Politics and Education Don't Mix - The Atlantic

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Politics and Education Don't Mix - The Atlantic

Governors and presidents are no better suited to run schools than they are to run construction sites, and it's time our education system reflected that fact.

A central flaw of corporate paradigms, as is often noted in popular culture, is the mind-numbing and dehumanizing effect of bureaucracy. Sometimes we are horrified and sometimes we laugh, but arguments for or against the free market may be misguided if we fail to address bureaucracy's corrosive role in the business model.
Current claims about private, public, or charter schools in the education reform movement, which has its roots in the mid-nineteenth century, may also be masking a much more important call to confront and even dismantle the bureaucracy that currently cripples universal public education in the U.S. "Successful teaching and good school cultures don't have a formula," argued legal reformer Philip K. Howard earlier in this series, "but they have a necessary condition: teachers and principals must feel free to act on their best instincts....This is why we must bulldoze school bureaucracy."

Texas AFT Survey Shows Destructive Budget Cuts Hitting Students and Teachers Hard

Texas AFT Survey Shows Destructive Budget Cuts Hitting Students and Teachers Hard

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http://tx.aft.org/index.cfm?action=article&articleID=fa75fb39-020b-4139-b2d3-ce8f4d3cf68c

Download the full report:
http://docs.texasaft.org/publications/TexasAFT_BudgetCutsSurvey12012011.pdf

A recent Texas AFT web survey of more than 3,500 teachers, school employees and parents reveals the extent to which our schools are experiencing widespread layoffs, cuts to key programs and services, larger class sizes, and stressful conditions for teaching and learning—all related to the $5.4 billion in state budget cuts enacted this year.

In addition to quantifying some of the impacts, teachers and other school employees consistently commented on significantly lower morale from lack of resources to teach schoolchildren, and from longer work hours, more duties, increased paperwork, bullying by administrators, reduced planning time and lack of learning materials and supplies.

“The numbers reported for layoffs and larger class sizes confirm the direct impact on classroom instruction,” said Linda Bridges, Texas AFT president.  “Our teachers are doing their best to mitigate the damage of these cuts, but it’s disturbing to hear comments on how much  less time they have—both in giving students the personal attention they need to succeed and in preparing for their classes, grading papers and trying to meet the expectations for achievement on the more rigorous STAAR exam this spring. It’s as if the state gave schools a higher bar to hurdle this year, then dug a deep ditch in front of it.”

Some 92 percent of respondents noted layoffs in their district, with a large percentage reporting loss of teachers (85 percent) and teacher assistants (79 percent).

“Advocates for special education also will be disheartened to hear that 44 percent of respondents reported layoffs of special education teachers, while further comments highlighted large class sizes for special education students and reduced time to meet their education plans,” Bridges said.

Survey: Teachers feel bullied by campus administrators

Survey: Teachers feel bullied by campus administrators


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http://www.click2houston.com/news/Survey-Teachers-feel-bullied-by-campus-administrators/-/1735978/11021490/-/dpr6x7/-/index.html


HOUSTON -
The Houston Federation of Teachers released a survey Wednesday that shows many Houston Independent School District teachers feel they are the targets of bullying at the hands of their own campus administrators.
More than 2,500 teachers responded to the survey, which asked, "Is your boss a bully?"
The overwhelming majority answered yes and blamed school principals and assistant principals.

"The most common administrative abuse is screaming at employees to correct them or reprimand them," said HFT President Gayle Fallon. "That's not how you treat people."
Survey responses were sent from nearly every district campus and included comments such as:

• An administrator allegedly makes fun of pregnant teachers; publicly tells them they should plan their pregnancies for the summer when they're off.
• Disrespected a co-worker by placing a hand on their face and not letting them talk.
• When there are dangerous situations, such as weapons on campus, we are prohibited from telling anyone.

The teacher's union said it will officially ask the school board and superintendent to adopt a policy to protect teachers that is similar to the anti-bullying policy that protects students.
HISD released a statement in response to the survey.