Teacher ‘mad as hell’ over political rhetoric

A California public school teacher has written an open letter combatting what she believes are negative and false perceptions about American teachers propagated by politicians. The letter, which first appeared on Education Week, has clearly struck a chord with educators, as teachers are reposting it and discussing it on personal and education blogs.

Angela Beeley, a 10th grade English teacher for nearly 20 years, writes that she is a teacher and union member, but "contrary to popular political rhetoric at play in Wisconsin and elsewhere, I am not ... a leech on society, nor am I a lazy incompetent who shows up to collect a paycheck, not caring whether my students learn." She quotes the deranged anchor Howard Beale from the iconic movie Network: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"

Here's an excerpt from her letter, which you can read in full on Education Week (subscription required):

I am an English teacher who wakes up in the middle of the night, puzzling over how to engage 37 students in my third-period in an upcoming lesson. I am a teacher who gives up part of almost every evening and weekend to grade the never-ending deluge of papers. I am a teacher whose job performance is judged on scores from a test that counts for nothing for the students and their parents. I am a teacher of children who have been coldly molested, beaten, ignored, neglected, left hungry, and might not know where they are going to sleep that night. I am a teacher who cries at the end of every school year because, as they leave me, I am reminded of the basic goodness of the students I teach.

I am also a mother, a mother who shops for her family's clothes, including her own, at Target. I have a coupon file that embarrasses my older daughter. I drive a 10-year-old car that my parents helped me purchase. We coexist with termites eating away at the foundation of our house because we don't have the thousands of dollars it would take to rid ourselves of them. My husband and I aren't wearing Prada sunglasses or jetting to St. Tropez on this outrageous salary my union has negotiated for me.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wowed a crowd at Harvard's education school yesterday with a fiery speech that blamed teachers unions for protecting "the lowest performers" by using "fear and intimidation," according to the Harvard Crimson. He said his plan to end tenure for teachers is not an attack on them. "I want to empower teachers," he said. "I want teachers who understand that they are going to be rewarded for excellence, and that there are consequences for failure." The crowd of hundreds gave him several standing ovations.

(Image from Network: American Rhetoric)