Sunday, December 22, 2013

Editor's File: Superintendent Pia Durkin's nuclear option is a drasticbut necessary measure for New Bedford High School - Standard Times

"... it's unfair that teachers feel like they're the only ones in our entire culture being held accountable, that everybody else seems to get a pass and that teachers are the ones expected to fight society's rear-guard action against the forces of societal breakdown, ignorance and national dysfunction. But really, what other options do we have?" -  Bob Unger

Mr. Unger is the Editor and Associate Publisher of SouthCoast Media Group, the publisher of The Standard-Times and SouthCoastToday.com. 

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ask a teacher what the options are.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Durkin could be shooting teachers in the courtyard and Bob Unger would say that it's what the school needs.

Anonymous said...

"National Dysfunction"? Isn't this about New Bedford and New Bedford teachers? Parents need to parent. Negotiations with a child is not in our best interest. We are parents. We must be our children's very first TEACHERS. I want their respect, even when they must do what is right. Some children are being taught at home to be lazy and dysfunctional. When a child needs correction, correct them. TEACH them right from wrong. Teach them that an education will take them to places that only they can dream about. Check their homework. You should know that they are in school. They are doing work. Standards and curriculum the teachers are supposed to be following are only also. Get off of the social media and reality TV and teach your child to be a person that has value. A competitor in life! That's where it counts. For those of you judging what I do in my classroom every day, come on in and try it. I'll write the lesson plans. I'll even co-teach with you, but do it for a week, maybe two. See what is really going on.

Anonymous said...

Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war--were there really no other options? Estimates of killed and wounded in Hiroshima (150,000) and Nagasaki (75,000) are conservative. The fallout from this turnaround model will be felt for years. Reports of the success of this model contradict recent reports--sometimes from the same source!? What constitutes success? Higher test scores on poorly designed standardized tests? Faux data twisted to make it appear to be a success? Basically, we should not believe the hype. If our current staff had the resources and money--they could achieve the desired results. This choice is ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!

Anonymous said...

There was once a man who knew all the answers. He knew how to make his country rise up out of the ashes it had fallen into. And people followed him blindly as their savior. And he went ahead and eliminated those he deemed unfit. Does anyone else here see the similarities? And no, please don't think that I am making light of genocide, it just frightens me people like Bob Unger and others, who are supposedly informed intelligent community members are blindly following a leader who is not hurting the community. As a parent of a child at NBHS I am ready to form a parents group to try and counter what she is doing. I know there would be a lot of support for this as all my friends feel the same. Do we sit back and blindly follow, as the people of Germany once did and continue to have the wool pulled over our eyes? Hitler used propaganda too, looks like someone has at least done some research.

Anonymous said...

Funny how the success rate is determined by teachers meeting their goals but the failure rate is determined by mcas scores of students

Anonymous said...

How can you fire hundreds of teachers with no remorse based on a study that used only nine schools?

Anonymous said...

That's cool, we teachers get the message. Since we're not wanted anyway, the superintendent won't mind if we blacklist and boycott the school altogether, right? Have fun staffing a school without a licensed, qualified applicant pool.

Anonymous said...

I can't help but think of the couple of schools that Diane Ravitch wrote about in Death and Life of the Great American School System where they did this and morale was so incredibly low among students, teachers and parents that it was a total disaster. Luckily morale doesn't matter in education though, right?

Anonymous said...

I am so tired of this bullshit! Stop vilifying me and my colleagues! Teachers don't want change? Teachers have been changing since the dawn of teaching! Stop writing behind you desk Bob Unger and take a walk in the shoes of the people you write about! You are a freaking moron and my students could do your job with less bias than you have in your moronic articles! How much are you being paid to slander and harass teachers?

Anonymous said...

Another in a slue of articles that is marred in muddle and misinformed conjecture. Painful to read and to get a grasp of its purpose. Urbon needs to enroll in a writing course at the high school.

Anonymous said...

Unger's head is so far up his wazzoo that it's going to take a team of surgeons to remove it. In fact it is so far up into the void that our science department and NASA has officially declared him a blackhole.

Anonymous said...

JUST MY OPINION.
I am a long time teacher at NBHS. I have seen many, many changes in the educational capabilities of the students at our schools. About 15 years ago, we were "told" in very clear terms by our administrators that our failure rates were too high. So every year since then, I have lowered and lowered and lowered my expectations for my students. I have made it easier and easier to pass. And still it is not enough. I love 99% of my kids. It is not their fault. They have just not been made to work for so long that they do not know how. So they still do not pass. I have students that have been sleeping since Sept. I call their parents and the parents tell me that they don't know what to do with them. Another F. I have kids that come to school every day and never do anything. Another F. And still I make it easier and easier. And still it is not enough. My students (low level) do not want me to teach them. I have to fight to get them to allow me to teach them. They want me to throw worksheets at them and leave them alone. From first thing in the am till 2:07 all I hear all day long is the f word and the n word and the most inappropriate comments I have ever heard. These kids can't sit in their seats and they can't speak quietly and they can't put away their phones and electronics. And in between this madness, I have these poor, sweet kids dying to have someone teach them. And I can't. Because I am working so hard on trying to maintain some resemblance of sanity in my classroom. I do not feel like a teacher anymore.
How to fix this school? I have asked my students what do they think would make them learn and do better in this school? Each and every one has said the same thing to me. "Throw out the bad kids." You would need someone like Longo to come in and kick some ass. Throw out the kids who are discipline problems. Throw out the kids who don't want to learn and just take up space and change the community of learning in the classroom. It would have to be radical. Make education in our school be a privilege, not a given. Then watch how fast the scores and grades go up. For real. And then watch how people start to want their kids to go back to this school like they used to. I remember when teachers that did not live in the district had to vie for a list to get their kids on to get them to go the high school. And not everyone's kids got on that list. How many of us out of towners want our kids at NBHS now. I am not saying that everyone of our teachers are wonderful. I am sure there are some that should go. But talk about throwing out the baby with the bath water. Put some money into the school for god's sake. Give us some books and some technology. Other schools are horrified that we are still using blackboards and chalk. Make alternative schools for those kids that don't want to learn with us. Give us some libraries and more tutoring programs for the kids who need more help. And give us some real PD that is actually relevant. Bring back NBHS to its glory. You lose the teachers and you are going to lose the soul of this school. These teachers work so hard for these kids. We put our on families on hold way too many times for NBHS. And for many of these kids, we are all they have. We are the only constant in their lives. The only place that people care about them and notice when something isn't right. But what the hell. 50% of us aren't needed. Good luck with that.

Anonymous said...

Longo certainly would kick ass!!

Anonymous said...

Getting rid of the teachers huh?

The same problems will be there come September... then what will the excuse be?

As an alum of NBHS ...this is such a sad and depressing situation.

Anonymous said...

I say what a great idea.get rid of the kids that don't want to learn .put them in a school of their own.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Michael Jansen was right. For the last few years his term not mine there has been a flood of "undesirables" to New Bedford. Any coincidence the schools have had so many issues. He might have been on to something.

Anonymous said...

I would like to address Mr. Unger's comment about the cowardliness of bloggers signing anonymously. The statement alone demonstrates how out of touch he and the ST are with regards to the culture and relationships between the mayor, SC, administrators and teachers within our system.

When I first read the comment I thought he may have been joking to some extent, but then quickly realize he was serious.

Everyday teachers and administrators enter buildings where a fatal fate could await or evolve. We shield students from other students, and attackers should they exist. We are consistently defending our character from students who attempt to shred every piece of respect and empathy we have spent a lifetime to establish.

My classrooms has such a dysfunctional mix of students that anything could happen at any time. Has it stopped me from giving my best everyday? No. Does my family worry about my health and welfare? Yes, Everyday.

So why do I do it? It's personal. Few people will understand the depth of commitment I have to these children, so I keep it to myself.

How much longer will I do it? Not much. A person can only give so much without ultimately being called a fool by those who once respected him.

People with affluence donate money to help people and children. People without money donate time, and for those of us that get paid for helping others, we are fortunate.

But there come a point where things that once made sense, now, makes no sense at all. And that is where we are in this education debacle, here in our city.

Professionals are no longer treating professionals like professionals. Empathy is non-existent.

There are so many ways we as caretakers of our city can make strides, but this path we are on is not the answer.