“Breaking Bread in Urban Education”
by
Sergio Lira Ed. D.
Every year, I search for new books on education. One day as I was searching for a spark of inspiration to start my own long, arduous writing process of sharing my journey in public education,
I came across this quote.
“The result of my 28 hellish, joyous days of paid work (I made $70 a day) is a book, more chronicle than meditation, called “Substitute: Going to School with a Thousand Kids,” by Nicholson Baker.
Baker spent twenty-eight hellish, joyous days, I spent twenty-eight years in hellish, joyous urban public education. I want to write a story that is genuine and authentic. A story with all the lows and the highs; but also, a story of never-ending hope. This is my story.
Hope is the main reason many educators remain in education. Every educator, parent and student have a real story. My story is for the public, educators, non-educators, parents, grandparents, legal guardians of children in public education. Also, this book is for anyone who makes or influence decisions about important educational policies: politicians, federal and state legislators and local board members who increase or decrease educational funding. There are other ancillary groups that influence educational policies that include teachers and labor unions and die-hard members of special interest groups. Many educational decisions are made by a few without knowing fully some of the extraordinary things that happens in a large, urban comprehensive school district or high school. Apart from teacher unions and groups with teacher members, all others have not stepped a single day in an urban classroom. Many educational policy decision makers have good intentions; however, oftentimes, a myopic view on how public education operates only exacerbates the problem. It is time to share the gritty truth.
Currently, in the Hollywood media, urban education is portrayed as comical (think the sitcom Teachers), filled with silly administrators (see HBO Vice-Principals), and stereotypical, incompetent principals fighting after the school bell rings (as in Fistfight) or the inappropriate “Bad Teachers” starting Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake. Iconic movies like, “Stand and Deliver,” “Dangerous Minds,” “Lean on Me,” and “Freedom Writers” gave more realistic portrayals of urban school life.
Interestingly, I often ask audiences when asked to give a presentation on education, “How is a teacher portrayed on TV?” “What is the first image that comes to your mind when I mention the word - education?” They response that the image of Mr. Rogers comes to mind or a little red schoolhouse. These movies and sitcoms are slightly offensive and far from the reality of the hardworking, dedicated teachers, staff, faculty, and community members working daily in urban education. Urban public education is gritty, hard, and unglamorous. At times, it seems like a war zone. Like in all battles, there are devastating losses and ephemeral victories.
This is my brief memoir. My journey in public urban education. The story told from the behind the scenes, behind the desks, the inner workings, the internal battles fought daily in large, urban comprehensive schools that the public seldom hears or sees. This story shines a spotlight on the hard realities, the petty battles, the sensitive egos, and the power plays. The internal and external campus power plays that miraculously coincide with extreme acts of compassion that help to prepare or push out hundreds of thousands of high schools graduates each year.
Many individuals, students, parents, and teachers are involved on school campuses in the daily struggle called – urban education. I can provide a glimpse into this juggernaut of slow academic progress. Academic progress is accelerated for those best prepared and decelerated for those students less prepared. Those students who enter the ninth grade with a weak academic foundation plow, prod, and push themselves to graduate are the heart and soul of any large, urban high school in America. Their challenges and triumphs are what makes this job a powerful and purposeful experience. This is a human rights story. Let me take you on this journey of personal suffering, healing, and redemption.
This journey is a broad, personal commentary on urban education. Twenty-eight years of journal entries serve as jumping points for meditation, reflection, and policy recommendations.
Policy recommendations stem from the metaphor of “breaking bread.” Throughout this book when a reference is made about “breaking bread” at the end of an idea or paragraph, this metaphor is intended for the reader to pause and reflect on a powerful act of the Christian value of sacrificing oneself for others or the secular value of ‘service above self.” This act is one of brotherhood or sisterhood where an act of kind, humility or simply humanity is displayed or is called for. In addition, all references to “Breaking Bread” provide a small windowpane to the larger vision that is the heart of this story. The heart of this story is to no longer sanitize urban, public education and to discuss and implement effective, proven, recommendations for all parents, teachers, and school administrators to improve academic success for all children. Also, this story includes an intentional overarching theme of elevating the teaching profession to the level of respect it deserves. The recognition and healing of urban, public education in America is needed more than ever before.
In our current society, with the rapid infusion of technology in our homes and schools, we seldom communicate without some electronic gadget in front of us or attached to our palm. Humane, respectful, and civil one-on-one conversations are becoming rare like a cursive handwritten letter. There are great advances made in the medical and engineering fields due to the improvement of technology. Nowadays, knowledge and information are shared at lighting speed – the good and the bad. However, the downside of modern technology and growth of social media platforms have exponentially increased opportunities for some individuals to become more desensitize, to dehumanize, or publicly demonize someone, to live in isolated environments, and to focus on our self-interests. The world of education is not immune to this reality.
The year was 1985. After college and ten years in the business world, the chasing of the mighty dollar, left me empty. I discovered my true mission – my calling – my vocation. During this time of consistent emptiness, I attended mass more often and would listen to this song. It resonated with me and now, it is one of my favorite songs. It is called, “Compartiendo Pan Con El Pobre” “Breaking Bread with The Poor.” While attending mass, I join the youth group and met the life-changing St. Helen Spanos, a Dominican Sister. She guided me to volunteering in her adult ESL classes. I caught the teaching bug, and I have not found the pesticide to get rid of it.
My story settling takes place in predominately two large, urban comprehensive high schools one is called “Alvarez High School” and the other is “Woodlake High School”. The names have been changed and that any reference to an existing school in another location is purely accidental. Let’s get started.
Chapter I – August – The Faculty Arrives
“As we approach the start of a new year, it is important every high school student and teacher consider how they will develop together an inclusive classroom that celebrates diversity and learning and how this unique, powerful learning will extend to their community.” -Elizabeth Nicole, High School English Teacher.
August 1
“Bang!”, “Bang!” a few seconds later another loud “Bang!” I jumped out of bed, grab my baseball bat and rush to the front door. I notice my daughter and son standing the hallway. My scared daughter murmurs, “Daddy, what was that? It sounded like gunshots.” My son with a worried look clutches her hand. I nervously whispered to them, “Do not move or make noise.” I place myself sideways between the front door and window. I peer thru the white mini blinds and I see nothing – no movement from anyone outside. Next, I look thru the diamond shaped stain glass on my front door. After a few minutes, I noticed a car slowly drive by and turn the corner. I waited for a few more minutes and noticed that the car was gone. I tuck my children to bed and tell them everything is ok. I stay up all night to ensure my family is safe. The next day, I cautiously walked outside my house and noticed that my house was egged with about a half dozen eggs – again - sigh. The egg’s raw yellow yoke was splatter all over my front siding and the large front window. I surmised that it was a student from the previous school year whom I suspended or referred to the alternative schools for either possession or distribution of a controlled substance. I was just following the rules according to our Secondary Schools Guidelines mandated by the state of Texas. At the start of every school year, I pensively ask myself, “Why do I return to public education?
I drag myself out of bed after only two weeks of vacation. One week, I spent three nights at the hospital with my daughter who is having my first grandson. I am still reeling from all the excitement and little sleep. The start of the new year for administrators and teachers. This is a chance for all to start over. One of the few jobs where principals, administrators, teachers, coaches, students, and even parents can restart, reboot academically and try to improve from the previous years’ mistakes, failures, and missed opportunities.
The faculty and staff report to school two weeks before the students arrive, as they stream into from the staff parking lot and head into the auditorium for a welcome back speech from the principal, I report to the library to sign in – all professional development require hard copy signatures for attendance. There is a new initiative called the New Teacher Appraisal System in Houston ISD. This training is for four days. The purpose is to have an effective teacher in every classroom – a lofty goal – like having an “effective” school board in every city or an “effective” police officer in every city. Unbeknownst to me, this statement will echo loudly in the future when protests and riots break out across our major cities due to alleged police misconduct and the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and Jacob Black and others finally reached a breaking point in the African American community. Simultaneously, the senseless death of PFC Vanessa Guillen who was bludgeoned to death at army base Ft. Hood sparked massive protests in the Latino community and a congressional investigation.
Closer to home, the battle lines have been drawn in the name of “urban education reform.” My mind cringes, ‘Why does our current system subject us (teacher and administrators) to two weeks of in-services before the students arrive year after year. We could spend these two weeks working on our campuses, our classrooms, continuing the smooth progression of our academic programs from the previous year. We can save the district tons of money – year after year. Honestly, the start of all school in-services can be covered in two days max to present new information. New teachers or new employees can have a whole separate in-service, and I do understand and realize they need more time – maximum– one week. But all the rest of the days need to get teachers into the classrooms to prepare collectively on closing the gaps from the “summer slide” of regressed academic achievement. Research has proven that two weeks of staff development does not increase academic performance; in fact, staff development is poorly done in most school districts. In an article that questioned whether or not school districts anecdotes about success stories regarding a professional development services had proof of their success, the author Stephen Sawchuk in states, “For the most part, the answer is no, according to scholars who have studied the link between post licensure teacher training and student academic achievement,” Education Week, 2010.
One of the reasons is that adults learn differently, and staff development is not developed to engage adult learning. Topics are usually the new flavor of the year within a consistent topic to develop to a high level of proficiency. Malcom S. Knowles states, “Adults are motivated to learn as they experience needs and interests that learning will satisfy interest and motivation” (Knowles, 2012). Many hours of on-line or in-person staff development does not equate to many hours of engagement. In addition, all teachers are required annual training sessions or on-line modules. All the required other in-services. This is a partial list of district training that is repeated every year: Hazardous Materials, Pantheons (Spreading of Bodily Fluids), Bullying, Sexual Harassment, GT -12 hours of training, New Teacher, ESL, Special Education, Review Teacher Handbook (3hrs), Review Student Handbook, Teacher Evaluation Process, (recently added – Safety Intruder Training) and the new – district’s new theme or focus for the year. During these two weeks of professional development, I reflect on lessons learned in education, career, and in what direction are we going?
After more than twenty-eight years in education, I wonder. Why do the same problems in urban education persist since I was a high school student over thirty years ago at Austin High School in Houston? Many of the problems in 1980 are the same as today. Someone once said in a meeting, “Why do we keep chasing the same squirrels down the same holes and getting the same results?” We need to think of new ways, ideas, methods, strategies to catch the squirrels.
Many educational training topics center on a common theme. They all reference explicitly or implicitly: African Americans and Hispanic students have the highest dropout rate, African Americans and Hispanic students fail at math and science at the highest rate, we need to close the student achievement gap, the technology gap, the literacy gap, the reading comprehension gap, so on and so on. These are all critical issues in education; what is important to note is that there are educational strands in the urban education reform model. They all point to the same set of above-mentioned issues. My question is - does the rhetoric and huge tax-dollars investment in “urban education reform” really reform? With the continuous, perpetual and decades of daunting disparities in urban education, it is time to stop recycling old ideas and break thru and challenge education reformers with new ideas, proven effective sustainable strategies and parent empowerment in low-income communities. I want to wake up from over twenty-eight years of urban education reform malaise and find a new day where we talk about “transformation” – not reformation.
Here it is. Let’s get started.
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