Nothing to Show

There have been several stories of teachers resigning that have made news as of late.

In a video reported on by The Huffington Post, Ellie Rubenstein laments that everything she loves about teaching is extinct. Her ten-minute video covers nearly everything wrong with American public education today.

One of my oft read columnists, Valerie Strauss, wrote today about a Virginia teacher bemoaning the testing regime. Only four years from retirement, he is resigning.

It is not uncommon these days to hear stories like these, of great teachers who are leaving the profession due to the dilapidated condition of our system. But in a way, I feel that these teachers are lucky. Lucky because they had the chance to teach in public education. They experienced support from administration, parents, and their communities. They experienced success and will likely have no problem finding another job, no matter how similar or dissimilar to education. They changed lives, helped kids. But what about new teachers that never had that chance, that have already felt the walls collapsing on them, in just their first year? They have nothing to show. After years of dreaming of being a teacher, then four or five years of college, they are now left crushed. Their naive disillusionment is long gone, replaced by the stark realities of public schools.

Of course the real loser here is always the kids. As my hero, Sir Ken Robinson said (paraphrased), "Why aren't alternative schools the norm?" I can only hope that students find the alternative education that works best for them.