Discussion 6

There
are a few recurring issues that today’s educational system seem to be fixated
on. For example, there is an overwhelming emphasis placed on a school’s
Academic Performance Index (API), Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), No Child Left
Behind Act (NCLB), California Standardized Test (CST), high-stakes test in
general, teaching to the test, teacher evaluations and accountability. In fact,
in the United States,  routine
high-stakes testing is used to rank students, teachers, and schools. Many politicians and policymakers today tend to link
school accountability and school performance. There are School
Accountability Report Cards which are issued annually for each school in the State
of California and provide an assessment of selected conditions related to the
school, its resources, its successes, and the areas in which improvements may
be needed. Moreover, these reports, along with NCLB, also have a purpose to gauge the progress of schools and
districts toward helping all students achieve grade level proficiency in
Reading and Math. A school must meet specific targets under NCLB on
standardize tests and graduation rates for all students and for certain groups such
as economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, English learners,
and students in different ethnic groups. When a school fails to meet AYP for
two consecutive years, the school undergoes a Program Improvement (PI) process.
These type of schools are now considered Title 1 schools and an intervention is
designed to help the schools meet its requirements. Parents are also notified
when a school enters PI status. Overall, at this point in my career, I am not
looking forward to deal with any of these endless politics issues around
education. In fact, if and when appropriate, I prefer to stay as far away from
it as possible while of course staying up to date and informed about the
political arena; if that makes any sense. 

“Who is to say
that robbing a people of its language is less violent that war?” – Ray Gwyn
Smith  (Lee et all,
pg. 145)
This quote
speaks out to me because it is a reminder that language – practices, beliefs,
and values – is the foundation of our lives. 
When addressing the many external pressures that teachers face, it is
important to be mindful of the basic core principles for why we teach and the
justification for why we teach the way we do. 
When we have a solid platform of education principles, we can develop an
organized system that categorizes the different pressures based on priority and
where they fit into improving our teaching to give our students a better
education.  My mission is to improve the
quality of life for my students.  As a
teacher everything I do, including the day to day decision making, advocating
political and instructional strategies and policies over others, and finding
balance inside and outside of my classroom, is in relation to my mission.  By having a core principle to look to, I find
that I am able to find solid footing and rebalance myself when I am pushed and
pulled by the different external pressures.  It is easy to lose sight of how to reach a
compromise when there are so many additional challenges facing teachers.  Education is an emotional job that many
teachers get into to educate students for future jobs and life skills.  Unfortunately, teachers also have to abide by
the decisions made by policy makers who do not understand the intricacies of
teaching.  This gap of knowledge allows
policymakers to make short-sighted decisions, of course in the best interest of
the students that actually achieve the opposite.  To balance our beliefs with others it is
necessary for teachers to communicate to the general public and policy makers,
so that the people making the decisions that we as teachers will have to
enforce will be better educated to make better decisions.  As teachers, I find that it is not only our
responsibility to educate our students, but also to educate our student’s
families, the community, and the people who make decisions that control all these
areas.

One way of keeping track with different external pressures on teaching is to stay current with the news.  We need to be informed of the current political climate in the education field, particularly with the agendas that drive the actions of every dominant party.  For instance, many republicans at this point wish to charter off low-performing schools because they know that the schools in their district won't be adversely affected.  Being educated on these types of issues allows us to be an advocate for what we believe is right--which is the ultimate goal, in my opinion.  
it's also important for us to have meaningful discussions with those people in the field.  Many of the information in the news can be skewed to one side, or innoculated to avoid criticism.  By talking with current educators, we are able to find out what these issues mean at a personal level--why they really matter to people.  For instance, if it weren't for the fact that we're currently looking for steady jobs, I might be part of the hordes of people out there who demonize the unions.  Or, if it weren't for the fact that Lincoln lost their Kia grant, I might've not developed that empathy for schools who are loosing funding; like many aloof politicians, I may just turn the other way and say that those schools had it coming to them.   It wasn't really until I became personally vested in the issue that I began considering other perspectives.