No "Grit" For Me

Of all the words in the Corporate Education Reform lexicon, with the possible exception of "rigor," none irritate me more than "grit." It is the ultimate middle class affectation superimposed on inner city youth. In all my years in inner city communities, as an athlete, teacher and coach, I have never heard anyone use the term "grit." Not in a basketball game, not in a conversation, not in a hip hop lyric someone is creating. So to see it used as the ultimate character trait that schools are supposed to instill - to the point it features in US Department of Education grant proposals- just dramatizes how much School Reformers see the culture of the neighborhoods they are trying to improve schools in as something to overcome rather than build on.

So to honor this dubious corruption of language and policy, Notorious Phd has written a short jam about the word called "No Grit for Me"

I learned all about grit
During my first year at K.I.P.P.
I was taught by TFA
I learned how to be a toughie
From Muffy and Buffy
God bless the USA.