A Farewell to School... Almost

This week I resigned. I resigned my position as a high school teacher in a public school. More aptly, I resigned myself to believing I can make a difference in my current role. Over the last 10 years of my life I have served in schools in many capacities. The last 5 years I have spent teaching social studies at a small, rural school in west central Indiana.  In many ways it has been the most rewarding stretch of my career. The connections I have made with students and co-workers has been phenomenal. There were times that reaffirmed the reasons I got into education.

I am a non-traditional teacher. I started my career by graduating with a degree in Marketing and working in sales.  Sales jobs can be highly rewarding, both personally and financially. I was doing well to help start my wife and I off on the right foot.  But the pressure of constantly meeting quotas and being rejected finally wore me down. I decided it was time for a change. So I went back to my roots.

I entered college as a history major, hoping to teach or work at a museum some day. After opting to leave the business world, I decided it was worth giving it a try to teach. I entered a "Transition to Teaching" program at a local college. This was a 2 year program that would get me certified to teach and eventually a Masters in Education. I genuinely enjoyed the program, minus a few social justice courses, and I felt very prepared to enter the classroom.

"No one enters teaching to get rich." I've heard this ad nauseam, and it's true.  Anyone who has ever even considered teaching understands this. While the debate over teacher pay rages on across the country, the real debate should focus on the purpose and intent of educating a child. To say we have lost our way is not accurate. I'm not sure we have ever been on the right path. In fact, the longer I have been in education, the more I am convinced of this.

Last year I took to help co-author a book; Failure: The History and Results of a Broken School System.  As we approach having a first draft ready for edit, I am growing in excitement to see what the final product will look like and how it will be received. The inspiration for this work came from my observations as a teacher.  So I want to leave you with some stories that did not make the book.  Stories and scenes that should vividly paint the picture of just how bad our schools are failing our children. I realize I am only one person and I have one worldview, but I believe this holds up whether you are reading this in Portland, Oregon or Miami, Florida. As you read these, I hope the message resonates with you and moves you to question why. Why are we spinning our wheels and arguing reform, when all we must do is give people freedom.

• School Hurts- There has been a lot of discussion in the district I am leaving about how much emotional baggage kids bring to school. The social emotional scars are evident. I hear it and see it on a daily basis. Students face some unfair circumstances. I've had students with parents that have died, been thrown in jail or have abused them. While this is so unfortunate, and I would not wish it on anyone, I also know the damage that school does. Last year I had a chance to get to know a student in my government class.  This student was a genuinely nice human being.  Never had a bad thing to say about anyone and always had a smile on his face.  One day we were talking about his plans after school. After asking him what college he planned on attending, he simply laughed. He looked me right in the eyes and said "Mr. Spears, I am not good enough for college.  I don't have the talent or ability to make it through 4 more years."  This hurt. I asked him what he wanted to do after school. He went on to say "I don't know, no one has ever told me I am good at anything." This is just one conversation. Each day there are students being hurt by what school tells them they are or are not. Add this to other forms of stress and anxiety of testing and it is no wonder why kids hate school. Each day children struggle to get by with the stress that school causes. I can't even begin to tell you have many students I have seen almost physically ill over tests, homework, projects, dealing with hateful people, and so on. It never ends.

• Social Conditioning - One of the worst effects I have seen schools have on kids is the conformity it creates. Supporters of school rules and regulations will babble on about having to teach kids how to follow rules and such; that is hogwash. Kids see right through the arbitrary and senseless nature of school rules. The real purpose of these rules is to break the will and create conformity. In turn, this leads students to stop caring, to stop questioning, to stop learning. A perfect example of this was a student I had in World History/Geography, I'll call her Lisa.  Lisa was a student constantly getting passes to go to the office.  One day I finally asked her, "Why are you always getting called out of class?"  She smiled and replied "I don't play by the rules very well." Year after year, teachers had been dealing with Lisa by simply "writing her up" and sending her to the office. I asked what the infractions were, as I never had an issue with her. "Little, stupid stuff" she said. One day she said she had been sent to the office twice for simply having her phone out during class. What is the point? Oh I know, taking the phone away will automatically create compliance and Lisa will be all ready to learn about the mitochondria right?  See school rules completely miss the point. Yes, order is necessary. Breaking the will and creating compliance does not. Administrators and teachers have been sold a lie that unless these rules are enforced, learning will never occur. In addition to this are the mixed signals that are sent by inconsistent enforcement. Lisa pointed this out one day when saying "I got sent to the office last year for wearing a shirt that showed my belly button, meanwhile there is a girl who has worn a tank top 3 times and has never had even a warning." This may seem harmless, but think of the cumulative affect. Would you want to be in a place that treated you that way?

These are just two stories. I could tell these same stories for days. The point is; schooling is not education. Schooling is regressive. Schooling is harmful. I can no longer participate in that environment. So I am moving on. I am not giving up on attempting to educate children. It is my passion and desire to help children achieve their full potential. This month I will be joining K12, an on-line public school option. This is an alternative for students who want to get out of the jail of regular brick and mortar schooling. I know there will be challenges. I know it will be difficult. I only hope that they see the opportunity they have to thrive in an alternative environment.

So thank you to all I have worked with over the years. You are not the problem. You are well meaning. You give your heart and soul. You are working in a system though that is working against you. I hope and pray for change, but until then; best of luck.