So Insidious

So, from the look of it, this promises to be a better year than the last one. I am of course talking about my students, because I know that the state, the district, and the school will find new ways to make my job even more difficult.

Last Friday, during that morning-long meeting intended to prevent us to properly prepare for the first day, the "PBS Coach" (yes, he looks a little like Big Bird) told us that "of course, we're not telling you NOT to write referrals," when of course, that is EXACTLY what they are doing.

PBS stands for Positive Behavior System, which sounds fantastic, just like NCLB ("No Child Left Behind"). PBS's official goal is to place the emphasis on positive reinforcement. I applaud that. However, the PBS team in my school (and maybe yours also) has a hidden agenda. Its real goal IS to lower the number of referrals written on students. Why? Because it makes the school (and therefore its administrators) look bad. Their thinking is: "A school where lots of referrals are written must have lots of discipline problems." Consequently, PBS has come up with a flowchart that indicates all the steps a teacher has to have taken first before writing a referral. Do I have to tell you that it involves LOTS of paperwork, phone calls, and wasted time? Guess what? Referrals have indeed come down in numbers in the last few years, to the great joy of our administrators. Of course, behavior has also gone worse during the same time, but that is not their problem. It is ours, so who cares? Teachers have given up on writing referrals, not just because of the wasted time and energy, but also because the consequences applied by administration are ridiculous: "Silent Lunch," or "Talked to Student." Oh, yes, I bet those students must be terrified and will indeed modify their behavior after those consequences!

Imagine the State Troopers being discouraged by their superiors to write tickets for speeding or dangerous driving. Politicians would then use statistics to show that roads are now safer, while in fact it would be the exact opposite. We would take the road with a false sense of security and end up in the hospital or the cemetery. It has been 15 years since the last teacher shot to death by a student in our District. Another one is long overdue.

So, thank you, PBS! Don't forget to call with your pledge. At the $50 level, we'll send you a stack of unused referrals. At the $100 level, an assortment of condoms and syringes used by students in the school bathrooms. At the $150, an invitation to the next shot teacher's funeral. It includes the speech from the superintendent about how dedicated that teacher was...