Fox News in the Henhouse

Given the news that 40% of American households are now headed by a female breadwinner, the ever-reliable Fox News put together a panel of (male) pundits to deplore the destruction of society as we know it. As usual, women are implicitly held to blame for this state of the nation.

Among the gems averred by the Fox panel was the sage commentary that in nature, males tend to be dominant. Really? Try telling that to a pride of hard-working lionesses as they set out on a hunt, leaving the male to relax and groom his mane, which he’ll need should another male approach and attempt a territorial usurpation. On that point, I won’t argue, Fox. Males are definitely the “kings” of territorial warfare.

In many animal species, in fact, the males’ only contribution to the family is, well, sperm. The mothers are left to do WHATEVER it takes to raise the young, sacrificing themselves to the good of perpetuity. The news that 40% of households claim females as the predominant breadwinners tells us one thing – that the vast majority of mothers will do whatever it takes to feed, clothe, and raise their children. The aging Women’s “Liberation” movement merely makes this somewhat possible, though still difficult. 

A working mother myself, I also count as friends and colleagues a large number of working mothers. None of us pretend that we prefer time on the job to time with our children. All of us acknowledge that it is – at least partially – our responsibility to care for the nascent lives we’ve brought into the world.  

In some cases, the fathers of these children also accept partial responsibility. In other cases, sadly, they disavow this obligation, or hold that it is only the case if the planets align in such a way that they can easily perform their duty. Mothers rarely wait for such a magical alignment of the planets. Their primary concern is food and a table to put it on. So, Fox panel, bully to you if your families are perfect models of an “appropriate” social order. You’ll pardon the rest of us if we get on with the business of living.

Teacher 911

A nation looks at the bombing suspects in Boston and asks itself: Is it religion? Is it negligent parenting? Is it the chaos of cultural upheaval? Is it an innate evil that gripped those young men? Maybe we will never know what toxic cocktail produced such a callous disregard for life and limb.

But as a teacher, there is something else I read into the stories as they emerge. I see a kid who was captain of his wrestling team, and I know that there is a coach who poured his heart and soul into nurturing the good in this kid, and that coach is grieving. I see a kid who had a scholarship to college, and I know there are teachers who saw potential in that kid; who taught him, wrote him recommendation letters, and who tried their best to nurture the good in him, and those teachers are grieving.

Every day we pour everything we’ve got into ground that is sometimes fertile, but often rocky, and we just don’t know where seeds will take root, where they’ll be hopelessly quagmired in problems too deep for us to overcome, or where they’ll be violently cast aside. Every day the job is tough, but I salute those coaches and teachers who tried to turn a life in the right direction, even when they cannot succeed.

Mrs. English Bottoms Out on the Race to the Top

The national "Race to the Top" requires a new system of teacher rating. Recently, Mrs. English got her copy of the new teacher rating system, and was she ever bemused!

Let’s see, she said, 25% of the rating that will ultimately determine whether or not I get a raise – ever – is based on whole school data. Hmmm…exactly what does that include, she wondered.

Reading further, Mrs. English saw that one of the categories that fed into the school data would be student attendance. She recollected a phone call she had recently made on that very topic.

Phone: Ring, ring.

Mrs. H (mother of student): Hello?

Mrs. English: Hi, Mrs. H., this is Mrs. English, John’s teacher. John hasn’t been in first period for a couple weeks now, and I’m concerned about the impact on his grade and on his ability to pass the state test he’s required to pass for graduation.

Mrs. H: Well, John just doesn’t want to get up in the morning. He usually gets there by second period.

Mrs. English: Doesn’t like to get up? That’s funny; I’m ECSTATIC when my alarm goes off at 5:15 each morning.

Oh, no, actually Mrs. English just imagined that last line.

So, what other categories will this 25% include, Mrs. English asked herself. Hmmm…it looks like those state standardized tests will be a big part of the formula. 

Mrs. English recollected another conversation she had recently taken part in upon running into one of her students on the afternoon following the test.

Student: Mrs. English, I don’t know why you stressed that test so much. It was easy!

Mrs. English: So, you did well?

Student: Well, I wouldn’t say that; I fell asleep half-way through.

Mrs. English: Are you crazy?

Oh, no, actually Mrs. English just imagined that last line, too.

Mrs. English sighed, but being nothing if not tenacious, she urged herself to read on. Let’s keep going, she thought; some of these categories must actually evaluate the teacher. Let’s see, another factor will be how many students score 3 or 4 on the AP exam. Mrs. English thought back to a recent in-service where Principal Smithers had addressed that precise topic.

Principal Smithers: Folks, we’ve been putting too many limits on students who should take AP. AP classes are a good challenge for ALL students. Let’s stop advising the kids who can’t yet read at a high school level or can’t write a coherent paragraph to avoid AP! Give them the challenge! They may surprise us. Sure, they won’t score 3 or 4, but they’ll still be aware of what a college curriculum entails.

Mrs. English: Are you out of your mind?

On, no, of course Mrs. English did not say that.

Mrs. English took her copy of the new rating system, crumpled it into a ball, and dropped it into the recycling bin where it rattled against the empty plastic sides. The students had all dropped their paper scraps on the floor.