Task Zero: Review
Everyone knows if you rock a boat too much and don’t manage to balance it, you will end up flailing about in the water! And hopefully, you can swim! Meyerson begins Rocking the Boat with a quote from Robert Kennedy, “Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or greater intelligence.” Meyerson explores two questions throughout the book: one, “how do individuals effect meaningful change from within their organizations, and two, how do organization members express identities and values that are different from the majority culture while fitting into that culture?” Tempered radicals, she basically defines, are those who rock the boat of their organization ever so gently through their daily choices, actions and connections with others and thus, are able to create small incremental lasting changes. Tempered radicals are able to stay true to themselves and find ways they can act with integrity within an organizational environment that does not always align with their own personal beliefs.
The book is a good quick read, organized into three sections. Section one, she defines and describes the tempered radical through several vignettes and how these tempered radicals differ from the majority culture within their organizations. Section two provides a look into the range of actions and strategies of tempered radicals such as low risk actions to direct action. And the final section explains the personal and professional toll their actions have upon themselves. If you have ever found yourself in a situation within an organization where you did not agree with what was being asked of you, or the fact that the decision making did not take into account key members, you will find this book helpful. I, personally, could not get through more than two or three pages without nodding my head in agreement, yes, I’ve been there!
Task One: How am I different?
Meyerson describes three ways people may be different than the majority culture of their organization. She writes, people can experience being different because one, they have a different social identity from the majority and this excludes them from the mainstream; two, those who have different social identities and view their differences as cultural and therefore, not necessarily excluded; and finally, those who have philosophical differences which conflict with the beliefs, values or the agendas of their organization. I’ve experienced all three of these differences at various points throughout my life.
As a 3rd generation Latina, I have observed personally the inequality of educational opportunities offered to Latinos and other minority groups. I’ve attended both public and private schools throughout my life in the midwest and the west coast. I’ve lived in predominantly low income Latino neighborhoods and lived for four years during college in one of the wealthiest suburbs of Chicago. As a Chicago teacher I have worked in 100 year old crumbling school and now work in sparkling shiny 7 year old green technology school. Throughout my entire education the majority of my teachers or co-workers were white Anglo Saxons. These experiences have fed a great sense of “otherness” for me.
The last ten years have been a battle where my ideals, my philosophy of education have been challenged by the very institution that employs me, Chicago Public Schools. I’ve been teaching for a school district that has become the marketplace for corporate education reformers. The standardized testing monster has never been so alive and fed so well. I remember a conversation with a new assistant principal, he told me the testing was never going away. And I said, well we don’t have to embrace it. I don’t have to weigh my 6 year old every other month to know that if I feed her and love her she’ll thrive. I don’t work at that school anymore.
Task Two: Becoming a Tempered Radical
So I suppose the best way to describe myself on the continuum of tempered radicalism is to envision a swinging pendulum, if you will, from collective action to leveraging small wins.
In the winter of 2010, my school needed a new union delegate. I accepted the nomination and was immediately elected. Overnight I became the person every member came to when there was a contractual problem. In addition, the corporate education reform values of test prep, test often, were being pushed onto our staff by our current administration. They began requiring us to script our lessons and there was a very disrespectful attitude toward teachers by administration. A situation that led me to quickly learn how to organize and take collective action. I filed and won three grievances. I organized parents, students and teachers to save our school from the chopping block in 2013. I attended rallies, participated in sit-ins and was even arrested once. I was on that end of the continuum for a good five years. My colleagues and I had a common enemy and the union to back us up. However, that was an exhausting path. And so, as an act of self-preservation, during the summer of 2013 I put my resume together and began a six month search for a new school. A school where I could be a little fish in a big sea.
Today, at my new school I resist quietly while staying true to myself. I aim to teach for social justice rather than test scores. This might be considered a behind the scene type of action the author discusses. Over the years I have been quietly moving away from the type of teacher who strives to get through the curriculum to a teacher more concerned with what my students are “getting” from the curriculum. It is definitely a challenge and in the future I’ll need to identify small wins, perhaps my students, who are beginning to make the connections between the science we are doing to their own daily lives.
Task Three: Facing Challenges
In Rocking the Boat, author Debra Meyerson, discusses four levels of challenges tempered radicals may experience such as ambivalence; co-optation; potential damage to one’s reputation; and finally, frustration and burnout. My role at my former school after just a few short years caused me to feel as if there was a big red target on my back. I was beginning to get a reputation as a troublemaker among principals in my area and in spite of all my wins, for my school, students and teachers, I was definitely burning out. It was all just way too much stress. In the Spring of 2014, I made the difficult choice to say good bye to my school family of twelve years. It was a good time to go, with a new principal in place that would treat them all respectfully, I decided it was time to pursue my dream of working in a school where I could teach 7th grade science all day. Was there such a place? Indeed there was, and here I am at Dr. Jorge Prieto Math & Science Academy!
Currently, I am living my dream and I am enjoying myself a great deal. However, I admit there is a bit of guilt in it, especially when I speak to teacher friends at my old school. They ask me when I am returning. Sadly, I don’t plan to. As I once told a room full of principals, I believe teachers need tools, time, and trust. I currently have a supportive administration, resources, freedom and respect to teach. Shouldn’t all teachers have that?
Everyone knows if you rock a boat too much and don’t manage to balance it, you will end up flailing about in the water! And hopefully, you can swim! Meyerson begins Rocking the Boat with a quote from Robert Kennedy, “Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or greater intelligence.” Meyerson explores two questions throughout the book: one, “how do individuals effect meaningful change from within their organizations, and two, how do organization members express identities and values that are different from the majority culture while fitting into that culture?” Tempered radicals, she basically defines, are those who rock the boat of their organization ever so gently through their daily choices, actions and connections with others and thus, are able to create small incremental lasting changes. Tempered radicals are able to stay true to themselves and find ways they can act with integrity within an organizational environment that does not always align with their own personal beliefs.
The book is a good quick read, organized into three sections. Section one, she defines and describes the tempered radical through several vignettes and how these tempered radicals differ from the majority culture within their organizations. Section two provides a look into the range of actions and strategies of tempered radicals such as low risk actions to direct action. And the final section explains the personal and professional toll their actions have upon themselves. If you have ever found yourself in a situation within an organization where you did not agree with what was being asked of you, or the fact that the decision making did not take into account key members, you will find this book helpful. I, personally, could not get through more than two or three pages without nodding my head in agreement, yes, I’ve been there!
Task One: How am I different?
Meyerson describes three ways people may be different than the majority culture of their organization. She writes, people can experience being different because one, they have a different social identity from the majority and this excludes them from the mainstream; two, those who have different social identities and view their differences as cultural and therefore, not necessarily excluded; and finally, those who have philosophical differences which conflict with the beliefs, values or the agendas of their organization. I’ve experienced all three of these differences at various points throughout my life.
As a 3rd generation Latina, I have observed personally the inequality of educational opportunities offered to Latinos and other minority groups. I’ve attended both public and private schools throughout my life in the midwest and the west coast. I’ve lived in predominantly low income Latino neighborhoods and lived for four years during college in one of the wealthiest suburbs of Chicago. As a Chicago teacher I have worked in 100 year old crumbling school and now work in sparkling shiny 7 year old green technology school. Throughout my entire education the majority of my teachers or co-workers were white Anglo Saxons. These experiences have fed a great sense of “otherness” for me.
The last ten years have been a battle where my ideals, my philosophy of education have been challenged by the very institution that employs me, Chicago Public Schools. I’ve been teaching for a school district that has become the marketplace for corporate education reformers. The standardized testing monster has never been so alive and fed so well. I remember a conversation with a new assistant principal, he told me the testing was never going away. And I said, well we don’t have to embrace it. I don’t have to weigh my 6 year old every other month to know that if I feed her and love her she’ll thrive. I don’t work at that school anymore.
Task Two: Becoming a Tempered Radical
So I suppose the best way to describe myself on the continuum of tempered radicalism is to envision a swinging pendulum, if you will, from collective action to leveraging small wins.
In the winter of 2010, my school needed a new union delegate. I accepted the nomination and was immediately elected. Overnight I became the person every member came to when there was a contractual problem. In addition, the corporate education reform values of test prep, test often, were being pushed onto our staff by our current administration. They began requiring us to script our lessons and there was a very disrespectful attitude toward teachers by administration. A situation that led me to quickly learn how to organize and take collective action. I filed and won three grievances. I organized parents, students and teachers to save our school from the chopping block in 2013. I attended rallies, participated in sit-ins and was even arrested once. I was on that end of the continuum for a good five years. My colleagues and I had a common enemy and the union to back us up. However, that was an exhausting path. And so, as an act of self-preservation, during the summer of 2013 I put my resume together and began a six month search for a new school. A school where I could be a little fish in a big sea.
Today, at my new school I resist quietly while staying true to myself. I aim to teach for social justice rather than test scores. This might be considered a behind the scene type of action the author discusses. Over the years I have been quietly moving away from the type of teacher who strives to get through the curriculum to a teacher more concerned with what my students are “getting” from the curriculum. It is definitely a challenge and in the future I’ll need to identify small wins, perhaps my students, who are beginning to make the connections between the science we are doing to their own daily lives.
Task Three: Facing Challenges
In Rocking the Boat, author Debra Meyerson, discusses four levels of challenges tempered radicals may experience such as ambivalence; co-optation; potential damage to one’s reputation; and finally, frustration and burnout. My role at my former school after just a few short years caused me to feel as if there was a big red target on my back. I was beginning to get a reputation as a troublemaker among principals in my area and in spite of all my wins, for my school, students and teachers, I was definitely burning out. It was all just way too much stress. In the Spring of 2014, I made the difficult choice to say good bye to my school family of twelve years. It was a good time to go, with a new principal in place that would treat them all respectfully, I decided it was time to pursue my dream of working in a school where I could teach 7th grade science all day. Was there such a place? Indeed there was, and here I am at Dr. Jorge Prieto Math & Science Academy!
Currently, I am living my dream and I am enjoying myself a great deal. However, I admit there is a bit of guilt in it, especially when I speak to teacher friends at my old school. They ask me when I am returning. Sadly, I don’t plan to. As I once told a room full of principals, I believe teachers need tools, time, and trust. I currently have a supportive administration, resources, freedom and respect to teach. Shouldn’t all teachers have that?