About Me...

My Philosophy on Education

Years ago, after I began working at an inner-city Title 1 school, I noticed that at the beginning of every year, our administrator would start the first meeting of the year with a statement that went something like this: “These kids come from poverty, abuse, divorce, neglect, drugs and crime. Up to this point the world has failed them. That all stops at the front door of this school. When they walk in every day, they’ll have their uniform on, their planner signed, and their homework done. If that means we have to give them the uniform and provide free tutoring after school, we’ll do it.  When they transition into highschool they’ll be ready for the challenges that they face.  The rest of the world may have failed them up until this point, but by God, we will not!” Those comments were always met with cheers and applause from teachers and staff.

Fast forward a few years later to when that principal retired and a new administrator had taken over. It was obvious in a very short time that things were deteriorating. We all tried to be flexible since it was her first year, but by the second year, things were worse and tempers were flaring. At the end of February, she called a meeting to discuss what was happening. Amidst the complaints and concerns, the new principal became defensive. After more than an hour of back and forth questions and comments, she finally stated: “Look guys. You have to understand that these kids come from poverty, abuse, divorce, drugs and crime.  We can’t expect them to have their planner signed or their uniforms to be right or their homework done. We should just be glad they showed up.”

Simultaneous gasps echoed around the room. Suddenly we all realized why things were falling apart.  There had been a complete reversal of expectations. No one else commented. No one else asked questions. The meeting ended abruptly and many of the teachers went to their classrooms, updated their resumes, and by the end of the school year, 18 teachers had resigned.
 

As a candidate for state school board, you can always ask me questions about where I stand on testing, vouchers, funding, and so on; but the bottom line for me will always be this: If we expect nothing out of our students, families and schools, that’s exactly what we’ll get. No matter what income, culture or background our families and children come from, I will always expect the best from them, and they should expect the best from me.  The rest of the world may have failed them up until this point, but as long as I’m on the board, we will not!