Joined Teach for America—and Got Sued for $20 Million.” He was sued for “gently nudging” or “shoving” a student into the hall way. Either way, Kaplowitz did not have the miracle classroom-revolution-experience that Gruwell did, or the success that Teach for America often fosters.
In his lengthy but articulate article, Kaplowitz explains his well-meaning enthusiasm as he started his Teach for
America assignment:
My head filled with visions of my students happily painting imaginative murals under my artistic direction. I peered through windows into classrooms, where students were bent over their desks, quietly filling out worksheets. I smiled to myself as I imagined the creative lessons I would give to these children, who had never had a dynamic young teacher to get them excited about scholarship the way I knew I could. Their minds were like kindling, I reflected; all they needed was a spark to ignite a love of learning that would lift them above the drugs, violence, and poverty. The spark, I hoped, would be me.
Regretfully, Kaplowitz’s hopes were in vein. He explains the racial tension that I fear may hinder my ability to teach students in a similar situation.
Being a white teacher in a mostly black school unquestionably hindered my ability to teach. Certain students hurled racial slurs with impunity; several of their parents intimated to my colleagues that they didn’t think a white teacher had any business teaching their children—and a number of my colleagues agreed. One parent who was also a teacher’s aide threatened to “kick my white ass” in front of my class and received no punishment from the principal, beyond being told to stay out of my classroom. The failure of the principal, parents, and teachers to react more decisively to racist disrespect emboldened students to behave worse. Such poisonous bigotry directed at a black teacher at a mostly white school would of course have created a federal case.
While it is not my goal to insult or undermine Kaplowitz’s efforts, I’d like to take this opportunity to examine how I might not repeat his unfortunate experience. While it is obvious that no one should be treated in this manner because of the color of his or her skin, as a white teacher in a racially diverse school, I would want to be sensitive to the larger underlying racial issues at hand. It is my goal to handle such personal attacks with understanding as well as assertion.
When I consider the fact that many of these students see white skin as an embodiment of a life style they don’t think is possible for them, of a law enforcer who might shoot, arrest, or beat a young black man without reason, of authority figures who don’t recognize potential or grant resources, I can understand why such students may view me apprehensively. With this in mind, I would try to build an atmosphere of empathy and open community with my students by being transparent with them and encouraging them to be transparent with me. A writing classroom would be the perfect place to share personal stories, to create discussion about our similarities as human beings, and to recognize and value all perspectives in the classroom. Creating a safe environment may be easier said than done, but I do believe that it starts with showing your students that you are human and that you care about them in an individual way.
In addition to and as a result of the racial tension in his classroom and an uncooperative principal, Kaplowitz describes a horrifying level of
violence I never could have imagined among any students, let alone second-graders. Fights broke out daily—not just during recess or bathroom breaks but also in the middle of lessons. And this wasn’t just playful shoving: we’re talking fists flying, hair yanked, heads slammed against lockers.
When I asked other teachers to come help me stop a fight, they shook their heads and reminded me that D.C. Public Schools banned teachers from laying hands on students for any reason, even to protect other children.
When I first read this description, I immediately thought of behavior modification procedures. As a psychology minor, I have had the good fortune of learning and implementing some very effective behavior modification techniques. To boil behavior modification into a paragraph, it is all about figuring out what is motivating a behavior, and then altering the events before or after a behavior occurs in order to decrease the occurrence of unwanted behavior and increase the occurrence of desirable behavior. The hardest part about these procedures is discovering the motivation. If behavior is occurring, it is being reinforced. As a teacher, I will need to know my students well enough and observer them thoughtfully so that I can determine what is reinforcing their behavior problems.
Linda Christiansen gets at the heart of this issue. In her book, Reading Writing and Rising Up, she has two pages directly titled “Discipline: No Quick Fix” (37-38). While Christianson acknowledges that managing problem behavior was an on going struggle, she brings hope to the situation. Regarding a difficult student she writes, “on bad days, I threw Wesley out. On good days, I tried to look behind his behavior and figure out what motivated it.” Looking “beyond the behavior” and “recognizing the cause of the behavior – embarrassment over poor skills” for instance, allowed her to give that student the extra help he or she needed to improve (38). The only way it all can work though, is if the students know that you care about them, know that you believe in them, and know that they are worth your time.
While stories like Kaplowitz’s still make me cringe, reading Linda Christiansen’s book and the discussions that we’ve been having in my Teaching Writing class have helped me feel a lot better about my ability to help in this capacity. Christiansen has given me some solid tools and creative ideas to reach these kids. My Behavior Modification class has helped me to look at human behavior in a new and less judgmental light. Most importantly, I believe that as an empathetic and realistic person, I will be able to take on these challenges with hands willing to get dirty instead of with a head in the clouds.
How I Joined Teach for America – and Got Sued for $20 Million
City Journal: Winter 2003
by
Huh… that article was stupid. Sueing the guy when the child had no injuries is just screaming “Give me money.” I found that both funny and sad at the same time. Yes, he whines, and I can see why. Oh well. Still, it was a pretty stupid thing and if somethien like this happens again, then I will seriously contemplate leaving the US.
Hope for humanity: Dropped 12976 points.
Total hope for humanity: -398 points.