-up case
that harmed that teacher. Debts are debts. We
can't teach our children character if the leaders refuse to be
accountable for their actions.
Even though these School Board members may
believe they did the right thing cleaning house, they have let
down our country hiding what they did, since children and teachers all over
America will continue to be abused until an upstanding citizen in power
somewhere stops teacher abuse from happening. To continue a
fabricated legal process against a teacher whose only "crime" was anger
and despair for being abused, is secondary abuse. It is even sadder
to watch people with good qualities partake in teacher abuse
as a legacy handed down to them from the rascals who enjoyed it. As the
administrators who choose to operate in darkness, pull the Board members
into their agendas, one has to feel a deep sense of
despondency knowing that the self-serving people of this world have the
ability to puppetize so many people. Evil people will rejoice at
gaining power,
any way they can get it,
even if it is limited to the satisfaction of watching abuse that they
created from a distance, carried out by the soldiers they lined up.
It is a known fact that whistleblowers expose
corruption to stop it. It is such a painful process that one would
hardly go down that road for the limited financial rewards available
in court. Beyond that, when School Board members know they
have removed a cancer due
to the courage of a whistleblower, hiding behind the law is the type
of cowardice that is nearly
as abhorrent as the evil done in the first place. We know this about
the leaders of the Catholic Church who chose to use the law to
cover up abuse in the church. This is no different. Perhaps these
School Board members
can feel good about themselves for removing the toxic elements that
caused the abuse.
However, by keeping teacher abuse silent, it is only a question of
time before it will resurface in their district. The cancer is
teacher abuse, and removing administrators who selected this method
of control,
does not remove this disease that is destroying our entire school system
and society. It also does not make the proper amends to the teacher
or teachers who suffered under their watch. Where there are apologies,
there is forgiveness; where there is cover-up there is
scandal. The upcoming Teacher Cleansing in America, by Karen
Horwitz, will describe in detail, along with other decayed aspects of this system, this
scandalous phenomenon of how our public officials serve as accomplices
with their cowardliness, as
it occurred in her district, to help educate the public to make this stop.
We will be keeping track of those
PUBLIC OFFICIALS
who claim that they care about education and human rights.
Top
POLITICAL INSIGHT NUMBER THIRTY-TWO: State accreditation issues have
recently surfaced as new fertile grounds to push undesirable teachers
out of the system. In the past few years, states have developed continuing education
requirements that need to be approved by official committees. This procedure
was encouraged by people
seeking reform, believing that the problem with our schools is
that our teachers are not keeping up with their profession. The
assumption is that by forcing continued education, teachers will
perform at higher levels. Just as mandated testing has turned our
schools into neurotic worshippers of test scores, creating all types of
havoc in our schools, mandated continuing education has provided a
new window of opportunity for districts to exile teachers.
The state of Ohio has refused Tammy Mansfield's continuing
education plan.
Mansfield, a special
education teacher in Ohio, will no longer be qualified to teach if she is
not able to complete an accredited plan. Just think how simple it is to dispose of
unwanted teachers by sabotaging their ability to fulfill this new requirement.
Her supervisor, who had given
her more than glowing reviews, suddenly turned against her after she
advocated for disabled children. That very supervisor had to okay
her education plan and not surprisingly, found it deficient.
In each state, there are time limits in which a teacher has to fulfill
this obligation. Just think how easy it will be to keep denying a
teacher's proposal until her certificate expires, making her ineligible
to teach. Granted, the prior plan whereby a teacher could go for
thirty years without every updating her credentials led to deficiencies
in teaching. However, the solution to this problem has played right
into the hands of the administrators, affording them an easier method
of teacher cleansing than paying for a kangaroo trial, and using
political connections to fix it, after spending significant time to
build a fabricated case against a teacher. This is a much cleaner
strangulation of a teacher's career, and more behind the scenes, where
these deviants like to operate.
Top
POLITICAL INSIGHT NUMBER THIRTY-THREE: Universities,
as part of the "system", fear if they rock the boat, their graduates will not be hired.
Thus, few academics are encouraged to investigate or reveal what is really
taking place in our schools. In 1998, when Horwitz applied to participate
in the doctorate program designed to be a think tank
to reform education, at National Louis University in Evanston, they turned her down,
transforming
her "Dream into Reality", giving her two reasons.
First, because Horwitz mentioned in her essay that
she might want to work in a governmental position upon receiving this
degree and that is not what they had in mind. Why wouldn't they view
a teacher wanting to work in some type of overseeing position, as a
valuable extension to a doctoral program in reform? Why did the
intake person for the university tell Horwitz the exact opposite
advice about this program? She had told Horwitz that there was no job or
certification connected to this degree as they were also drawing from
business or other backgrounds just to brainstorm about what could
be done to improve our schools.
Then they mentioned that her situation at her job was "too negative." Why would
they think that a teacher pleased with status quo would want to spend
the energy and money to pursue this degree? Even more interesting was
the fact that she hadn't discussed her specific issues with her
district and had simply made statements expressing her concerns about the state of education
and her eagerness to play a role in improving our
schools based on her negative experiences at Avoca School District in
a neighboring suburb.
This suburb just happened to be a direct conduit for teaching
and student teaching positions for this university.
Exposing the truth about our schools would be
devastating to universities, particularly universities such as
National Louis, where teacher education is their primary source of resources.
However, setting up this new doctorate degree in social
inquiry and reform would make the university appear to care about
reform while making sure the candidates would not be too critical, so
they could protect their financial interests.
This seemed to be just another public relations stunt. Not anticipating a real critical
minded reformer within the culture of abused and brain dead teachers,
they were not prepared for a person like Horwitz.
More than likely, the intake
person now has an established method of culling any real reformers
from the perspective student pool after dealing with Horwitz.
Recently, Horwitz contacted the president of National Louis
University about
her concerns that they are operating with
their EYES WIDE SHUTand
obstructing educational reform.
This purported leader, who espoused an almost spiritual
approach to his direction, neglected to respond, knowing the
powerlessness of teachers within the system. Protests such
as Horwitz’s are treated like gnats - swatted away.
They are not likely to worry about another person like Horwitz
coming along, since critically thinking teachers leave the
profession, sign gag orders in hopes of moving to an ethical school
elsewhere, or flee the profession licking their wounds from
the abuse they had experienced. Few have enough energy, legal ability,
or motivation left
after these hostile encounters, to even want to spend their time
in a doctoral program such as this, knowing reform is
never going to happen because this system is intentionally dysfunctional.
Organized to provide a gravy train of perks and power
for the lords of their fiefdoms, our schools need to be exposed and
made honest if real reform is ever to begin.
Top
POLITICAL INSIGHT NUMBER THIRTY-FOUR: The group
of educational reformers consists heavily of parents. Because of
the layers of public
relations that disguise the true nature of our schools, it takes
several years for most parents to develop a true picture of this
institution. This means that parents of kindergartners buy into
the warm and fuzzy facade, and it takes several years before they
have a handle on the deficiencies hidden underneath.
Since most
children will be attending a different school by sixth grade, this
means that the average parent has about two years of awareness that
something needs to be done at that school before it is time to move
on. Even those who become deeply involved in reform, normally
spend at least a year being sidetracked by administrators, serving
on a useless committee before they realize they have been manipulated
into ineffectiveness.
Therefore, the strongest voices for reform end
up moving on to the next institution before they can make a lasting
impact on the first school. Since students are in junior high and high school
for such a limited time, it is most difficult for any parent to
become solidly immersed in reform. It is even more unusual for
parents to remain in this endeavor once their children have moved
on to college, particularly since most find they have accomplished
so little. This means that the natural progression through the system
aides the system in blocking any roots for reform.
Another phenomenon that occurs with parents is that those who
have children with problems, discover the deficiencies in the system
considerably before parents of high functioning children. As these
parents attempt to share their discoveries, other parents refuse to
listen, believing these issues occurred due to problems created by
these low functioning children.
Prejudice creates another barrier
into seeing the authentic nature of our schools, since high functioning
children succeed in spite of issues. Often it takes until these
children begin to dabble in drugs in adolescence before the parents
realize their together children have come apart due to the system. By
that time, parents are less inclined to blame the schools, believing
that societal pressures alone have encouraged these children to succumb
to temptation. They are unaware that had their children been taught by
high functioning teachers, operating from their spirits rather than
their sense of fear, and had received a solid education, they
would now have the choice of the positive avenue
of learning as a resource that keeps
children into life and out of escapism.
In addition, even if they
realize the weaknesses in the schools at that point, their child is
nearly ready to graduate from high school, and reforming the schools
for the future is not high on their priorities when they are focused
on dealing with other parenting issues. So once again, our public
schools are left off the hook by timing that is on their side.
Top
POLITICAL INSIGHT NUMBER THIRTY-FIVE: The limited ability
for parents to bring forth reform entails more than their short
duration at each school. Many parents
praise their school districts more as an extension of themselves, than for what
they really are. In our competitive, materialistic world, it is hard for many
people to admit their schools are inferior. If one views life as a game
and winning as collecting the most prizes, then admitting your school is a
disgrace, is losing, particularly when you moved to the best neighborhood
and are paying the highest taxes to provide your children with the best education.
I have known parents that refused to acknowledge that their child had the
"inferior" teacher, believing it is best to pretend and "win",
than to admit and "lose." Rather than organize with other parents,
and making sure
the classroom is appropriate, many parents refuse to
"lose", knowing their neighbor's child had the effective teacher that
year. Often years
later, they will admit the truth.
This plays out as "The Emperor's New Clothes." It is easier to
see what is not really
there. But that is temporary ease. The children
see it for what it is, rebound off of the hypocrisy that impacts their
ability to make sense
of the world, and they often turn to drugs to cope with
the emptiness our schools leave within them. Whereas some children
can understand,
others turn to violence in their anger. Each parent has
no way of knowing how all this mean-spiritedness and phoniness in
our schools will
affect our children; we are playing Russian Roulette by
thinking we can ignore this.
We will see an
increase of Columbine-like issues, students sent to residential
schools, unable to deal with the hypocrisy, and escapism, until as
a society we become real. Be it elitism, a class struggle, or simply non-stop
competition that is part of our market society, whatever is keeping
our society from recognizing the seriously flawed public school system,
is a force as destructive as any terrorist group could wish upon us.
There are plenty of parents crying out against our schools, but
most of the time
it is parents who have been hurt directly by the schools
while many of those whose children seem unharmed refuse to listen.
The pattern amongst
parents is similar to the pattern amongst teachers;
if it isn't happening to me, it isn't happening. Evil thrives when good
people do nothing. We need everyone to unite and to take back our schools.
Top
POLITICAL INSIGHT NUMBER THIRTY-SIX:The bureaucratic
militaristic model appears to be the archtype in education.
If one were to ask the average teacher whether she had considered
a career in the military, it is more than likely her response would be
negative. Teaching attracts people who first of all, like children and
their free spirited natures. Secondly, they like the idea of their own little space, where
they can be creative and be in charge, unlike other careers where
one simply takes orders and does whatever one is told. This projected
freedom helps to attract teachers, in spite of the dismal salaries.
Each classroom poses unlimited possibilities for creativity. Depending
on the grade level, teachers see the opportunity for personal
expression, and often like to perform, but feel more comfortable
doing so in front of children.
In general, teachers tend to be from somewhat to
extremely creative, enjoying putting together bulletin boards or a
unique method of presenting American history that children will enjoy.
They take courses in art and music to become elementary teachers, as
they will be integrating these areas into their classroom teaching.
They choose this career believing that they can use their special
talents and engage children.
Then at the university level, they are told that they will be
decision makers in the classroom, being in a position to decide if
Jonny needs extra help, or if Susie needs more discipline. The total
package is one of self expression and communication designed to
help children become well rounded individuals and future citizens.
Therefore, these are not people who would have likely considered our
military as a close alternative to teaching, as the military is the
institution where creativity hardly flows, and when it does, it usually
spells court marshall. The military is a well defined
organization, attractive to those who like order and control of
their environment. It suits some, while it is a disaster for others. Often
parents of unruly teenagers will send them to the military, or
military-like institutions to "straighten
them out," as it closes the doors to creativity that get some teenagers in
trouble.
However, adults choose the military because it fits their personalities,
dreams and desires to live in order. Although high school math
teachers who enjoy the order of mathematics might be somewhat closer
to the military model, certainly elementary school teachers are far
from the profiles that find the military attractive. Yet, alleged
experts in education testify that our schools are bureaucracies
describing them somewhat like the military. A case in point was at Horwitz's
tenure dismissal hearing where there was an authentic
HAZARD to educational reform.
Top
POLITICAL INSIGHT NUMBER THIRTY-SEVEN: On our link entitled
BELIEFS, in the Information Withheld section, we provided information about
our schools versus our businesses, and how successful charter schools
are shut down by our school districts. Throughout this site, we are documenting
how our public schools do not provide customer satisfaction, yet the system guarantees
that they will stay in business. Monopolies do not work, yet the push toward
a permanent monopoly is a central
theme in our schools, since without choices, satisfaction is no longer an issue.
With the significant help from teachers' unions, our schools are desperately trying to
eliminate competition to hold onto funding that they lose when children attend elsewhere.
Mackinac Center
by Kirk A Johnson, 9/10/02)
" Last June, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic ruling upholding the
Cleveland school voucher program, organizations opposed to school choice criticized the decision.
In the end, the charge that choice drains funds from public schools is a
red herring designed to obfuscate the real issue: Too many public schools
are failing our children and parents are demanding options."
(More details available; see REFERENCES>LINKS)
Both vouchers for alternative education or charter schools that might out perform them, must be
squelched so that public schools can maintain their edge, even while performing dismally.
To these ends the union and districts are working together.
Another area of loss for our schools is home schooling, a phenomenon that could
have only taken off with
public schools so worthless that people take on this burden for fear their children
will be damaged by our schools.
Homeschooling booms in Pennsylvania
The Morning Call,09/06/02
In Pennsylvania, homeschooling was legalized in 1988. That year,
officially, 2,152 students were homeschooled. By last year, the number had
grown to 24,019.(More details available; see REFERENCES>LINKS.)
Recently, California came out with regulations to stifle homeschooling.
"California warns home schoolers, " THE WASHINGTON TIMES
By Ellen Sorokin,
August 21, 2002.
"School officials in California are warning parents that they
cannot educate their children at home unless they obtain professional teaching
credentials." If the quality of
teachers in the classroom suggested a discrepancy between their ability to teach
and that
of parents without credentials, perhaps this argument would be sincere. However,
schools
are increasingly using teacher assistants and other noncredentialed personnel in
classrooms,
while they are chastising parents. The hypocrisy suggests this is about money,
and not
about credentials. In fact, look beneath the surface of almost anything that goes
on in
our political public schools and money will appear.
Top
POLITICAL INSIGHT NUMBER THIRTY-EIGHT: Publications recommending
reform lack substantive methods because the missing piece, or
teacher abuse, disconnects from the reality of the system. While the federal government's No Child Left Behind
reform exacerbates the
dysfunction of the system, other suggestions do not penetrate the
PUBLIC FACADE.
POLITICAL INSIGHT NUMBER THIRTY-NINE: SO HOW DO THEY DO IT??????????
There is an unwritten and unspoken agreement not just between schools of the same district, but also between districts to hire Family Members of School Administrators. You have to do an intensive research to uncover this sinister
underground coalition of administrators who run the PUBLIC FUNDED EDUCATION SYSTEM AS A FAMILY OWNED BUSINESS.
But it can be done.Just compare all the payrolls!!!!!!!!!!!! Of all the districts and the same last names will appear over and over. Those are the ones to investigate.
Now once we have uncovered the fact that all the districts are passed down like Feudal Plantations, what can we do about it???
We have to take away the power of hiring from the districts. Thats what we have to do!!!!!!!!! But with the playing field being skewed as it is, there is no chance that will happen.
"Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough
and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Top
MORE POLITICS
