What’s a BAT, you might ask. Bad-Ass Teacher. There is a new Bad Ass Teacher association that formed off of a facebook page. According to the Washington Post the organization was:
… created to give voice to every teacher who refuses to be blamed for the failure of our society to erase poverty and inequality through education. BAT members refuse to accept assessments, tests and evaluations created and imposed by corporate driven entities that have contempt for authentic teaching and learning.
Their goals:
BATs aim to reduce or eliminate the use of high stakes testing, increase teacher autonomy in the classroom and work to include teacher and family voices in legislative decision-making processes that affect students.
Group guidelines:
We are a rich and diverse group of education professionals and concerned citizens/families who strive to engage in discourse that improves our profession. We encourage dialogue about many hot-button issues but page administrators reserve the right to delete comments, threads, and (if necessary) individuals from the group that do not engage in respectful civil discourse….
Actions:
BAT will engage in organized group actions such as phone calls, emails, or letter writing. These actions will be announced as timely as possible so it will allow all members an opportunity to be a part of the action.
Lofty goals. Good for them. They are tired of being pushed around and blamed for all the things that are beyond their control. So far the group is some 20,000 strong and has only been around for about a month. This is what happens when politicians continue to bully and school administrators continue to cave. Was it a year ago that the new teacher evaluation form went in to effect in Virginia? A huge portion of that form involves test scores. So if that teacher doesn’t teach to the test enough, then that teacher gets zapped. I am waiting for the day when students are actually held accountable.
Go Bad Asses! Your day will come. I have been saying for 10 years that if the absurdities in education keeps up, there will be no teachers worth having. They are programmed for failure and the vocal public thinks teachers should work for beans. The far right anti unionist seem to think that the teachers are their employees. That just isn’t how it works.
The citizens elect a school board. The school board hires administrators. The employees work for the school board and answer to the administrators, many of whom are simply weak sisters who have been bullied into submission. those who haven’t been totally bullied don’t last.
So there is a new kid in town. This change won’t happen over night but it will gain traction.
Further reading:
