OPINION: If the children are wrong then our village is also wrong

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erik-andrade
By Erik Andrade – photo by Ernesto Arroyo.

Today, I read that the teachers union voted no confidence in the superintendent who is attempting to hold the teachers accountable for teaching the students. If your unsuccessful you go. Radical change in a stagnant, corrupted, and failing system. In dire circumstances, you must take actions. I question the leadership of the teachers union what actions have you taken to ensure the teachers we pay to teach are capable and skilled in the craft, the trade, and the calling of the teacher?

Looking back and listening to this video from October of 2011, I have to say the problems are still the same. Yet thankfully many of the solutions are still the same. If we have but the will to change things, we can make a dramatic difference.

The first step is looking at the root causes. We must engage all parties and especially listen to the youth in order to understand the causation. I believe each circumstance is unique however there are common themes that can and should be addressed.

We need to integrate social service. Address the base needs of food, clothes, and shelter. New Bedford and Fall River have the highest hunger in the state. There are 500 homeless children in our public school system. And many youth dealing with realities most adults could not imagine.

Couple that with the fact that teachers are grossly under prepared and rarely rewarded for excelling. Many truthfully are not equipped to handle the needs of our children. It is our society that is raising today’s youth. If the children are wrong then our village is also wrong and responsible. As we all have the ability to respond and it truly is the village that raises the children. If our children and or our neighbors children are our not well it is because we allowed that to be so.

If we want change we need to work together. Voting no confidence is in my opinion an unwise tactic. We can do better New Bedford.

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3 comments

  1. Voting “no confidence” in the superintendent is a statement by the teachers that her “solution” of getting rid of 50% of us at the high school is not a solution. She is not helping the problems in New Bedford, only exacerbating them by punishing the very people who try to help our children overcome these issues, by advocating, feeding, sometimes clothing them, and otherwise trying to make up for the things they are missing at home. Please understand this before you put us down!

  2. I can post anonymously too

    New Bedford public schools are failing our children. About half of students aren’t graduating. The teachers blame the municipal government, our city government blames the teachers. In the end, it’s our community that suffers. I’ve heard teachers say, “These kids can’t be taught. These kids are animals.” I’ve listened to high school teachers tell me, “I can’t teach ninth grade material because my students are on a second grade reading level.” I myself was told, “That’s too bad for you – you’re not moving your seat,” in tenth grade chemistry class when I raised my hand to say I couldn’t see the board. Get rid of these people! Get rid of the unprofessional, backwards-thinking teachers who add to the problem rather than help solve problems. Get rid of the disgraceful lot who dared to compare a group of teacher’s plans for an innovation school to Jim Crow law. How disgracefully insulting! These are most certainly NOT the people I want “educating” my children. Get rid of the teacher who nearly strangled a boy for wandering the halls and get rid of anyone who thinks this sort of culture within public education is acceptable. Pia Durkin doesn’t need the consent of the union to perform her duty as superintendent. Get off your high horse! If I performed at 50% at my job, I’d be fired too!

    • You sound angry. Maybe you were a punk in class so you don’t like teachers. Thanks ok. Even punks are allowed their freedom of speech under the constitution.

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