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There’s been a rash of unprincipled folks working behind the scenes to silence educators lately. It’s unfortunate that we have to deal with that on top of everything else that’s going on right now. 1/ #nced
I’m grateful to work in a place where leadership recognizes that when educators are off the clock they are afforded free speech protections under the First Amendment. 2/
Not all of my colleagues can say that, and the rest of us will continue to shine a light on their behalf while working to empower educators to advocate for themselves and their students. 3/
Any education policy that is created without input from the people who will be carrying it out has a crucial and totally avoidable flaw. 4/
Want to legislate on elementary testing? Start with some elementary teachers and parents at the table. Have an idea for how to put kids on a school bus during a pandemic? Bring some bus drivers into the conversation. 5/
Ready to talk about how Plan B will work in the building? If custodians, front office staff, cafeteria workers, teachers and teacher assistants aren’t involved in the planning, you’ll end up with blind spots that didn’t have to be there. 6/
It’s human nature to avoid difficult conversations, and that may be why some systems prefer to issue directives from an insulated position and hope for the best. 7/
In other places there are more sinister dynamics at play, with outside political forces guiding district decisions and the district employing heavy-handed tactics to squash rightful dissent and manage PR. 8/
Regardless of the cause, the end result is an unhealthy status quo that marginalizes professionals whose deepest goal is a system that better serves our students. 9/
Until input of front-line education workers is regularly and systematically solicited as basic good practice, we have to be willing to step up and offer it anyway. We need to do so strategically and collaboratively, but we have to do it. 10/
Silence is not a neutral position. #nced 11/
PS—The shirt is an inside joke stemming from some online trolling a few weeks back.
My seventh graders have taught me that sometimes you have to “flex on the haters.” 12/12
My seventh graders have taught me that sometimes you have to “flex on the haters.” 12/12
