Six on Schools: When a second-grader pointed a gun at me, I'm glad I wasn't armed; Teach For America Celebrates 3 Decades Of
panaritisp
"When I began teaching, I taught second grade. Pokemon cards were popular then, and children often brought them to school to trade at recess. One day, a boy kept playing with his cards during class time. After two warnings, I told him that I was going to hold his Pokemon cards until the end of the day. His response? "I don't care. I have a gun, and I'll shoot you." He calmly pulled a gun out of his desk and pointed it at me.
I have tried to imagine what might happen in this scenario under President Donald Trump's "arm the teachers" proposal. I can spin out two possibilities. In the first, I'd be one of the 20 percent of teachers who would be trained and armed. I would pull out my previously concealed weapon and aim at a child. In the tension of the moment, I would, perhaps, shoot him.
Alternatively, another adult in my school would be armed. I would send up an alert, and a grown-up with a gun would enter my classroom within moments. He or she would see a young Hispanic child pointing a gun at a white, female teacher, with a roomful of terrified, cowering children. The student holding the gun would, perhaps, be shot.
Let's say, in either of these scenarios, this young boy escapes with his life. In both, I would have lost the trust of my students. I would have become another source of fear."
|
|
"A few years ago, at a conference in Boston, David Steiner, then Commissioner of Education for New York State, said, about History: “It is so politically toxic that no one wants to touch it.”
Since then, David Coleman, of the Common Core and the College Board, have decided that any historical topic, for instance the Gettysburg Address, should be taught in the absence of any historical context—about the Civil War, President Lincoln, the Battle of Gettysburg—or anything else. This fits well with the “Close Reading” teachings of the “New Criticism” approach to literature in which Coleman received his academic training. This doctrine insists that any knowledge about the author or the historical context should be avoided in the analytic study of “texts.”
The Common Core, thanks to Coleman, has promoted the message that History, too, is nothing but a collection of “texts,” and it all should be studied as just language, not as knowledge dependent on the context in which it is embedded.
Not only does this promote ignorance, it also encourages schools to form Humanities Departments, in which English teachers, who may or may not know any History, are assigned to teach History as “text.” This is already happening in a few Massachusetts high schools, and may be found elsewhere in the country.
The dominance of English teachers over reading and writing in our schools has long meant that the great majority of our high school graduates have never been asked to read one complete History book in their academic careers."
|
|
It will affect our Medicare reimbursement and the IRMMA reimbursements some people get. Forward to anyone who will be hurt by this, and to those in active service as it will impact them as time goes onh/t to David ShulmanDear teacher friends, and school retireesI am the president of the retired teachers of Merrick. As such, I am aware of issues that will affect teacher retirees negatively.If Gov. Cuomo's budget passes on April 1, 2018, it will decrease our Medicare Reimbursement since he wants to freeze payments to the 2016 level. His budget , also, calls for the elimination of Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount which is known as IRMAA.Gov. Cuomo has made this proposal several times and the strength of teachers and other civil servants has derailed him. I am asking you to continue this trend.Please go to NYSUT Member Action Center website. Go to the Mac Action -choose issue. You should then be on the main NYSUT website. You can click choose action or scroll down the dark gray bars until you get to Budget which is the fourth bar. Then scroll to the fourth red bar which says IRMAA Reimbursement. When you click that bar, you get to fax legislators. All you have to do is put in your name and address and your state legislators are immediately sent a fax. You can go to facebook, etc. to reach more friends.I am asking you to send this legislative e-mail to any teacher you know. April 1st is around the corner. Call me at 516-466-0662 if you need additional informationIn unity. I remain,
Marcia Truland, Pres, RTA of Merrick
