Daily Kos: Why are teachers afraid to use their 'teacher' voice?

On his Education Rethink blog John Spencer asks some important questions about why there wasn't more push back from educators at #ISTE12 (International Society for Technology Education). His questions and commentary are specific to one speech, one conference, one group. ?But I find that his questions about 'teacher voice' are part of a larger issue in education.

Find the full piece here, What Didn't Happen at #ISTE12

Why are educators afraid to use their 'teacher' voice? Teachers have always been on the forefront of advocating for their kids, their classrooms, and their rights. ?What has changed?

Spencer thought for sure that the ISTE crowd would react negatively to a video by Arne Duncan. ?Afterall, he has championed many of the policies that have stripped teachers of their 'voice.' Duncan's video was sure to promote a reaction from this highly motivated group of education leaders. Where were the boos, the tweets, the outrage?

Where is the teacher voice?

Where is the voice of democratic education? ?Why do I keep hearing "digital citizenship" defined through the notion of ?"don't put up stuff that will piss off employers" rather than "use these tools to advocate for social change?" Want transformation? How about members of the Arab Spring who used social media to topple dictatorships?

His commentary continues:

We Stayed Silent
Then it hits me. We let it die. The teachers politely and silently sat on their heads when Arne Duncan spoke. The professional organizations that we are a part of have nodded politely to merit pay arguments while our unions who should work like pit bulls to save public education have contributed to a president who applauded the mass firing of a teacher and remained silent when the LA Times published value-added scores. Even "progressive" organizations are pushing for policies that demonize teachers and strip away local civic institutions.

Why is it that they stayed silent?

Perhaps Nancy Flanagan's piece last week can help us answer that question?

Are Compliant Teachers Exhibiting Stockholm Syndrome?

Nancy shared a piece by an Indiana teacher who goes by the name "Horace Mann" on twitter and other social media outlets.

Here's her introduction:
"Horace" suggested that both male and female teachers were subject to a kind of Stockholm Syndrome, eager to please their bosses and maintain personal safety. I invited Horace to expand on that thinking. Here's his take on women, teachers, compliance and self-preservation.

Could it be the same reason why John Spencer's peers stayed silent at ISTE?

In reference to Stanley Milgram's studies, "Horace" states:

Obedience may have prevailed not because idealistically, mutually cooperative societies succeeded, but because submission was necessary to preserve the self.

Perhaps we are witnessing a collective Stockholm Syndrome as some teachers unwittingly defend those institutions that are destroying public education.

Indeed, the fact that teachers readily put their heads down, close their doors, and block out the constant barrage of negative media attention is a lesson on its own merit. ?But further, is our reluctance to speak out a reaction to the "status quo" dialogue that has been thrown at the profession?

"Horace" concludes:

No outside rescue force is coming to save public schools.

Teachers and parents need to comprehend that they know better about what works for children than legislators who see children as nothing more than test scores to manipulate and private corporations which see students as nothing more than dollars. They must demand that edu-crats making unwise decisions adversely affecting students see the damages first hand.

Is it "status quo" to speak out against dangerous policies?

A better question was posed by Kevin Welner, How Many Decades Before 'Reform' Becomes 'Status Quo'?

When approaches have been tried unsuccessfully over a couple of decades with less-than-stellar outcomes, we might expect the next policy, or at the very least the next ?change,? to lean in a new direction. But the seemingly permanent wave of test-based accountability, privatization, and choice has managed to soar past its silver anniversary almost entirely unscathed by the depredations of time and evidence.

Is it "status quo" to speak out against dangerous policies? When will today's "reform" become the "status quo"? ?When will people stand up and call for courageous changes to our schools?

Welner continues:

Until then, we will apprehensively await the next reform policymaker?s fevered announcement of the next groundbreaking, yet eerily familiar, policy that attaches A-to-F grades to schools; or lifts caps on the number of charter schools; or looks to private-sector business ideas and infuses our schools with competition; or evaluates districts, schools, teachers, or students based on standardized tests.

Why is it that teachers stayed silent?

Why is it that teachers are afraid to use their 'teacher' voice to call out shoddy research, unproven approaches, and corporate welfare driven reforms?

Diane Ravitch offered this, ?Do This Or We Will Punish You?in a recent piece on her blog.

Ravitch shares a letter from a reader who responded to another piece about the pressure to pass students for fear of being fired in a turnaround school. ?A practice that Duncan himself has called out.

Her reader's comments fit nicely into the debate about why teachers are afraid to speak out.

Instead of focusing on reform efforts that eliminate the outdated structures in K-12 education, including the mountains of useless federal and state regulations that perpetuate a dead system, we?re too focused on taking people to the dungeon and torturing them into improvement or else. ?What, you failed 5th grade? On the rack with you! The pain will continue until you start learning!?

We are truly a sick people.

Have teachers become complacent? ?How can we get teachers to rally against the current wave of "reforms" threatening our schools?

How do we get teachers to use their 'teacher' voice and speak out?

7:58 AM PT: References:
John Spencer's blog:
http://www.educationrethink.com/...
Nancy Flanagan's blog:
http://blogs.edweek.org/...
Kevin Welner's piece in Education Week:
http://www.edweek.org/...
Diane Ravitch's blog:
http://dianeravitch.net/...

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