Faulty Assumptions: Why Blaming Teachers Won't Fix Public Schools

By Jason Davis

In this compelling book, professional educator, Jason Davis, shares his insider perspective about why, despite millions of tax dollars and decades of school reform, we are no closer to achieving meaningful change in our nation’s public schools. Readers follow Davis on a first-person journey through the realities of the public school system punctuated by shocking and sometimes horrific true stories about the lives of students, teachers, and families with whom he has worked. Along the way, he dispels the faulty assumptions that have been perpetuated by the media and politicians about why America’s children are being left behind, and leaves the reader with a deeper understanding of the true crisis facing our schools and our children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jason Davis
• Release date: Jan 25, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301333684

Book preview

What others are saying about Faulty Assumptions

Thanks Jason, for such a wonderful book! The stories about real students, families, your experiences, and teachers were riveting, touching, moving, sobering, poignant, thought provoking, and captivating. Your conceptual underpinnings were like Hansel and Gretel's ginger bread trail leading the reader piece by piece to a holistic, heartfelt, authentic, integrated landing.

It's incredible; a non-fiction book that's a real page-turner. I found Faulty Assumptions hard to put down as I raced to read about Jason Davis's next anecdote and his next frustration. As I am a substitute teacher, I could relate to his dealings with student behavior problems and now have a better insight into what those disruptive students' backgrounds may be. An emotional journey into the public education trenches and a hopeful roadmap to a better way through, Faulty Assumptions is a thought provoking guide (and a great read) for anyone concerned about our public education system.

Thoughtful and poignant, he takes us into a world even some teachers may not have seen. Jason Davis lays his years of public teaching and administrating out before us with both hopeful and heart-wrenching stories, slowly guiding us through his quest to bring his students onto a level playing field. He lets the students do much of the talking and allows us to make our own discoveries, and come to realize the conclusions before guiding us once more toward a place where we might finally find some solutions. If you think you already know the answer--wait, and finish the book! He not only brings a fresh perspective to rekindle a long standing debate, but backs it up with enough examples to keep the fire lit. What a way to start the conversation again!! Parents, and everyone involved in children's education or school administration should read this.

Every teacher and parent with school age children should read this book…

FAULTY ASSUMPTIONS:

Why Blaming Teachers Won’t Fix Public Schools

By Jason P. Davis

Edited By Emily L. Davis

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Jason Davis

For more information visit http://www.faultyassumptions.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-soldor given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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For the children

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book would not exist if not for the encouragement, dedication, and masterful editing of my wife, Emily. Her contribution has been without question the single most significant factor in bringing this dream to reality. I am eternally grateful for her love and support and recognize my great fortune to be married to such an amazing writer and editor.

I would also like to acknowledge the following individuals for their contributions to this work. Thanks to Sunday Frey-Blanchard and Professor T. Wesley Fleming for their editing and perspective commentary. For his willingness to share his expertise and offer free advice, I wish to thank Matthew Christensen. Finally, I wish to thank all the families, friends, and coworkers who must remain anonymous but whose contribution to my life and work has been immeasurable.

INTRODUCTION

Childhoods never last. But everyone deserves one.

-Wendy Dale

"No! No! No!" Lizzy, a second grade student, stood visibly shaking in the hallway in front of the office. You never forget the cries of a terrified child and Lizzy’s will be a story etched in my mind forever.

I was the principal at the elementary school when Lizzy enrolled. She came to my school after the start of the school year. Before registering, her mother’s boyfriend met with me to discuss the family issues and to make me aware of the custody arrangements.

"It is terrible what was going on in that house. Lizzy’s stepfather to-be, Hal, explained. The girl didn’t have a bed. She was sleeping on a pile of dirty clothes. Her father doesn’t work; he doesn’t clean up the place. Lizzy was suffering, so we finally went to court and got temporary custody. We had to cut her hair so short because it was such a mess, all knotted and gross. I just hope we got her in time. She was really struggling at her last school and I think it was because of the lack of food and support from her dad. I just wanted you to know."

"That is terrible. Is there anything we can do or anything you need?"

"Her mother and I just want to make sure you are aware of the situation, just in case her father tries to come pick her up. We have custody and he is not to see her or pick her up."

"Do you have the court documents with you? We will need them for the file." I explained that the school is obligated to follow the official court documents and could not base decisions on what one parent says about another.

"I don’t have them with me, but I will make sure you get a copy." Hal said as he shook my hand and left my office.

I added Lizzy to the growing list of students flagged with custody issues and notified my staff to make me aware if anyone wished to pick up Lizzy from school or if there were any changes in her after school routine. I talked with Lizzy’s teacher to ensure that she was also aware.

I checked in with Lizzy’s teacher after she had been with us for a few weeks and everything seemed to be going well. She had adjusted to her new class and was making friends. She came to school in clean clothes and had lunch everyday. Lizzy was quickly becoming an average second grader and had slowly slipped off my radar of high needs children until the screaming began.

"Lizzy, sweetheart, what’s wrong?" I pulled her out of the hallway and into the front office. I was down on one knee so as to get face-to-face and comfort her, and she jumped into my lap, buried her head into my chest, and sobbed. All I could do was hold her until the shivering stopped. I took long deep breaths and try to choke back my own tears.

"That’s my dad over there. He’s not supposed to be here." Lizzy was finally able to say.

Hal had never brought me any court documents, however, Dad did. My assistant principal quickly pulled Dad into her office and I pulled Lizzy into mine. I grabbed the school counselor to sit with her and told Lizzy that we were not going to let anything happen to her.

"You can’t make me go with him. I can’t go with him." She howled wrapping her arms tighter around the counselor.

"You’re not going with him. It’s going to be okay. We are not going to let him take you," I said knowing I was going out on a limb. I had no authority to prevent Dad from taking her or any reason to believe everything was going to be okay.

Lizzy’s father had a very different version of the custody story. About a month earlier, Lizzy was on a weekend visitation with her mother and never returned. Lizzy’s dad, Mike, spent the last month gathering legal support to get her back. This was just enough time for Lizzy’s mom and boyfriend to convince Lizzy that her father was a very dangerous man who was trying to kidnap her. Lizzy was terrified.

To his credit, Mike saw the terror in his daughter’s eyes and while it devastated him, he knew the right thing to do was to leave. He left me with the court documents verifying his rights, the business card of the guardian ad litem, and a daughter who would be forever changed.

Riding home that evening, it wasn’t clear whether my tears were out of disgust for humanity, empathy for a scared little girl, or self-pity for what seemed a triumphant failure. I tried to think about something else, but my mind would not allow it. My 45-minute commute home was consumed by a lengthy pity induced rant.

I had devoted my life and career to improving public schools and making a difference in the lives of children. I was going to inspire students and be at the front line of school reform. My days were supposed to be filled with stories of victories; instead I was drowning in defeat. With all my years of effort and good intentions, I found myself watching more and more children struggling to succeed and suffering in a system that had failed them. One thing repeated in my mind, If people only knew the truth!

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Prior to becoming a teacher, I had huge misconceptions and completely unrealistic expectations about what a career in education would be like. Having been a student of public school, I thought I knew what teaching was all about – after all, I had seen countless hours of teacher performances as a child. I had coaches, directors, and teachers who had all inspired me, supported me, and made school exciting and interesting. It was for them that I believed I should become a teacher and do for others what these amazing individuals had done for me. However, what I thought was going to be a fun and rewarding experience, instead turned out to be the greatest challenge of my life. I did not fully comprehend before becoming a public school teacher what it truly takes to educate today’s children and the myriad of factors that impact the ability of teachers to teach and students to learn. What I found not only change my understanding of public school, but my shocking experiences left me horrified.

Growing up in a suburban middle class community filled with games of kickball and boys chase the girls, I was ignorant to the struggles many families faced and the terror that would be the reality for many of my students. My childhood was simple and easy, as were the lives of my friends. I didn’t know any children who went hungry or who were put in the middle of family disputes. In a neighborhood filled with children, I knew of only one family with divorced parents.

For my classmates and me, school was a safe place for fun exploration. I was king of the playground in elementary school and had loving teachers helping me to become a strong student. By middle school, my friends and I were enjoying new opportunities both in the classroom and through school sponsored activities such as drama club, soccer team, and music. High school was even better as both my confidence and skills improved. My friend’s stories were similar to my own. No one dealt with substance abuse or violence in the home. We were happy, supported, and enjoyed all that life and school had to offer.

Searching my memory for even one peer from my childhood years whose hard luck story even came close to resembling the lives of my students, the only name that came to mind was Thomas.

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"Thomas, excuse me. Thomas! I asked you a question. Ms. Murphy raised her voice and walked closer to the young man sitting next to me with his head down. What is the answer to problem number four from last night’s homework?

"Why don’t you leave me alone? You know I didn’t do the homework. I don’t need this crap." Thomas’s head, covered by his hood, never left his desk as he muttered these words clearly enough for everyone to hear.

The room went silent. This was new; no one had ever dared to speak to a teacher this way before. My classmates and I sat staring at Thomas scared that lightning might strike.

"Oh my God!" came a whisper from the student sitting on the other side of me. I couldn’t speak, but sat frozen in the moment waiting for Ms. Murphy to respond.

"Thomas, you gather your things and get out of my classroom!" Standing at the exit, Ms. Murphy pointed out the door as Thomas stood.

Shoving his books on the floor, Thomas strolled out of class, Whatever!

Every eye in the room was wide open and every mouth shut tight.

Walking to the front of the classroom, Ms. Murphy returned her tone to its normally pleasant cadence. Ok. Who can tell me the answer to question number four? Ms. Murphy went on with her lesson as if nothing had happened. We all went back to work, but every child in the room knew that something huge had just happened.

Thomas did not come back to class that day and his eventual return was not marked with significant improvement. What became clear that year was that Thomas was a very angry young man.

At the age of six, Thomas’s father left his family and was seldom heard from again. His mother did all she could to provide Thomas and his brother a healthy and supportive childhood. She was able to keep the family home and ensure the children stayed in school. But the disturbingly abrupt exit and continued absence of their father took its toll on the family.

By age fourteen, Thomas had already begun smoking and experimenting with drugs. He eventually dropped out of school, though later worked to complete a GED. As an adult, Thomas bounced from one job to another and occasionally attempted sobriety.

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While my high school life held some challenges for me, they were not remotely in the same category as Thomas’ and nothing like my students’. Still, there were moments when I lost my way. During my sophomore year, I became much more interested in girls than in paying attention in school. As a result, my grades began to suffer. I went from being an honor roll student in advanced classes to barely getting by in the basic program. Luckily, my parents and teachers were concerned enough and had the resources to intervene and pull me back on track ensuring that