http://blog.nj.com/ledgerarchives/2007/03/a_man_on_a_mission_can_a_force.html
I Came across this article on NJ.com. The article focuses on one man's attempt to bring up the schools standards and quality in the Elizabeth school district. The school has traditionally done pretty poorly and he attempts to rectify this situation with hard work and dedication. The problems he faces are that of language barriers, parents who don't value education as much as the maybe should, limited funds and a slew of other, seemingly impossible, obstacles to overcome.
Can this man achieve greatness? Can he be one of the few educators in history to completely turn around a down and out school? It all looks promising and his attitude is positive. The man is certainly trying to do great things.
Unfortunately, we've seen this before. One man's intentions may be great, but there are often politics, finances and superiors obstructing progress. The students are making improvements, so says the article, but how long can he maintain the 24 hour a day job he has taken.
I certainly hope he'll be able to achieve his dreams, he's certainly extremely motivated and his success will only fuel the locomotive of education, but it is not a journey that will be achieved easily.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
What a thought-provoking post and article!
This article and your comments got me thinking about the idealism that many first-year educators (or administrators) possess and the realism of keeping the enthusiasm up over a longer time period.
In the article, Mark Margadonna, the school's discipline officer, claimed "He's ruffled some feathers, but I think he's just getting started."
Isn't that what we all need? Someone to "ruffle our feathers" every once in a while. A person to shake up the system. I know I do.
However, Will, I agree that his journey will be a difficult one. Hopefully, he ruffles enough feathers that the school continues to grow and change even if he moves on. It would be interesting to see where he is in five years...
Post a Comment