Sharing Our Successes Can Erode the ‘Teacher Shaming’ Culture, Says Award-Winning Educator
By Susan Anglada Bartley
Ten years ago, as I struggled through my first days and weeks of teaching, I was amazed at how majestic and powerful the veteran teachers seemed. They approached their craft with single-minded devotion, self-discipline was worn into their every expression, and a sense of altruistic self-sacrifice seemed to guide their every move. The pace of one single day seemed like a marathon, but I knew I was among a cast of heroes.But I also sensed bitterness. Many of these teachers had worked for many years with crowded classrooms, and experienced school reconfigurations that blamed teachers for the failure of their students in poorly funded schools. How, I wondered as they retired or left the profession for other reasons, could such dedicated, knowledgeable, experienced educators simply depart after twenty five to thirty years with little recognition for their life’s work?
Despite the strife I saw, I committed to giving my all to my profession. With a group of colleagues, I co-founded the Franklin High School Advanced Scholar Program, dramatically increasing participation and success in AP classes by students of color or poverty at our school. I also worked to found a writing project for first-generation students navigating the college admissions process.
Last summer, for my efforts to bring equity to education, the NEA’s Human and Civil Rights Committee awarded me the H. Councill Trenholm Memorial Award. More than anything, this award has made me look harder at the fantastic, too-often unacknowledged educators around me.
As I recently departed from a Monday staff meeting, I noticed fellow teacher Portia Hall setting up plastic