A recount of my experience as a visiting teacher at a Charter school in Philadelphia during the 2011-2012 school year.
In the few months I have worked
as a teacher, my outlook on the operation and foundation of what Charter Schools
are has changed completely. Before, I believed Charter schools to be a saving
grace from the public school system; brought about by people hoping to
revolutionize education and the school system. Growing up in Maryland, a state
that is a lot less charter friendly than the city of Philadelphia, I based my
ideas about Charter schools on second hand information. Having lots of family
from the District of Columbia and hearing how many parents had opted to send
their kids to a Charter school to escape the frustrating antics of what the
public school system had to offer can be attributed to much of what I believed.
Now, just two months after working as an English teacher in a public Charter school
in Southwest Philadelphia, a lot of what I once believed has changed.
I must say that in this city,
Charter schools are very much a business. In my experience, the agenda is less
about revolutionizing the school system and more about protecting reputation as
a means to gain funding. In February, I was brought in as a visiting teacher at
a reformed public school (whose name I will not disclose), now finishing up its
first year as a Charter. I was assigned to teach a senior seminar class; a life
skills class designed to prepare seniors for life after high school. In my
mind, I imagined teaching this class would be a breeze. I quickly began
designing lesson plans, creating surveys and working towards building a solid
relationship with my students in order to help them as much as I could.
I quickly realized that my
perceptions on what the ideal classroom setting would be were completely
incorrect. For the most part, none of the students were where they needed to be
academically. From reading skills to writing skills to critical thinking skills
– even note taking skills – these students had been deprived of their
educational rights. Getting them to understand some of the most very basic skills
of the classroom setting in general was a battle. This was only the beginning.
I had so much in mind for what I wanted to explore with them. From college
applications to resume writing and interviewing skills – all of which were
areas I had been psyched to learn about is high school – were of no concern to
these students. It was clear that many of the students had been pushed through
the school system for 12 years and at the end of their last year in high school,
they were unconcerned with being challenged in any way. Many of the students
were disrespectful, disruptive and resisted being helped whenever possible. The
dynamic was very different than what school was like when I was in 12th
grade. Because of this, I struggled with figuring out how I could teach people
who didn’t want to be taught.
Apart from finding solutions to
helping my students, I was forced to face the harsh realities of the intentions
of the administration and the school itself. After having several conversations
with different staff members, I quickly learned that the seniors were not on
the top of this list when it came to priorities of the school. During PSSA
testing, the standardized assessment given to students in public school in
Pennsylvania, the truth came out. The 11th graders, being the grade
level that tested, were the clear focus. Since the AYP is measured by the reading
and math scores of those students who are tested, the seniors – being at the
end of their last year and on their way out the door – were of no contribution
to the overall progress of the school and the funding it would receive. This
fact was no secret.
It became even more evident when
I heard stories of the teachers that preceded me. The class I was now teaching
had been through a laundry list of teachers throughout the school year, leaving
the students with little to no guidance and no structure. When I was brought
into the picture, I received no grade book, no roster, and no measure of
progress of any of the students in the class. There was no one shadowing me to
keep track of the student’s work or progress or grades. When I would ask
questions or inquire about how students would be graded, I received cookie cutter
answers and often times got no information at all. Because of this rocky road,
it was a challenge even getting the students to trust that I would even be around
long enough for them to care.
The biggest struggle of my
position came with the senior projects. As with any group of graduating
seniors, these students were to complete a final research paper on a topic of
their choice, which would count as a graduation requirement. I saw requirements
for the papers change on every level, from paper length, structure and style to
even the due date. The school granted an extra month for students to complete
projects on top of the 6 months of preparation they had already been granted.
Because the paper counted as a graduation requirement, it made sense that the school
would change many of the requirements to keep the numbers of failing seniors
from skyrocketing. Large numbers of non graduates would be a bad look for the
reputation of the Charter Company. Because this was the first reform year for
the school, it was important for everything to look peachy. Teachers in the school
informed me that we were basically lying to the students by telling them that
not completing the paper would result in non graduation. How could they even
think of failing so many students who, for the most part, hadn’t had a steady
teacher for more than three months at a time (less than that in some cases)?
There was no accountability on
the student’s part at all. During common planning periods, I would hear tales
from other teachers about the school’s failure to step in and take the proper
disciplinary action. Students could do next to nothing and not be penalized in
any real way. These were teachers who had been working in the school for a
great deal longer than I had.
In addition to this, I battled
with accountability of students versus the social and cultural realities that
many of them were facing. The neighborhood in which this particular school is
located is not the best. Students who come from communities like this one – rich
in crime, violence, drug activity and poverty in general – are mere products of
their environment. Many of the homes that these students come from are
dysfunctional. There is little to no guidance, no positive role model, and no
reinforcement for progression or success. How can one expect children coming
from environments plagued by so much negativity to thrive in a classroom;
especially considering the racial structure of many school systems that group
kids towards failure. The problem stretches farther than this one school.
The reality of the situation is
that every day, people of color in this country are being robbed of their
constitutional rights. By not being afforded the best possible education and
educators, they have been stripped of any hope to succeed. When you encounter
high school seniors – some 19 and 20 – who have no idea how to send emails,
could care less about obtaining jobs or attending college, or students who
can’t even write papers, you find a generation that is academically
handicapped.
Although I am no longer working
as a teacher at this school, my time there provided much insight for the work I
hope to do in the future. Because so much of what I plan to do focuses on
connecting community and literacy, I think that it was almost destiny to be
granted this particular experience. Although the journey was challenging, it
was rewarding as well. I learned to be less judgmental in interpreting the
attitudes of young people (in this city especially) and was challenged to
tackle personal goals like patience, will power, determination and leadership.
