Feeling the Pain
Yesterday I wrote about the way that lack of respect can affect the way that teachers do their jobs, and at the end I mentioned that this sense of disrespect isn’t just felt by teachers. I was thinking about the reaction within parts of the community to Arlene Ackerman’s decision to step down. A meeting of the School Reform Commission yesterday turned fairly chaotic, as many speakers accused the board of unjustly blaming Ackerman for mistakes made by other people. The word “lynching†was used to describe the mayor’s and the school commission’s actions. It’s clear that this is not a situation that will be resolved easily. What’s the source of all the pain that was unleashed at that meeting?
When a community feels neglected, it wonders why it should respect the system that won’t respect them. Many inner-city communities, whose schools are underfunded for a number of reasons, have felt that neglect for years. Ackerman wanted to address that sense of neglect and show communities that the district was serious about change. That goal motivated the creation of Promise Academies, schools with different rules and added resources. It’s a laudable goal. Unfortunately, the execution left something to be desired. There are numerous reports that students did not attend the extended hours and Saturday sessions, meaning that the district was spending money on facilities and teacher salaries for instructional time that was not efficiently used.
Then Philadelphia got hit with a double whammy. Federal stimulus funds came to an end, and Ed Rendell’s term as governor came to an end. Pennsylvania changed from having a Philadelphia-based governor whose top priority was increased education funding to having a governor whose electoral base is outside the city and whose top priority was cutting spending. The district needed to cut expenses, and that included layoffs. The Promise Academies, with their added spending and teachers with low seniority, were targeted on both fronts.
So I can only imagine how a parent in one of those communities would react, after finally being singled out for attention and resources, to being told it all had to end. Those who can least afford to sacrifice seem to be being asked to bear the brunt of the burden, and the person who tried to change this system is the target of powerful forces. I can get how that would feel like a slap in the face. I can talk about the flaws in the execution. I can talk about the inefficient use of resources. But when people are stinging from that disrespect, they don’t want to have a wonkish conversation about execution. They want to believe that there’s someone who cares about them, who is looking out for them. And I fear that the events of the last few months have made it harder for us to create that bond.
About Dave Thomer
Born and raised in Philadelphia. Studied philosophy at Fordham University in the Bronx, where I made many great friends and met my wonderful wife. We moved back to Philadelphia, where I studied philosophy some more and became a teacher. Online and off, I'm looking for ways that we can be better citizens and build stronger communities.