I have to tell you how very humbled I felt today, sitting among my NBPS colleagues at the Superintendent’s Feedback Meeting held at Keith MS. These meetings were scheduled by Mary Lou, mirroring, if you will, the recent slate of public education meetings chaired by Jon Mitchell, Mayor of New Bedford. Now, having sat in rooms with teachers for the last 30+ years, I’ll confide in you that I feared a breakout of gripes revolving around cheap pencils, broken lights, school bus fumes and scratchy toilet paper. You see, I believe that as a community, teachers are often intimidated by the surroundings of a forum-based encounter and will share only those concerns that could be perceived as low-offense. Flame me, but I hold to that conviction. It is a theme I have personally witnessed numerous times. Not today… not this day.
After a slow beginning in which Mary-Lou and Helder Angelo combined to explain the multipage document revolving around our system’s Turnaround Plan, I sensed a familiar vibe in this room. A vibe endemic to teachers similar to when they realize the professional development seminar that seemed so hopeful in its “Mad Men” description was suddenly filled with deathwords like “paradigm”… (I hate the word paradigm. You could drop a small thermonuclear device on paradigm and I wouldn’t shed a tear. Paradigm and words like initiatives, implementation and protocol are the “teachspeak” of a group of people who try to label the magic.) Luckily, the impending brain death did not follow…
Instead, for the first time in my recollection, the road to understanding was tread upon by Front Office and teachers, walking in sync. The meeting was of light attendance. I want to note that. Perhaps fifty in number and the lion’s share from the elementary ranks. Do with that number as you see fit, I won’t stand in judgment of those that weren’t there. I prefer to encourage you to find a place at the table in the future.
I actively listened to serious topic discussion related to the new report card design. A design, we were reminded, that was determined without input from the very people who would have to justify its ambiguity to those who are most impacted by its reception, our students and their parents. This discussion was beneficial. Those teachers that spoke on its design were passionate about its inherent flaws. The confusion attached to the ascending number values that have left parents, children and each other upset. Am I a “1”? Why is THAT bad? The mindset of the public, even nationally, is that we want to aspire to be number 1. Except here. Here we should be 4’s… I sincerely believe there was a breakthrough on this. Teachers, whose children school in our surrounding towns, spoke fervently about a hybrid card that is already in use in Dartmouth and Fairhaven. How difficult can this be?
I listened intently as a colleague, whom I have known since my first days, shared her story of how she must begin each year by establishing her classroom as a safe place to grow and learn because her district school is beset with societal ills. You could hear in her voice the toll this has taken on her and yet, if you listened well, you could hear her gladly bearing that burden because of the satisfaction she takes away from the smallest improvements. THESE are the stories we celebrate. The small gains. More importantly, as she spoke, I noticed the imperceptible movement of Mary Lou in sharing that challenge and its success. Leaning forward, her eyes absorbed the conversation and her smile came at just the right moment.
A middle school teacher asking for a more accurate way of determining his success by being able to compare it to his peers. A Lincoln school teacher asking for help to better carry out the school’s designation as a STEM school. A high school instructor’s request to fill expected vacancies and keep his program afloat. Not a single gripe about working conditions. No whining over supplies. No grousing.
Now before you wag a finger in my direction for painting too rosy a picture of a Unit A – Front Office meeting, I’ll ask you again… when was the last time that door was opened to you and what will you do when it opens again? Because (and yes, I know it’s dangerous to start a sentence with “because”, I was paying attention that day in elementary school…) the final discussion of the day was centered on the “elephant in the room”. This meeting HAD to happen. In order to address the alleged concerns of a legion of groups, all of whom want to encourage the public at large they have New Bedford’s best interests at heart, it would be dangerous to assume the school workforce is prepared to march into battle without being a stakeholder. Whether that group be the DESE, the DOE, the UIA or the Education Roundtable we, as a functioning body, must be speaking the same language, using common terms. And this unity must surpass our Association membership. There will be time enough for that another day…
No comments:
Post a Comment