HEATHER
MIGDON
Diary #10
Why
I May Leave My School
All of us can categorize the schools in which we teach as either ones we would send our own children to or ones we would not. Those of us who choose the former are likely extremely proud of our schools, perhaps wearing sweatshirts or baseball caps bearing our schools' logos on the weekends.
Those of us who choose the latter are not necessarily unhappy teaching where we teach, but we know there are better schools. Instead, we who teach at schools that are less than ideal. We teach with the knowledge that we are providing our students something that, if we were not teaching at the school, they might miss out on. Most of us have some degree of choice in where we teach. If we are at less than desirable schools, we must have some reason why we want to be there. And some of us who teach at incredible schools have taught at worse schools in the past, but made the choice to move. For several weeks now, I have been questioning what makes people leave teaching assignments at failing schools, and if their leaving can ever be justified. As my loyal readers know (Hi Grandma!), my school is without doubt less than desirable — and that is saying it nicely. I feel comfortable criticizing my school because I know I don't have "the grass is greener" syndrome. I am a first year teacher who has had the rare opportunity to have already taught at two schools. I have something to compare. I loved my former school, and I don't like what I see when I draw the comparison.Two schools — similar but so different
My school is in a poor area and most of my students are low income. The same was true with my former teaching position. The difference? My former school was successful and my current school is failing. I believe the difference is mainly a matter of attitude.
While at my first school, I simply didn't know of any other DC school — and this is no exaggeration — with students as poor (96% low income) and test scores so high. And the great thing was that NO ONE EVER SAID SO!! The principal was not happy with our score. He said our students were capable of more, and we must push them until they reach their true potential. At my current school, student failure is easily excused by saying, "Well, look at the neighborhood. We are lucky to get them to school. How can we be expected to teach them to read when their home lives are unstable?" Never do teachers say that we might need to reevaluate how and what we teach. My school acts as if student achievement and teacher performance are simply two ships passing in the night, with no relationship between them at all. And we are complacent because it is so easy to point out that "there are worse schools." I say all this because I'm strongly considering returning to my original school for the next school year, and the possibility has caused me to be less critical of people who leave failing schools. I always thought that teachers who left these schools couldn't stand the kids or thought they were too good to teach there. Now I realize that many leave because there are REASONS why failing schools are failing, and sometimes those reasons are out of our control, hard as we try to push for change. In my case, I wouldn't be fleeing to a suburban private school, but rather to another urban school with many of the same socioeconomic problems. The only difference — and it is a huge and palpable difference — is the ideology and vision of the school's faculty.
