The Sound of Silence … Worth the Consequences?
One of the first lessons a child learns in school is to listen and be quiet. Silence is often desired in schools, unless we ask for participation. But lately, I’m beginning to wonder if we are doing our students a disservice when we emphasize the value of silence … because there is also a danger in certain kinds of silence.
As part of a study of Art Spiegelman’s Maus books and the Holocaust, my sophomores recently viewed a visual testimony of Kurt Messerschmidt. A young man during the Holocaust, he witnessed German soldiers forcing an older Jewish man to pick up some broken glass from the windows of a destroyed Jewish business on Kristallnacht. He noted that while he and a friend helped the old man pick up the glass, many other people stood by and said nothing. He believes that there were certainly other people who disapproved of the Nazis’ actions, but “Their disapproval was only silence, and silence was what did the harm.”[1] Sonia Klein, another Holocaust survivor who was interviewed after the riots in Charlottesville, warned that “Silence is the first thing after hate that is dangerous, because if you are silent, it’s an approval of what’s going on.”[2]
At the end of the Holocaust unit, I asked my students to read an article about Martin Niemoller[3] and his now famous words about remaining silent when other groups were persecuted and finding no one left to speak out for him when he was targeted. I asked my students how Niemoller’s words might apply today. One girl answered quite simply and succinctly: “We can apply these words to today by not allowing something that we wouldn’t want to happen to us to happen to somebody else.” She makes an excellent point. Maybe it’s not as simple as teaching the Golden Rule (do unto others as you would have done unto you). Maybe it’s time to teach kids to advocate for those being slighted or hurt in our world, even if they aren’t directly involved with the victims or the perpetrators.
In another class this week, my juniors read Walt Whitman’s poem “I Sit and Look Out”[4], a poem in which the speaker gazes out at “all the sorrows of the world, and upon all oppression and shame”. He lists several of those sorrows he observes in the world, including “treacherous seducer(s) of young women,” and “slights and degradations cast by arrogant persons upon laborers, the poor, and upon negroes, and the like.” The poem ends with the line “All these — All the meanness and agony without end, I sitting, look out upon,/See, hear, and am silent.” We discussed why the speaker in this poem (and people in general), upon seeing someone in need, choose silence over speaking out, and choose passive observation over direct action. My students mentioned greed, selfishness, and fear. They also decided that sometimes people may not even be aware of a need, or if they are, they might feel that one person’s actions or words would not make a difference.
My juniors were also familiar with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s belief that “for nonconformity, the world whips you with displeasure,” so I suggested that perhaps another reason people choose silence over action is that they have seen what has happened to others who spoke out. Colin Kaepernick peacefully protested an issue which plagues our society today (and which Whitman wrote about in his poem over a hundred years ago). And for that, Kaepernick lost his job. When other players knelt in solidarity with him, the President chimed in with profanity directed toward those players, critics berated the players who protested, and the news media, for weeks, was centered on this issue, this scandal, started by one man’s peaceful act of nonconformity and civil disobedience intended to speak out against an injustice. Heather Heyer, an anti-racism activist who went to Charlottesville to protest the hatred spewed by white supremacists, paid with her life for her efforts to stand up against an injustice.
So is speaking up worth it? It’s not as safe as remaining silent, that’s for sure, nor is it as easy. There are certainly repercussions that come from speaking our beliefs in “words as hard as cannon balls,” as Emerson implores us to do in “Self-Reliance”, and many of those consequences are not pleasant. But can our society afford to continue sitting by in silence as injustice and oppression happen around us?
Whitman’s poem “I Sit and Look Out” was written in the late 1800s. My students and I realized that of all the sorrows he lists, 13 in total, we still have every single one in our society today, with the exception of famine at sea. What does it say about humanity that over 150 years later, we have not figured out a way to eliminate these man (and woman)-made sorrows from our world? Where has silence gotten us?
As teachers, we can appreciate a quiet classroom, heads bent over desks, the only sound pencils scribbling as our students diligently work on an assignment. But I am going to make certain that in 2018, I make it a priority to teach my students the beauty of using their voices to break inappropriate silence and advocate for others. Maybe we can manage to address at least some of the sorrows that Whitman wrote about all those years ago if we help the next generation be equipped to do more than sit silently by and wait for someone else to take action.
[1] “Studying the Holocaust – Echoes & Reflections.” http://echoesandreflections.org/unit-1-studying-the-holocaust/. Accessed 16 Nov. 2017.
[2] “Holocaust survivor: Silence is ‘approval’ of racism – CNN.com.” 14 Aug. 2017, http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2017/08/18/holocaust-survivor-warns-against-silence-charlottesville-nazis-sg-orig.cnn. Accessed 16 Nov. 2017.
[3] “Martin Niemöller: “First they came for the Socialists…”.” https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007392. Accessed 16 Nov. 2017.
[4] “83. I Sit and Look Out. Whitman, Walt. 1900. Leaves of Grass.” http://www.bartleby.com/142/83.html. Accessed 20 Dec. 2017.
December 2017 Ohio Schools
- IN THIS ISSUE
- In Wellston, climate science lessons offer a learning opportunity for educators, students and the community
- OEA locals help elect 84 pro-public education candidates
- OEA locals help elect 84 pro-public education candidates
- Portage County EA DD members return to work following 50-day strike
- the OEA Advocacy & Organizing Institute
- schools prepare for loss of federal funding for children’s health coverage, and more
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
Oh Yes, We’re Social — Join the Conversation!
Local Capacity
It takes all of us together to educate the child. And we all love what we do. We also know that whatever affects one is going to affect others, so we advocate and fight for our students and each other. That’s the benefit of belonging to a local association.
Strong Local Associations
Sharing your experiences and learning from each other — learning the right things and sometimes the wrong things to do — is easily done when you’re part of the network the Association offers.
Collective Bargaining
Without collective bargaining, we can’t advocate for our students’ learning conditions and our working conditions. Being involved in OEA gives us the resources to do that. We believe in public education, we support each other, and, most importantly, we always fight for our students.
OEA member participates in global program
COLUMBUS – November 9, 2017 – Ohio Education Association member Michael Hamilton took part in graduate studies in Baja this past summer through Miami University’s Project Dragonfly. Hamilton of Maineville, OH, studied desert and marine landscapes through ecological and social field methods.
Hamilton is a graduate student with Miami University’s Earth Expeditions, a global program offering graduate courses to people from all disciplines. The program combines web-based learning with field experiences in 16 countries throughout the world. Inspired by his work in Baja, Hamilton is now conducting a semester-long research project.
Since the program began 12 years ago, Project Dragonfly has engaged more than 2,100 people in firsthand educational and scientific research at critical conservation field sites in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Americas. Dragonfly is located in the department of biology at Miami University, a state university in Oxford, Ohio. Miami was established in 1809 and is listed as one of the eight original Public Ivies.
Like Project Dragonfly on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PrjDragonfly.
The deadline to apply for 2018 courses is Jan. 28, 2018, at https://www.earthexpeditions.org/17-18_News
For a photo of Hamilton in Baja or additional media information, please contact:
Mary Jo Lahrmann
Project Dragonfly, Dept. of Biology.
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056
The Value of Membership
Members tell their stories of why they value OEA membership. By being a member of OEA, educators have the power to stand up for their students. OEA is an advocate for high quality public education for all students.
October 2017 Ohio Schools
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- IN THIS ISSUE
- Supreme Court agrees to hear case that could take away freedom of working people to join together in strong unions
- Ohio Civil Rights Commission Rights Seeks Nominations
- 2018 Ohio Teacher of the Year Jonathan Juravich
- teaching post-Charlottesville, analysis of Ohio’s School Report Cards, and more
- IN THIS ISSUE
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
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Is Revised RESA a Reason to Rejoice?
Part II of II: Teacher Perspectives on the Resident Educator Summative Assessment
Read Part I: My Marathon Swim Through RESA
by Dan Greenberg, Sylvania Education Association
I’m getting to a place where I can look back nostalgically on twenty years in the classroom — back to the days when I was 22, teaching in Adelanto, California, and couldn’t get used to people calling me “Mr. Greenberg,” — a time when I rushed through my lunch in the teacher’s lounge, so I could go play pick-up basketball with the kids.
I don’t gloss over those early years of my career. There were plenty of challenges that made me wonder if I would be able to make it as a teacher.
However, I think the challenges facing today’s early career educators make mine seem laughable. And of all of today’s challenges that I am grateful I avoided, RESA (Resident Educator Summative Assessment) is at the top of the list.
When I graduated from Kent State in 1997, I took two Praxis tests to get my teaching license. That was it. I was official! As for additional requirements from the state, there was nothing more for me to do. As long as my principal was happy with my performance, I could continue teaching.
Compare that to today: a four year Resident Educator program with rules, and meetings, and videotaping, and student work samples, and on and on, all while young teachers are trying to get a handle on day-to-day lesson delivery. Wouldn’t it be better for kids if their teachers didn’t have to worry about the redundant RESA process?
I say redundant because these early career educators had plenty of tasks like RESA to complete during their student teaching experience. If they completed them satisfactorily then, why are they having to prove themselves to a testing company and the state once again?
Now I know that RESA went through an overhaul over the summer. For a while, some first and second year teachers were checking with me every day, hoping the whole program would be eliminated. But somehow — through a process that might best be communicated by a “School House Rock” cartoon — we ended up with a revised form of RESA that, among other changes, significantly cuts down on the tasks a third year RESA teacher must submit to the state.
Are my young colleagues and I jumping for joy? No. Not really.
Sure, we are glad to see a reduction in required tasks. Sure, we are glad that more of the RESA program is controlled at the local district level. We know it is a step in the right direction. However, it’s still a program that we see as mostly redundant and unnecessary.
For me, I see RESA changes like standardized testing changes. I’m glad the state has reduced the number of tests students must take, but do I think the state has fixed the problem of over-testing students? Absolutely not.
RESA is still a burden on local school districts. The cost to my district, just to facilitate year 3 of the Resident Educator Program, will be $15,000 this year. That may not be a huge percentage of our budget, but it is one more thing to pay for instead of other programs.
RESA will continue to frustrate educators, whether for its lack of timely, detailed feedback on assessments, or its illogical requirements for teachers shifting between old and new RESA requirements.
For example: Last year a teacher failed one section of her third year RESA tasks. She failed the section because the student work she submitted was deemed illegible by the evaluator. By Ohio law, she could not resubmit a clearer copy. This year, according to the revised RESA process, instead of having to redo the task, she’ll get mentoring at the local level to help her in that area. However, the only reason she didn’t pass had nothing to do with her competency as a teacher. What kind of mentoring can she possibly receive to address this issue?
On the subject of mentoring, I realize that keeping the RESA requirement for local school districts to provide mentors is a positive thing. I can’t imagine what I would have done without a veteran teacher working with me almost every day, helping me with curriculum and lesson delivery.
My hope for new teachers is that the Resident Educator program continues to evolve into something that truly helps them grow as professionals, instead of something cumbersome and frustrating. I want them to be able to look back in 20 years, with a sense of nostalgia for the beginning of their career, not with a shudder and shiver down their spine, as they recall the hoops they jumped through to complete the Resident Educator program.
Learn more about changes to Ohio’s Resident Educator Program
Medicaid keeps many Ohio public school students healthy
by Becky Higgins, OEA President
They have books, pencils and a backpack. But will Ohio’s public school students continue to have health care? Maybe or maybe not. It depends on what Congress and the President decide to do about Medicaid.
About 40 percent of Ohio children receive their health coverage from Medicaid. And in some Ohio school districts, that percentage is even higher. In the Dayton City Schools, 71.7 percent of students are on Medicaid. In Youngstown, 80.5 percent of students are enrolled in Medicaid. In Cleveland, it’s 72.7 percent.
Countless studies have shown that children who have access to regular, consistent health care do better in school. Medicaid is critical to ensuring that Ohio’s public school students have quality health care. Children who receive health care through Medicaid are more likely to graduate from high school, finish college, have fewer hospitalizations and enjoy better health as adults. Children who have Medicaid are less likely to drop out of school, engage in risky sexual activity, smoke, or be overweight. And Medicaid gives struggling families the security of knowing that their household budgets.
No child should be without health coverage and access to needed health care. Medicaid makes that possible in Ohio.
Medicaid is a lifeline that keeps a majority of children healthy in many Ohio counties. Medicaid improves academic performance and attendance. It helps ensure that children receive timely and appropriate care, and can help address behavioral issues including the impact of trauma that poses challenges to the proper learning environment.
In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers studied a group of students to determine the long-term effects of healthcare coverage on education. They found that a 10 percent increase in Medicaid eligibility for kids up to the age of 17 led to a smaller high school dropout rate, greater enrollment in college and a higher percentage who earned a four-year college degree.
Medicaid coverage not only improves children’s health and educational attainment it also enhances their earnings potential. People covered by Medicaid during childhood are healthier adults, with fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits and higher incomes as adults, studies shows.
And while many districts struggle with financial challenges, Medicaid contributes more than $80 million to Ohio’s public schools to pay for needed services for students with disabilities. These are services that schools are required to provide and Medicaid offers a reliable funding stream to help pay for them.
The bottom line is that Ohio schools and taxpayers win when children in Ohio have Medicaid. In this time of uncertainty about what Congress and the President might do to change Medicaid, it is important that Ohioans let their representatives in Washington know that Medicaid should be protected.