December+2012

December 17, 2012

Today before the final exam in ED205, I opened up the class to take a moment of reflection and thoughts on the CT shooting that killed 20 young children and 6 adults in the school. A lot of students were choked up, and there were a lot of sniffles. A few people shared their thoughts. Then Ben said that he read an account of a govorner who is thinking about trying to pass legislation so teachers can carry guns in schools. He looked at me with...I think it was pain, and tears in his eyes. He said, "We've spent this whole semester talking about the policies and politics around teaching and how we don't get much of a say anymore in our own classrooms, how the government keeps taking away our freedom as educators. They don't trust us to create authentic and powerful learning experiences for children in classrooms, but they want us to carry guns?"

I didn't know what to say. I felt my own tears welling up a little because of this injustice. I could sense their fear.

Then, Morgan said, "I won't stand for that. They can scare us all they want with merit pay, and standardized tests, and taking away job security. They can scare us with the threat of shooters in schools. The thing is, I was born to serve our future. I was born to teach. I can explain to a third grader how to add fractions in like, 10 different ways. I can help first graders learn to tie their shoes ALL DAY long and not get tired of it. I can make hygeine and learning pronouns FUN. I can do this better than a lot of people out there. And I love it. And no matter what they throw at us, I know this is what I need to do. I need to serve, I need to teach. That's what I stand for."

And Ben mumbled, "well, then, you probably should"

And she stood up!

And then others stood up. And then a few more. I'd say of 35, about 25 were standing. And then Brandon, who is no longer going to be a teacher started clapping. And so did the others. And then EVERYONE was clapping. When I became a teacher, Columbine was a faint memory, 9/11 hadn't happened yet, NCLB was in its infancy--we were still naive about the twisted ways we could assess students, teachers, student teachers. But these students--they know. They know what the climate is and they are choosing it anyway. They choose it despite their parents wanting them to choose a career with more prestige, and more income. They choose it knowing the ridiculous hoops they have to jump to get their license. They choose it knowing public rhetoric and education policy. They choose it.

I felt so proud. It's been a long time since I had sincere belief in the teachers of this country. Most days I hope they will do good. But today, I believed they could.