Sent to me by a fellow educator whom I respect, my sis-in-law, Sarah. Amazing points and so very true! I will not work in a charter school. I've always said I will be a public school educator because they are the ones who need me and my passion. I may not be Superman, but I will do my damndest to be super!
Remarks by Dr. Gerald Tirozzi, Executive Director, NASSP
National Principal of the Year Gala Dinner
October 1, 2010; Arlington, VA
The new film, “Waiting for Superman” has been receiving a lot of national attention. It has been featured on such programs as Oprah, NPR, Good Morning America, and it was featured at the NBC Education Summit that I attended earlier this week in New York City.
“Waiting for Superman” is a metaphor for a loss of hope in our public schools. The reality folks is (pardon my English) that “Superman isn’t coming!” Nor is Superwoman, Batman, Robin, Spiderman, or the Hulk!!
There is no superhero, no exotic reform initiative, no quick fix, no silver bullet to the myriad and complex issues and circumstances impacting upon our nation’s schools.
I would also emphatically note the portrayal of public education by the “Superman” movie is a highly distorted, unfair, and disparaging depiction of our nation’s public schools. Yes, it is hard to look away from the small, vulnerable faces of the children whose educational odysseys are highlighted in the movie. It’s hard not to sympathize with the fiercely protective, yet politically powerless parents who struggle mightily to insure that their children get a high quality education. This movie would lead audiences to believe that the schools represented in the film are characteristic of all schools.
“Waiting for Superman” focuses on our nation’s lowest performing schools—schools that absolutely need to be “fixed” and deserve major attention, resources, and financial help. There is no denying this reality. The problem is that the viewer is only provided with this “snapshot” of America’s public schools, casting an image that the lowest 5% of our nation’s schools are representative of the other 95% of schools. Not true! Not fair!
The film portrays charter schools as the Holy Grail of school reform, sending forth a strong message that charters should be proliferated across the country. In fact, their focus on charters is reinforced by the Administration’s strong support of the charter school movement, as evidenced by the high priority status they receive in the Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants. One really has to wonder if these charter ideologues pay any attention to the recent evaluations which conclude that only 17% of charters do better than public schools, and that 37% of them do worse. So much for paying attention to scientifically based research!
While the film’s producer makes claims that the film is not about public school bashing, it is hard to believe that viewers will not leave the theatre with a strong sense that educators are at the root of the problem, and that the issue of low student achievement is their fault. In fact, it’s not hard to envision that viewers, as they stream from the theatre, mad as hell, will start a parade of protest en route to their local teacher union headquarters--- and move on to sprinkle rose petals on the doorsteps of every charter school they pass along the way.
To the producer of the film -–and to the foundation sand corporate leaders who support the film –- all of whom continually lament over teacher quality, perhaps they need to take a turn at walking in the shoes of hard working educators. My guess is they would not even last one day!
In his new book, Schools Cannot Do It Alone, Jamie Vollmer vividly depicts what you all confront on a daily basis--a depiction which “Waiting for Superman” completely and conveniently ignores. Consider Vollmer’s illustrative representation of a day in the life of a teacher—those individuals who are the real Supermen and Superwomen, and who toil tirelessly in our nation’s classrooms.
“Fifty-three million school-aged children pour off the buses each and every day. All of them are bursting with potential. Many of them have physical, emotional, and cognitive problems that America’s teachers and administrators have never seen before.
This teeming mass of diverse, distracted, demanding humanity requires constant attention from the opening bell, and most teachers spend their entire day on their feet literally immersed in the task. No time for phone calls. No time for collaboration. No time for reading or quiet reflection. From early morning to late afternoon, the majority of teachers run at full tilt with little time alone to take a breath. Of all the business leaders, media pundits, and politicians complaining about lazy teachers and their cushy jobs, not one of them has to carefully plan his entire day to make sure he has time to pee.”
Superman came to this planet, “with powers beyond those of mortal men.” Maybe with such powers and his purported ability to fix schools, maybe he can also fix this problem (the pee problem) for teachers.
Also consider the continuing lament of the film as to major shortcomings of public schools, and the deteriorating achievement levels of students in these schools. Regrettably, the negative rap on public schools is not new and just seems to take on a new set of colors and verbiage as the years progress. There is constant sense of public sentiment that the schools of yesterday were far superior the schools of today. Public education, because it educates all of the children of all of the people, has always had challenges--and always will face significant challenges and shortcomings. In effect, the Superman metaphor could have taken center stage in the days gone by.
Jamie Vollmer, who at one time was a major critic of public schools, tells a story about when he owned The Great Midwestern Ice Cream Company. He was talking to an audience of teachers about his successful business and why his ice cream was “the best in the country.”
A teacher asked, “Mr. Vollmer, when you are in your factory standing on the receiving dock, and you see a shipment of blueberries arrive, and those blueberries do not meet your triple A standards, what do you do?” Jamie replied, “I send them back.”
The teacher replied, sprang to her feet, pointed her fingers at Vollmer’s face and said, “That’s right, you send them back. We can never send back the blueberries our suppliers send us. We take them big, small, rich, poor, hungry, abused, confident, curious, homeless, frightened,
rude, creative, violent, and brilliant. We take them of every race, religion, and ethnic background. We take them with head lice, ADHD, and advanced asthma. We take them with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, English as their second language, and who knows how much lead in their veins. We take them all, Mr. Vollmer! Every one! And that’s why it is not a business. It’s a school!”
To our “Superman” zealots, to those far removed in foundations and corporate offices, and to all policy gurus (Peter Drucker’s quote: We call them ‘gurus’ because most people cannot spell ‘charlatan’) -- never, never forget that public schools, as public institutions, have no control over the quality of their "raw material.” They accept all of the “blueberries” that arrive every day, regardless of their blemishes and shortcomings. We hold no lotteries to accept our students.
Public education is a celebration of differences, and that is what makes it such an important part of the American Dream—and that which holds the greatest promise for the vast majority of students who enter our classrooms each day.
Rather than continuing to lambaste our schools, the energies of our critics could provide a greater service for our neediest students by addressing the debilitating effects of poverty on students, the lack of commitment to pre-school education for our neediest students, the significant disparity in funding at the state level, negatively impacting largely on poor school districts, and a commitment to promoting significant increases in teacher salaries, putting them on par with other professions. (Seattle example: meter maids)
Last year was the first time in our country’s history that a national Congressional proclamation honoring principals was introduced. Once again, October is being designated National Principals’ (Supermen/Superwomen) Month. House Resolution 1652 lists a number of descriptors of a principal:
educational visionaries, instructional leaders, assessment experts,
disciplinarians, community builders, public relations experts, budget analysts, facility managers, special programs administrators,
guardians of various legal, contractual, and policy mandates and initiatives,
as well as being entrusted with our young people, our most valuable resource.
The resolution further states that, “leadership is secondary to only classroom instruction among all school related factors that contribute to student achievement. 60% of a school’s impact on student achievement is due to the combination of principal and teacher effectiveness.”
This national proclamation is indeed a testament to the high respect our country has for you and your profession.
We do not need to wait for Superheroes--you are here in the audience tonight. You, and the colleagues you represent from around the country, are the real Supermen and Superwomen.
Please give yourself a round of applause.
