Education: No Child Left Behind?
Book Review of Elizabeth Blake's True Story of a Teacher's Quest
May 2, 2008
Many have written about class inequalities in education, and the low pay most teachers in the public schools receive for their efforts. Elizabeth Blake, in No Child Left Behind?, is one of the first to describe, in a convincing and detailed manner, how ineffectual administrators are also to blame for the failings of some urban schools.
The Challenges of Inner City Schools
Blake’s story of her work at three schools for at-risk teens shows how even the most dedicated science teacher can find it tough to help students learn. Her first principal blamed the students’ problems on the teachers, and shouted at his staff mercilessly. He tended to be reactive rather than proactive. “The policies handed down from the office never seemed consistent in that school, and confused both teachers and students.”
Her first school was one of the most challenging in the city, and Blake encountered numerous difficulties there. One day there was a gang-related riot outside the school, which the police had to break up. Ten students were taken away in handcuffs. One of her best students was killed when he interrupted a burglary at his home. Another was nearly killed in a drive-by shooting. Blake knew she would have to work hard to stay focused and maintain a positive attitude when there were so many uncertain factors in her students’ daily lives.
The Joys of Teaching Science
In spite of the harsh inner-city realities she encountered, Blake liked her students immensely, and enjoyed teaching them new concepts in science. Unlike some of the teachers, she had few discipline problems in her class. When she finished her first year of teaching, she felt she had become wiser and stronger. “I had made many mistakes but I also felt I had done a few things right. I had tried to raise the bar as best I could and loved the sense of accomplishment that filled me.”
At her second school, her principal was truly dysfunctional, and seemed to have something against women, as he constantly hammered the female staff with rules that didn’t apply to the men. He had little patience with alternative-school kids and wanted to have, he told the teachers, an “elitist school” with “advanced classes.” He mocked the students and didn’t believe they had potential.
Teachers found it difficult to confront him, however, since they lacked public support. Many alternative-school students’ parents preferred not to get involved or ask questions. “They were just grateful our school took them in at all. Consequently, they usually didn’t complain about a principal’s behavior to the district office.”
District Wrongdoings
After Blake left the district, the school board (which consisted of one powerful member) was investigated for malfeasance, bid-rigging, nepotism, misuse of public funds and mismanaging the budget (leading to over four million dollars of debt). The board member was indicted on fifteen felony charges. The personnel department head was also charged with two counts of theft.
There is a nationwide shortage of teachers, especially in science. Half of new teachers will leave the profession within their first five years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Blake estimates that her district lost 90% of its teachers within one year after she left.
Elizabeth Blake, who currently creates science materials for homeschoolers, has provided a moving account of her passion for teaching at-risk students. It is a shame that such teachers often don’t receive much assistance from administrators while they are engaged in the process of educating, inspiring—and sometimes saving the lives of—our most troubled teens.
Related Articles: Student Truancy, 10% of Schools Dropout Factories, Children Left Behind
Hudson House, 2008, ISBN 978-1-58776-879-8
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