Tenure

Lately, the whole issue of teacher tenure has been twisted beyond recognition. And by "lately," I mean the past 30 years or so. Allow me to put it to you in a different way.

I graduated College in 1992. I then sought a teaching job. For the first 10 years of my career, I jumped from job to job; part time to leave replacement; temporary sub to full time. I then landed in the position I'm currently in, and spent the first three years of this position without tenure. That's 13 years during which time I could have been removed from my position for literally ANY reason at all.

Think back on the days depicted in films like Les Miserables, when Fantine was fired for having a child out of wedlock, and for not returning the foreman's sexual advances. Or Far and Away, when Joseph and Shannon are fired from their jobs for insulting the boss. I know those are works of fiction, but that was the work environment in the days before Unions.

I was fired once for not saying "Hi" to the superintendent in the hallway. A friend of mine was let go because the "students liked her too much." I was let go from another job for expressing my relief about not having to go to the middle school that day. LITERALLY. ANY. REASON. There's nothing the union can do about it either.

Tenure is not freedom from getting fired. It means that a teacher is granted the right to be fired ONLY through due process. It means the end of the days when you can be let go for any reason at all. In the early days of the teacher's union, female teachers were let go for getting married. Or getting pregnant. Being the wrong religion. John Thomas Scopes was fired for teaching a scientific theory not commonly held by the people in the town.

Tenure guarantees an employee their right to due process. If a tenured teacher is let go, it must go to a hearing where evidence of that teacher's breach of contract, incompetence, or negligence must be shown. It must also be shown that said teacher had been spoken to about their deficiencies, and attempts had been made to intervene, which were unsuccessful. Consider your job. Wouldn't you want the same rights with your boss?

Also consider that so called "bad teachers;" the ones that "can't be fired," and who are "the reason students aren't achieving;" are supposedly so terrible that their mere existence in that classroom is holding the students back. If only they could be fired and replaced with "good" teachers, students would do better in school. A teacher works nontenured in a school for THREE YEARS before being granted tenure. Three. Years. Ask yourself this question: How is a teacher who is THAT incompetent, and who can be fired for literally ANY reason, WITHOUT due process, allowed to work in a school for THREE YEARS?

The war on teachers that is being waged politically is not about improving education. It's about administrators wanting the right to fire teachers indiscriminately. Indeed, many employers long for those days when there weren't so many rights and privileges that they were required to provide for their workers. It would be wonderful for them if these unions and workers' rights just went away. Then we could go back to the work environment of the 1800's.

Right Now, At This Moment - Week 11 - Art of Possibility Ch. 7

It's been a while since I wrote a song for the "Possibility project." I checked the calendar. Yep, it's March. That's usually the time that I start to lose focus on major yearly resolutions, projects, and habits. However, I've been saved by the "wildcard" songs from the past two weeks. Now I'm back to work. I have next week off from work to do song 12, and I suspect that song 13 is going to be a classic that I'm repurposing for the project. So, I can play catch up.

Chapter 7 of "Art of Possibility" is about focusing on the Way Things Are. I LOVE THIS IDEA. I believe that so much of what we react to, and get upset about is entirely in our minds. It comes from memories of the past, or assumptions about the future. In the book, Zander recounts a case where a Father and Son are arguing over a contract that would transfer the business from father to son. Negotiations are stalled however, because the father assumes that the son is trying to kick him out of his position and take the company over, while the son is only trying to make a smooth transition. Meanwhile, the son assumes that the father doesn't trust his leadership of the company, when in fact the father is trying to ensure his legacy. Zander gets them past the assumptions by focusing on right now, what's happening NOW?

I thought about conversations I often have with my wife about my disastrous career history, and tendency to make grievous errors in judgement, and her as well. And it's usually helpful to focus on right now. Not bringing up the past or worrying about the future. This week, what's going on?

Right Now At This Moment; Music and Lyrics by Carl J Ferrara

In the past I've hurt you, in the past I've made mistakes.
I've learned a lot about what not to do.
And I know it's hard to trust me, and I guess I had that coming,
After everything that we've been through.
But think of all the times that I've meant every word I had to say
And Right Now, At This Moment I 'm with you and we're OK.

I'm always procrastinating, Staying up the night before,
"Captain Last Minute," yeah, that's me.
I know that makes you nervous, cause you're always jumping the gun,
But we've still got time just wait and see.
And I know sometime there is gonna be that damned piper to pay.
But Right Now, At This Moment nothing's due and we're OK.

Bridge....
Right Now we're still alive.
Right Now we're not in jail.
Right Now we've got enough to tie us over.
Right Now you're in my arms.
Right Now we're in love.
Right Now is a moment to discover.

They say the past is history, The future is a mystery
The present is a gift or so we think
Someday it gonna get us, the other shoe is bound to drop
Disaster's out there, and we're on the brink.
But there isn't any Sabretooth Tiger on our doorstep to escape.
Right Now, At This Moment you are here with me and we're OK.

Touch of the Master's Hand - Week 10

So one day my wife got me a gift. It was a thoroughly well thought out, and home made gift, the best kind of all. She had been listening to "Chicken Soup For the Soul" audiobooks, and was particularly touched by a poem called, "The Touch of the Master's Hand" by Myra B. Welch.

 

Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer thought it scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin, but held it up with a smile;

"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried, "Who'll start the bidding for me?

A dollar, a dollar; then two! Only two? Two dollars, and who'll make it three?

Three dollars, once; three dollars twice; going for three..." But no,

From the room, far back, a gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow;

 

Then, wiping the dust from the old violin, and tightening the loose strings,

He played a melody pure and sweet as caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low,
said; "What am I bid for the old violin?" And he held it up with the bow.
A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two? Two thousand! And who'll make it three?

Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, and going and gone," said he.

 

The people cheered, but some of them cried, "We do not quite understnad

what changed its worth." Swift came the reply: "The touch of a master's hand."

And many a man with life out of tune, and battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, much like the old violin,

A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine; a game - and he travels on.

He is going once, and going twice, He's going and almost gone.

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd never can quite understand

The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought by the touch of the Master's hand.

In her mind, the poem spoke about the way we as teachers make a difference in people's lives. A student comes to us, sometimes not believing in themselves, often told how worthless they are. Then we bring out some knowledge which helps them discover how meaningful they can be. They have a success in our classroom, and that inspires them to have a few more.

So she typed it up, and printed it a beautiful paper, and framed it and gave it to me for inspiration. I was so inspired, that I set it to music.

It was only later on, when I performed the song in church, that someone pointed out to me that it wasn't "The touch of A master's hand." It was "The Touch of THE Master's Hand." The master, of course, being God. The song also works on the level of meaning how God's presence in our life can change us from the path of self destruction, and failure; towards the life of success and abundance.

I enjoy songs that work on multiple levels like this. It means that even the cynic can gain wisdom, even if they won't acknowledge the sacred in it.

Don't Try This At Home - Week 9

As I write this, meteorologists are predicting a snowstorm. They admit, there are high temperatures, and maybe we're talking about an inch or 2. Some are exaggerating and claiming 10 inches. (insert dirty joke here.) It's not the facts that people are responding to, though. It's the tone. I heard a report about the impending storm EVERY 10 minutes! Events are being shut down, school activities are being cancelled, for what? A mere dusting of white stuff on the ground?

When I initially started writing "Don't Try This At Home," it was a response to the very idea that on a show like, say, Jackass, they do ridiculously moronic and dangerous stunts that no one with an IQ over 80 would even THINK would be fun; and yet they NEED to put up a disclaimer: "These stunts are dangerous, don't try this at home." My first reaction was... DUH! Is anybody out there really stupid enough to want to try this stuff? And then a frightening thought popped into my head. YES. Some people are morons. And the world is such that programs need to protect themselves by making clear that they do not wish anyone to try this stupidity on their own.

But as I thought of examples to write about, I started to think about how much our thinking is influenced by the media. Without a show like Jackass, would anyone even consider stapling their nuts together? No! But Steve-O does it, and somehow we're tempted to want to try it. And that extends to other things. Perhaps you know someone who, during a political discussion, simply regurgitates what they heard on FOX news, or Rachel Maddow the night before; rather than offering a new perspective.

So, mimicking real life, my song begins by pointing out a simple, interesting fact, but then gradually evolves into a distopian, Orwellian reality where "Our Free Will Is Gone." This is about as political as I get. Enjoy!

Don't Try This At Home - Music and Lyrics by Carl J Ferrara (c) 1994

They have to tell us what's right and what's wrong.
They have to tell us that it's only a song.
They have to tell us, "Hey, don't be like us."
They have to tell us that it's dangerous.
           It's a scary world that we live in if we can't be trusted on our own.
           And they have to tell us Don't Try This At Home.

They have to tell us, "Hey, be careful out there."
They tell us to be cautious, they tell us to be scared.
They tell us who to hate, they tell us who to love.
They have to tell us there's a God above.
          It's a scary world that we live in if we can't be trusted on our own.
          And they have to tell us Don't Try This At Home.

They have to tell us what's black and what's white,
They tell us to be peaceful then show us how to fight.
They tell us what to think, they tell us what to feel,
But they forgot to tell us that this fiction ain't real!

They tell us what's right, and then they tell us what's cool.
They tell us who's a god, they tell us who's a fool.
They have to tell us whose side we're on.
They have to tell us that our free will is gone.
           It's a scary world that we live in if we can't be trusted on our own.
           And they have to tell us Don't Try This At Home.

Rule Number Six - Week 8 - Art of Possibility Ch. 6

Two Prime Ministers are having lunch, and a staffer interrupts their meeting. She's very upset, and in a frenzy. "Sir, I hate to interrupt, but I have to talk to you." The PM says, "Gladys, Remember Rule Number Six." She calms down, apologizes, and leaves. This happens two more times with two other staffers; both very upset until they hear "Remember Rule Number Six."

The other PM asks, "OK, I just have to know, what IS rule number six?"

"Stop taking yourself so God Damned Seriously!"

"That is Awesome! What about the other rules?"

"There Aren't Any."

This parable begins Chapter Six of "Art of Possibility." It deals with what the Zanders call the "Calculating Self," which exists in the world of competition, and causes you to feel the need to fight for supremacy. As opposed to the "Central Self" which is focused on what you actually want or need. In other words, if you're arguing, the central self wants to resolve the conflict and find a solution, but the calculating self wants to win the argument at all costs, even if it means shouting at the top of your lungs something completely false.

The song came easily to me. It's a Blues. Here's the stories of people, (sometimes me) who take themselves very seriously indeed, and the hook is just stating the rule over and over. I "wrote" the song in 2009, when I conceived the project, which is to say I planned the format of the song. I imagined that I could easily plug in new verses for specific situations, and even have audience members write new ones. The actual verses used here were written while driving to church one Sunday.

Rule Number Six - Words and Music by Carl J Ferrara (c) 2013
Driving down the highway, five minutes late for work,
This guy just whips around and cuts me off just like a jerk,
I roll down my window call him every name I know,
"Hey didn't you get the memo? I own the goddam road!"
            Remember Rule Number 6: Stop taking yourself so seriously,
            And forget about the other rules, there aren't any.

I remember that incident, it was on the news,
Everybody's going round wondering, what are we supposed to do.
I tell you if I'd have been there, I could have saved the day
I'd have taken down the bad guys and watched them run away.
             Remember Rule Number 6: Stop taking yourself so seriously,
            And forget about the other rules, there aren't any.

We're always fighting about that, we're always fighting about this,
Something happened 20 years ago, now she's my nemesis,
I know the right thing to do, and I ain't no hypocrite,
But that'd make me look weak, that'd make her look right, so I'll do the opposite.
             Remember Rule Number 6: Stop taking yourself so goddam seriously,
            And forget about the other rules, there aren't any.

            Remember Rule Number 6: Stop taking yourself so goddam seriously,
            And forget about the other rules, there aren't any.