Teachers and Parents:
I found this story (below) to be very interesting, as it begs the questions, "Is it the Role of Our Educational System, to Seek Out, "Social Justice?" What is Socially Just Anyway...Who's to Say?" A teacher was fired for engaging her students in the Zimmerman/Martin tragedy.
Some would say, "It's the school's role to spearhead social change," while others would venture to argue that children have the job to learn academic content, and teachers have the job to educate students with just that; academic content. However, too often, teachers push their political agendas onto kids, and, "disguise" it as something innocent, while, "using" children to pursue their own interests. Is this what happened in the case of the fired teacher?
The teacher was fired for teaching what is a very different philosophy from essentialism. To be more specific, instead of teaching the essentials of academic knowledge, such as reading, writing, math, etc., this teacher chose to practice the philosophy titled, "Reconstructionism/Critical Theory."
Social reconstructionism, is a philosophy that places an emphasis on addressing social questions and seeks to create a better society and worldwide democracy. Reconstructionist educators focus on a curriculum that highlights social reform as the aim of education. "
Teachers, parents. In the article below, who got it right? The principal for firing this teacher OR the teacher for trying to lead, "social change" with YOUR children.
That leads me to the next question. Who defines social justice anyway??? Some would say Martin was wronged, while others would say that Zimmerman was a true victim here (depending on the news source.) Point being, should it be up to a, "teacher" to instill these values upon the children? SOUND OFF!
Michigan teacher: I was fired over Trayvon fundraiser
Associated Press
April 10, 2012
DETROIT – A teacher fired from a Michigan middle school after encouraging students to raise money for the family of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin said Tuesday she is confused by the dismissal and wants the school's administration to explain.
Brooke Harris was dismissed in March from Pontiac Academy for Excellence after she supported students' efforts to plan a wear-a-hoodie-to-school day. Martin was wearing a hoodie Feb. 26 when he was shot to death by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
"I'm really confused why I got fired," Harris told The Associated Press. "I don't think I did anything wrong."
According to the SPLC, a national civil rights group, Harris' eighth-grade journalism students asked her about the death of Martin, 17, who was unarmed when he was shot in Sanford, Fla. No charges have been filed.
Harris gave the students an editorial-writing assignment on the shooting. But the students wanted to raise money for Martin's family and asked the school's administrators if they could each pay $1 to wear hoodies instead of school uniforms for a day, the group said. It said the school regularly has fundraisers in which students are allowed to "dress down."
The 26-year-old English teacher said she approached school administrators "through the chain of command" but that Superintendent Jacqueline Cassell said the project could not go forward. Harris said she was in the process of explaining this decision to the students when she was called for a meeting with Cassell.
The superintendent suspended Harris for encouraging the students and then fired her after she showed up at the school to drop off prizes for students when she had been told to stay away, the SPLC said.
"I didn't tell the kids, `Let's go and do it anyway."' Harris said. "I was actually, literally, in the process of talking to my kids about what we could do instead when (Cassell) requested the meeting with me and told me that I needed to let it go."
Cassell said she couldn't discuss personnel matters but that she wanted students to focus on learning, not activism.
"I'm a child of the civil rights movement," Cassell said. But "this is not the time in the school year" to distract students from academics.
"In every situation, there are work rules," she said. "When rules are violated, there are consequences."
Harris said her teaching record was clean and that Cassell "wouldn't let me defend myself."
Harris said she still wants someone from the school to provide more details on why she was fired.
"I just want a reason," Harris said. "She's got my phone number, and I'd appreciate if she'd tell me what I did wrong."
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the Academy's decision was a "travesty" that would only hurt students.
"It taught the students who tried to organize and tried to raise their voice in terms of social justice that they will be repressed," Walid said at a news conference Tuesday morning at King Solomon Baptist that previewed a rally that evening at the Detroit church. "Instead of empowering our children ... the Pontiac Academy is actually teaching children to internalize oppression and internalize racism."
A few dozen people who attended the rally -- including a number of clergy members and community activists -- voiced their displeasure over both Martin's slaying as well as Harris' dismissal.
Speaker after speaker at the rally offered their support to Harris, who sat in a chair behind the podium and smiled and nodded in appreciation.
"We're ready to protest, we're ready to march, and we're even ready to give you legal counsel," Walid said, turning and looking at Harris. "If we can't settle this in the streets nonviolently, then maybe we need to settle it in the courts of law."
Charles Williams, the church's pastor, said that if Harris doesn't have her job back by Friday, he will lead a march at the school in Pontiac on Monday.
Harris wore a blazer to Tuesday's rally, but underneath it was a hoodie.
"I thought it was appropriate," she said.
A fascinating article. When I was in high school we had a teacher who would get us engaged in can food drives and had us raise money to send a flock of birds as part of a Heifer International project in Africa. Was that social justice. Yeah, probably. Was she pushing her political agenda or practicing "reconstructionism"? You could make a good argument that she was, though I doubt she had thought it out like that. Should she have been fired for doing any of this? No, that seems far out to me and probably to most of the folks reading this.
ReplyDeleteAn education is to prepare you for life. Yeah, some teachers cross lines and are edgy when it comes to getting their students engaged in controversial issues and current events. While that's not to say that there isn't a line to avoid crossing, I'm leary of the idea of firing teachers for doing so. I personally loved my teachers that engaged in this sort of thing and made me think about what was going on in the world and encouraged me to be passionate about things, even when I didn't always agree with them. While it's hard to say where you might draw the line on what is appropriate and what is not, I personally think we should make sure that line is a difficult one to cross.
This is an interesting article. I think that the teacher went with the flow of the class, which is within the ideals of progressivism, so if her school is rigid on being from the essentialist point of view, then it makes sense that the administration would be upset with her. Should she have lost her job? I question that because if she was discussing current events, that is something that students need to be made aware of.
ReplyDeleteNow should she have taken the time out of her day to talk to the students about this and start a fundraiser? Not if her administration had a curriculum set for her. Is it her job to instil these values in the students? Not in my opinion. The students need to form their own opinions and values.
I would be very interested to find out what happened to the teacher... did she get her job back? I agree with what David M said, a education is to prepare you for life. The teacher was taking a current event and turning it into a teaching point. The way the article tells the story, the students had the idea not the teacher. Since she went through the chain of command and was told no, the article stated she dropped it. I don't think it's fair she got fired. Yes school is for teaching academics but if this is an issue that is important to the students, make a teaching point from it, which is what the teacher did.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily,
DeleteWould you agree that all issues important to students should be taught? Likewise, when you were 12, are those same things important to you today, as a contributing member of society, or an employee? Are the same things that were important to you at age 18, the same things that are important to you today?
The danger in following the child, is that that curriculum would cease to be coherent, and congruent with the needs of society, and our republic, even the future needs of the child as an individual contributing member of society. If we all ventured to learn only what's important to our own, "individual selves," would we have a functioning economy, nation, society, republic? This is important to keep in mind, when considering the purpose of school.
You see, the purpose of schools in the 1800s was to preserve the republic, that was the only consideration of our founding fathers. They wanted schools to teach civic virtue, and how to contribute to society. If everyone pursued, what they personally believed as important, we lose our common thread, and while some kids in Michigan may want to pursue the fundraising, others in Texas may pursue reading, writing, math, civics, etc., and we now lack commonality that binds us together. Likewise, the children of Michigan would be put at a disadvantage in the global world, as they may have fundraised, but they missed several days of skill building. The idea of, "the common school" was to bind us together, and this worked for many years, while now, some kids are robbed of the opportunity to know, certain things, only because they were permitted to decide how to spend the school day.
3. I was visiting family in Florida when the Zimmerman/Martin case became front page news, I got emotionally involved in the story. Personally, I sustenance social causes but choose to be selective in the ones I do support. Teachers have a great influence on the young lives they mentor and should guard their opinion of such social justice causes. My students question me about “news” events of which I address with caution, giving facts and not my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIf my administrator tells me “NO”, I promptly obey and do not go beyond what I was told. (She gives me the opportunity to discuss the matter but if she says no then I do not do what I have been asked not to do.) It is wiser not to mention ideas to my students until I am given a clearance to do so from the administration. MS. Harris should have gone through the “chain of command” before mentioning the “project” with her students. She may not have been fired if she had adhered to the conditions of suspension and not returned to the school. The article mentions that it was not the time of year to get the minds of the students off academic topics. State testing takes place in the spring and Ms. Harris’ concerns should have reflected the need to stay focused. We as teachers want our students to be obedient to our instruction. Administrators desire the same respect.
Hi Patti,
ReplyDeleteEmotionally getting involved is something the entire nation did. However, I notice that you, as a professional, decided that school was not the forum for your emotions. Any essentialist school would welcome you for this reason.
I am not sure that the teacher was seeking social justice or whether she was just supporting her students in something that they felt strongly about. They were trying to raise money for this family and help them through a difficult time. I am not sure if this is social justice or just showing humanity and helping out your community and neighbors. Again I wasn’t there and don’t know the whole story but I am not sure she did anything wrong. If she did indeed try to get her students to advocate for punishment or something along those lines then I feel she would have crossed the line.
ReplyDeleteI think that if this is the whole story then the firing of Harrison was unfair. I do however believe that there are two sides to every story. The district seemed to believe that Harrison was organizing the students against their wishes. I do not feel like this particular fundraiser was a bad thing to do, however, I also am not sure what the mood is like in the area regarding the shooting of the child. I can imagine that there are some hostile feelings and people want justice. I am sure the school doesn’t want to be put in the middle of the problems and hostile feelings. The district is probably trying to remain neutral. Did the student go to that school or are the children just trying to do something nice for the family because they feel sorry for them? I am not sure that I am in the correct position to judge what is right or wrong in this situation. I do think that if this is the whole story and she wasn’t planning on going against their decision then they may have been to quick in their decision to fire her.
Angel,
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned how, "this family was trying to help the family through a difficult time." My question to you is why didn't the teacher and class chose the Zimmerman (the shooter's family) as their target of assistance? Don't you think that making a decision to fundraise for one side, while not the other,is dangerous territory, open to scrutiny of social justice? How might this have been different if there was a fundraiser for both sides of the issue?
To answer your question, the child was from Florida, but the fundraising took place in another state.
I agree that firing may have just been their way to make heads roll, or perhaps a political move to show their displeasure with the incident, and their willingness to take action. Likewise, this was their way of stating that they take a neutral stance, just as a school should.