Fill in the Blanks…

Please take a moment to read the following information and fill in the blanks.

____________ approached the teaching profession with some suspicion. They could not fire all the existing teachers, but saw many as uncommitted to the ____________ or even hostile. _______ had the curriculum rewritten to provide a ________approved curriculum. Teachers had much less leeway in the design of their lessons. _________ in effect instructed teachers as to what they could and could not teach.

The __________ approach was to conform or resign. Teachers openly hostile faced arrest. Many were either forced to resign or forced into silent acquiescence.

_______ officials realized that their hands were tied with the teachers who outwardly conformed. Thus _______ concentrated on dominating the teaching profession by controlling who entered the profession and who got promoted.

__________ established a professional organization for teachers established to coordinate the ________ ideological training of teachers to ensure that teachers conformed with ________ doctrine.

Now, let’s go over your answers. Did you fill in Bloomberg? How about Chancellor Klein? Bloom/Klein? If you’re not from New York then perhaps you filled in the name of your local school officials. It’s probably the same all over, right?

I’m sorry to tell you that you are all incorrect. The above paragraph is actual a description of the educational system in Nazi Germany and the similarities are chilling. Make no mistake about it, there has been a methodical restructuring of our school systems and its intentions are less than noble.

Veteran teachers feel ostracized. New teachers are deliberately kept away from the older ones. Thousands of veteran teachers have fled the system. Many complained about forced curriculum and lack of freedom to teach relevant information.Teachers who are openly hostile towards the current administration find themselves being excessed or sent to teacher prison, i.e. the Rubber Room.

These individuals have left huge vacancies that are being replaced by a new teaching core referred to as “The Fellowship.” (By the way, isn’t that term just a little bit creepy?)

Learnersinherit described the indoctrination that she was exposed to when she entered the Teaching Fellows Program. What she didn’t tell you about was the number of officials, political, educational, and yes, even UFT big shots who stood in the front of the room while the speaker vilified New York City Teachers.

Please believe me; I am not blaming the individuals who enter these alternative teaching programs. I honestly believe that they are pawns in this whole thing. Most of them truly believe that they are going to make a difference and have nothing but good intentions. How could they possibly know that they are being manipulated?

It seems to me that the answer is for all of us to pay attention to what is happening and to unite in our disgust. I am going to end with a quote from Lee Iaccoca’s new book, Where Have All The Leaders Gone:

Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind…But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “Stay the course.”

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