Educational Malpractice and the Tragedy of America's Teachers

Someday, though I don't exactly know when or how, there will be a full account of the tragedy of America's teachers being forced to commit educational malpractice and deciding between keeping the jobs they need to feed their families and jeopardizing the educational well being and emotional health of the children they teach.

Based on the messages and emails I have received daily since the founding of BATS,as well as book's like Laurel Sturt's "Davonte's Inferno" this group may well encompasses millions of teachers. This malpractice consists, among other things, of administering multiple tests to children as low as Pre-K, pushing play out of the classroom, cancelling recess for test prep, putting up Data Walls which humiliate students and foster unhealthy competition; failing students for writing essays which do not conform to a script; administering developmentally inappropriate tests to ELL and Special Needs students; doing "close reading" of texts which should be enjoyed or viewed in historical context; denying students access to art, music and sports because they didn't do well on tests; imposing Common Core aligned curricula without dissent even when they are less effective the curricula they replaced.

The sum total of these measures are test mad, creativity deprived, play impaired, and joyless classrooms which break students spirits at an early age.
Teachers are told their jobs depend on imposing these measures. Some resist and are fired, many retire, many feign compliance and try to subvert, but many end of implementing these policies with damaged consciences and broken hearts. More than a few end up going on medication,

What is taking place in our schools is the anti-thesis of Freedom. It has the stench of the authoritarianism that marks the worst dictatorships.

We have to stop it, reverse it, shut it down.

Free the Teachers.

Free the Students.