If you are one of the many mothers who think that classroom time
should be used by teachers for teaching subject matter, instead of
staging political protests, I have some bad news for you: 28
teachers at Gilroy High School think that you are motivated by
hate.
If you are one of the many mothers who think that classroom time should be used by teachers for teaching subject matter, instead of staging political protests, I have some bad news for you: 28 teachers at Gilroy High School think that you are motivated by hate.
That is almost a third of the faculty. Read the letter to the editor in the May 4 Dispatch. If you have children at GHS, chances are some of their teachers are signatories. They allege that if the Day of Silence had been in opposition to racial discrimination, or rape, or tyranny, or terror, no one would have objected.
In point of fact, every Board member and every parent and every taxpayer who spoke against Day of Silence at the school board meeting, and every editorial condemning the protest, opposed it because it was taking class time for a political protest. Almost all the speakers and writers also said that harassment was not to be tolerated.
However, these 28 teachers think that they know what you are really thinking. Not only are they psychic, but they won’t tolerate your thought-crime. Shades of 1984.
Personally, I would object if a teacher remained silent for even a mere three hours on Good Friday afternoon. I would object if a teacher tried to hold a support-the-troops rally during class time. But then, I have a low tolerance for wasting time under the guise of education, which is why my kids’ involvement with Gilroy Unified ended when my eldest son left kindergarten.
I have been happy to be homeschooling ever since, but this week, I am happier than ever. I am happy because my daughter’s biology teacher is teaching her class biology. Her English teacher is assigning her class great works of British literature, quizzing them on vocabulary, and teaching them to write essays, and now a research paper: 8 to 10 pages, due in two weeks.
I am happy because her math teacher – me – is teaching her class the remainder theorem and the rational roots theorem this week, and that her nature science teachers – all seven of them – have done such a superlative job teaching her class about biomes this year.
Her American history teacher and her Spanish teacher – me, again – aren’t quite as good as the others, but by and large, she is getting a good, solid, academic education, with time for her horse-job and reenacting and broadsword and just plain playing sandwiched in between.
I believe that if the teachers at GHS spent as much time and energy teaching their course content as they do protesting and advocating, our scores would be through the roof. And if the leaders set an unambiguous example that academics come first, second, and third, then the teachers would follow suit.
Unfortunately, the leader’s commitment to excellence is ambivalent at best. They give lip service to the idea that teachers should teach, just as they give lip service to the notion that they want parental involvement.
Case in point: Principal Bob Bravo sent out an email to all teachers, encouraging them to volunteer for the GHS Career Fair, which is sponsored by the GHS Parent Club.
Wayne Scott, GHS math teacher, clicked the “RE ALL” button, and sent out his own email, encouraging all teachers to boycott all Parent Club activities, because the executive board of the Parent Club objected to teachers participating in the Day of Silence.
In response to Wayne Scott’s insubordination and disrespect, Bob Bravo waffled and made excuses. He said there is no policy about inter-office email, but “most people obey the rules of courtesy.”
He also did not believe that Scott was saying that individuals should not participate in Career Day, even though Scott’s words were: “I for one will not be supporting the Parent Club in any way…. I strongly advise you to do likewise.”
This is the same Wayne Scott who told a room full of Board Members, parents, and tax payers that we were ignorant, rude, intolerant and prejudiced against the physically disabled.
If GHS has a problem with rudeness and disrespect and harassment, I suggest Wayne Scott and the other 27 teachers begin setting a better example.
