As I type, its late summer in DC, and we have just survived an earthquake and a hurricane in the mid Atlantic region, but far worse for many teachers... its back to school time. For years the DC public school system has been a downtrodden bane of the urban American academic system, shaming good educators and violating the integrity of education, but most of all robbing students of a holistic learning environment and replacing it with a culture of test taking and data collection. Many of us in the education field love our jobs, yet it is so painful to return to work under the current unfriendly and un-motivating climate.
Happily I am returning to the college atmosphere, where I have much more creative liberties and autonomy as an educator. I am in charge and in control of my classroom, where I employ an authoritative and charismatic teaching style, addressing the deficiencies suffered by urban students, but holding my standards high. Yes it can be quite isolating at times, not being to collaborate with fellow Professors, but it is preferable to a stifling atmosphere that undermines my professional capabilities. In my experience there is so much ego in education, which I admit some of my colleagues are guilty of abusing, but at least students get a survey, we are fairly evaluated and if you are good... they invite you back!
Its a great start already... and I love my job.
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