Language Arts
The First Language of Education Should Be A Healthy School
Far too often, even now, it isn't. It's bizarre to me the amount of money spent on this case has apparently generated so little wisdom reflected in the way we handle our public schools.
"Bullying by teachers produces a hostile climate that is indefensible on academic grounds; it undermines learning and the ability of students to fulfill academic requirements. In this it shares core attributes with more recognized abuses of power such as sexual harassment, stalking, and hate crimes, each of which is, in fact, a form of bullying." Source: TEACHERS WHO BULLY STUDENTS: PATTERNS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS. Available: http://www.stopbullyingnow.com/teachers%20who%20bully%20students%20McEvoy.pdf
She was my 'Language Arts' teacher....
I like to think that the people hiring her really thought she would be a good teacher. I really, really wish I HAD the teacher portrayed in the movie. That was not my experience.
The shavings of pencils were made using a drill, holding the pencils in it, and grinding them through the sharpener....in a traumatizing classroom environment, academic achievement is IMPOSSIBLE.
You can also better see the broken bricks used as the base.
I found an old slate blackboard, and wrote 'Language Arts' on it in chalk before smashing it to bits on my front stoop....representing the education I got. Which...I can only hope differs from the education that was intended.
I did learn many words and phrases throughout this.
- "Tenure"
- "Witness"
- "Rape"
- "Wedlock"
- "Statute of Limitations"
- "Right to Privacy"
- "Forbidden Disclosure"
- "Shame"
Probably related to the trauma, I have always struggled with the grammar, spelling, etc. that would have been a part of the curriculum of those years.
Despite many attempts at trying to 'learn' what I just didn't absorb then, I have not yet been able to make up for the loss of that education.
The wire is from a broken ruler...symbolic of the discipline/punishment we all received, some of it very physical.
Several of my classmates were physically assaulted in front of us. Included in the recounting of testimony and sharing between those of us still living are accounts of choking, punching, slapping....and worse.
...and the ruler also is an homage to the authority given to teachers back when it was up to individuals to choose what they felt was 'appropriate discipline.'
I know I've mentioned this throughout, but I want to emphasize that providing high-quality professional preparation, screening, and oversight will continue to make cases like this more rare. I hope.