Where Do You Stand?

Read a brilliant article,  http://cloakinginequity.com/2013/09/27/taylor-v-dewey-the-100-year-trickle-down-vs-pedagogical-debatefight-in-education-reform/.

It is a somewhat satirical, but very serious piece about education reform, that got me thinking about conflicting philosophies, behaviors, and leadership in general. On the one hand, there are imposed standards, uniformity, codes, and control. On the other hand, there is thinking and respect for the individual. Both have education and student success as the goal. 

In organizations, such as unions, there should be unity of purpose, even though some may have problems with the managerial aspects. How does one decide what is right, what is pono? In the classroom, though I want to maintain control, I can appreciate when students call me on inconsistencies, even though it unsettles me, and few students have the gumption to do so. I try to provide a safe environment for them to tell me anything and I hope that I do. I try to make corrections based on the feedback I get from my students, either in their communication to me,  in their work, from feedback from colleagues, or upon my own self-reflection. 

For me, it's about consistency, honesty, and relationships. But I can only strive to be honest with myself and my core beliefs. I can not make others agree with me, but I want to be able to identify what the core belief is. If there is no way to agree on that core belief, then we need to just respect each other and honor this diversity of thought, peacefully and respectfully. I guess the idealist in me believes that the bottom line is, we are all one human family, and that there are very few exceptions of embodied evil. 

For example, in politics, I am a liberal and a Democrat. But I am disappointed in my party, and especially in my president's education policies, as well as other policies, such as drones, and too much cooperation with the 1%. I am disappointed in the National Education Association's support of the Common Core. I am disappointed that the largest union in the country has not been strong enough to fight the massive attacks on public education. I am disappointed because my party's and my union's stands are in conflict with my core beliefs, that liberals should be more compassionate, more about caring for the common good, more about addressing inequity and injustice, and less about serving the corporate machine, which is what the so-called education reformers are doing. 

In this crazy, mixed-up world, how can you be at peace? You have to stand up and speak up. You don't have to be mean and nasty, but you can stand up and say to people who want to bully you into compliance, this is not right. We must all do what we can to maintain consistency and authenticity with our values, and what is being demanded of us, even if it is not signing something that we don't believe is appropriate. Every time we give in, we diminish ourselves. When we diminish ourselves, we do not serve our students, and on a spiritual level, we do not serve our souls.