North Carolina teacher: "I quit!"

Courtesy of Diane Ravitch's Blog:

Let me cut to the chase: I quit. I am resigning my position as a teacher in the state of North Carolina—permanently. I am quitting without notice (taking advantage of the “at will” employment policies of this state). I am quitting without remorse and without second thoughts. I quit. I quit. I quit! 

Why? 

Because… 

I refuse to be led by a top-down hierarchy that is completely detached from the classrooms for which it is supposed to be responsible. 

I will not spend another day under the expectations that I prepare every student for the increasing numbers of meaningless tests. 

I refuse to be an unpaid administrator of field tests that take advantage of children for the sake of profit. 

I will not spend another day wishing I had some time to plan my fantastic lessons because administration comes up with new and inventive ways to steal that time, under the guise of PLC meetings or whatever. I’ve seen successful PLC development. It doesn’t look like this. 

I will not spend another day wondering what menial, administrative task I will hear that I forgot to do next. I’m far enough behind in my own work. 

I will not spend another day wondering how I can have classes that are full inclusion, and where 50% of my students have IEPs, yet I’m given no support. 

I will not spend another day in a district where my coworkers are both on autopilot and in survival mode. Misery loves company, but I will not be that company. I refuse to subject students to every ridiculous standardized test that the state and/or district thinks is important. 

I refuse to have my higher-level and deep thinking lessons disrupted by meaningless assessments (like the EXPLORE test) that do little more than increase stress among children and teachers, and attempt to guide young adolescents into narrow choices. 

I totally object and refuse to have my performance as an educator rely on “Standard 6.” It is unfair, biased, and does not reflect anything about the teaching practices of proven educators. I refuse to hear again that it’s more important that I serve as a test administrator than a leader of my peers. I refuse to watch my students being treated like prisoners. There are other ways. It’s a shame that we don’t have the vision to seek out those alternatives. 

I refuse to watch my coworkers being treated like untrustworthy slackers through the overbearing policies of this state, although they are the hardest working and most overloaded people I know. 


I refuse to watch my family struggle financially as I work in a job to which I have invested 6 long years of my life in preparation. I have a graduate degree and a track record of strong success, yet I’m paid less than many two-year degree holders. And forget benefits—they are effectively nonexistent for teachers in North Carolina. 

I refuse to watch my district’s leadership tell us about the bad news and horrific changes coming towards us, then watch them shrug incompetently, and then tell us to work harder. 

I refuse to listen to our highly regarded superintendent telling us that the charter school movement is at our doorstep (with a soon-to-be-elected governor in full support) and tell us not to worry about it, because we are applying for a grant from Race to the Top. There is no consistency here; there is no leadership here. 

I refuse to watch my students slouch under the weight of a system that expects them to perform well on EOG tests, which do not measure their abilities other than memorization and application and therefore do not measure their readiness for the next grade level—much less life, career, or college. 

I’m tired of watching my students produce amazing things, which show their true understanding of 21st century skills, only to see their looks of disappointment when they don’t meet the arbitrary expectations of low-level state and district tests that do not assess their skills. 

I refuse to hear any more about how important it is to differentiate our instruction as we prepare our kids for tests that are anything but differentiated. This negates our hard work and makes us look bad. 

I am tired of hearing about the miracles my peers are expected to perform, and watching the districts do next to nothing to support or develop them. I haven’t seen real professional development in either district since I got here. The development sessions I have seen are sloppy, shallow, and have no real means of evaluation or accountability. I’m tired of my increasing and troublesome physical symptoms that come from all this frustration, stress, and sadness. 

Finally, I’m tired of watching parents being tricked into believing that their children are being prepared for the complex world ahead, especially since their children’s teachers are being cowed into meeting expectations and standards that are not conducive to their children’s futures. (This is only a portion of this brave teacher's heartfelt words, and you can read the rest by clicking the link provided at the top.)

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, angers me as much as this.

We are allowing the people who dedicate their lives to educating our children, the ones who will carry us to the future, to be bullied and demonized until they finally give up and walk away.

We are allowing the people who hate the idea of public education to create an environment where it will soon actually be as bad as they want us to believe it is.

How much longer do you think it will be before NO college graduate wants to enter a field so vilified and underfunded?  And along with that, how much longer do we anticipate that the dedicated professionals already teaching will continue showing up to a job where they have little support from their communities?

Don't people understand that THIS is what the Right Wing has been trying to accomplish for decades?

There may be NO MORE important problem facing the future of our country than the need to nurture, prepare, and support our teachers.  They are not fixing your car's engine, or rewiring your electricity, they are helping to educate and empower the future of our country.

There are men who are paid millions of dollars a year to hit a ball with a stick (And they are supported by a powerful union as well, don't forget.), but the people we entrust our children to, day after day, cannot even afford to support their families on what they earn or do their job without politicians and bureaucrats telling hem they are doing it wrong.

You cannot tell me this is the greatest country in the world while THAT is still our reality.