Education
Page 2A/The RECORD-REVIEW
Friday, January 17, 2014
A teacher speaks up… and hopes people listen
I
SAT and ACT Tutoring Reading, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Writing College Essay Review Susan Westlake
Educator and Attorney 914-232-4152 susan123westlake@gmail.com
By MARY LEGRAND
The need to create some kind of national board of standards then morphed into No Child Left Behind, nationalized testing and a breeding ground for profiteering. “Now there’s a whole new thing, the Common Core, which was created out of left field, without input from any real teachers, then tied to the Race to the Top money. It’s permeating what any good teacher can do and basically creating a situation where lots of the best teachers are leaving the profession in droves.” While acknowledging that education “has always been a series of reforms,” Greene said that “part of me is pessimistic because I think the difference between this massive reform and earlier massive reforms is the influence of millions of dollars spent by those who have no background in education.” But the flip side, a more positive view, Greene said, is that finally, fairly recently, teachers and parents are making themselves heard, whereas previously “the only people whose opinions were sought by the media were people controlling policy, not teachers or parents.” In addition to dedicating “Doing the Right Thing” to his colleagues from Stevenson, Woodlands and Scarsdale high schools, “from whom I learned and with whom I shared the art and science of teaching,” Greene praised three women who were foundations of his life. • The first was his mother, Beatrice Greene, “who always knew I would be a teacher,” he said. • To the late Dr. Rita Stafford Dunn, Greene wrote, “I am the seed you planted in the second grade in PS 66 in the Bronx.” • The final dedication went to Phyllis Opochinsky, who Greene called “the best cooperating teacher a student-teacher could ever have.” This is not a book that can be quickly summarized, so no attempt will be made to do that here. Greene has a passion for teaching and feels strongly that government, teachers and parents must work together for positive change. “We need to make sure there are certain proficiencies that every student has that are developed age-appropriately, certain curricular content that we think students should have,” he said, citing just a small example with a laugh. “If you live in New York, you should know where Mississippi is. Certain things need to be developed in common, without the mandated restrictions that seem to be in place with other plans. Support states to make sure every kid gets an opportunity to learn, regardless of innate ability or financial circumstances, and not get into micromanaging curricular standards.” Greene sees more common ground among people of disparate political beliefs than might be initially
n the preface to his book “Doing the Right Thing: A Teacher Speaks,” published late in 2013, former Stevenson, Woodlands and Scarsdale high school teacher and coach David Greene wrote that parents around the country are asking what’s wrong with the nation’s public schools and their teachers. “All parents are right to ask those questions,” he said. “The problems are immense. The solutions are complex. There is much to be fixed. Students of all ages are not challenged. They are bored. They are being tested to death. The love of learning is instilled in far too many students of all socioeconomic backgrounds. Policy makers do not listen to parents, teachers and students.” It will probably not be too much of a surprise if parents, students, teachers and administrators are reading those sentences right now and nodding. Indeed, the nation’s public schools have become more than a bit of a political football, and there’s more than enough blame to go around. “Doing the Right Thing” is Greene’s take on the situation, and he’s not without strong opinions. The idea to write the book came about after he retired from teaching or, as he puts it, “graduated from high school.” “I wanted to pay it forward as I was older and more experienced with teaching,” Greene said. “I made some contacts and went back to the Fordham School of Graduate Education as a field supervisor, someone who mentors new teachers or student teachers who are in classrooms.” He did that for four years, along the way writing “little pieces of advice to those I was mentoring,” Greene said. “A couple of the ‘kids’ said I should put these pieces of advice together, so I started doing that, almost as a book. My daughter and others suggested I put everything together in an actual book.” Available through amazon.com, barnesandnoble. com and the publisher, friesenpress.com, “Doing the Right Thing” is available in hardcover, paperback and eBook. Referring to the book’s autobiographical, anecdotal and research-based material, “A lot is based on what I’ve read and seen in person as successful methods of reaching students, and then, sort of coincidentally while this was going on, the impact of federal influence on education became greater and greater and greater,” said Greene, not a fan of politicians determining educational curriculum. “Historically speaking, back in the 1970s when I first taught, the political influence was basically budgetary,” he said. “Then, in the 1980s, people began saying, ‘Oh, you know, our kids can’t do anything,’ when in fact they’ve always been performing at the top, except when you subtract for poverty.
Continued on page 4A
RCS Joy Ad_6.8542 x 10.5_Layout 1 12/18/13 11:16 AM Page 1
J Y
You will feel at home when you are part of our family.....
A warm, welcoming, Reform congregation with a traditional flavor Located in South Salem and Serving Northern Westchester and Fairfield Counties
Religious School A unique and fun learning approach! Small classes and individual attention. • K-7 Religious School Classes Hebrew & Culture • Grades 8-9 Confirmation Class • 10-12th Grade workshop with the Rabbi • Youth Group/NFTY/NAR Affiliation • Student Mentoring Program
A funny thing happens when kids love to come to school every day. They love to learn.
• Classes for 2, 3, and 4-Year-Olds • Developmentally appropriate curriculum • Nurturing, experienced teachers • Art, music, cooking, movement, nature, science and reading readiness • Large, enclosed outdoor play space • Summer Program
Please join us for our Take a Look at RCS Day: Lower Campus – Grades PreK-4 Wednesday, February 5, 2014, 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. 325 West Patent Road, Mount Kisco, NY 10549 lori_adelsberg@rcsny.org, (914) 244-1205 Rippowam Cisqua School is a coeducational, independent country day school for students in Grades PreK through Nine.
rcsny.org
Route 123, South Salem, New York (1 mile south of Rte. 35) For more information and registration information call (914) 763-3028 or visit jewishfamilycongregation.org