Sorry to be so blunt, and yes, it's 10 minutes long, but this is vitally important, and summarizes the current crisis in public education better than anything else I've written, read or seen:
For those who don't have access to video or audio:
Ellie Rubenstein has had enough.
Upon learning that she would be involuntarily transferred to another Illinois school, the former fourth-grade teacher submitted her resignation in the form of a video.
In the 10-minute spoken resignation, posted on Youtube Tuesday under the username Iquityoucantfireme, Rubenstein explains why she is quitting and addresses several major problems she says she has faced as a teacher in the U.S. public education system.
Minor Update: I've edited the title to be less demanding and more explanatory. I actually think videos like this are most effective when they have as little preamble as possible, but I understand people not wanting to go in totally unprepared for the content.
UPDATE: Eclectablog may be posting this himself later (in which case I'll edit this section to reference his diary), but this is too important not to bring to your attention:
Just a week after dogs ravaged and killed goats and chickens at the Catherine Ferguson Academy, the school for pregnant Detroit girls is back in the news. This time, the spunky girls who have shown tenacity that rivals any other single group in Detroit, are suing the Detroit Public Schools and the charter school that runs it, Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy, for delivering a substandard education.
A sample from the daily lives of these school girls as described in the lawsuit:
--At the beginning of the semester, they are given a packet of work to complete by the end of the semester and if the work is not completed correctly, they receive no credit.
--The students enter the school, go to class and sit in the same class room, with the same students and teacher all day, working on their packet or a project.
--Teachers are banned from teaching classes.
--Teachers are not allowed to teach the requirements of the state-mandated Michigan Merit Curriculum and High School Content Expectations for each and any of the students’ courses.
--There is no serious or meaningful way for teachers to keep the students on a schedule to progress through the course objectives.
--There is no virtually no opportunity for class instruction, discussion or activities.
Read the whole thing. It's disgusting and a devastating indictment of what's become (and becoming, statewide) of Michigan's public school system before our eyes.