Nikole Hannah-Jones has a great piece in the New York Times called “In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?” which chronicles her daughter’s journey through New York public schools despite her own ability to spare her the suffering. While there isn’t a single solution offered, it is a stark portrayal of our educational landscape, especially for black and brown kids. A couple of my takeaways? Kids are kids, white and affluent kids just “have more”. Teachers aren’t challenging black and brown kids, even black and brown teachers. And eventually, despite your parental ambitions of equity, when it comes to your own kid, you eventually choose the best school you can. 

And our schools are a shit show. 

Too many teachers are not teaching. Now I recognize that my definition of teaching is going to be much more demanding and complex than what most people say, but I expect a hell of a lot from teachers and I don’t think that is unreasonable. Too many teachers are sitting at their desks. There are too many posters being made and too many videos being shown because for whatever reason, whether they are overwhelmed or undersupported, too many students and parents tell me too many stories about what is going on in today’s classrooms. 

Because I am in the industry, so to speak, when people find out what I do, we end up talking about their own kids’ classes, schools, teachers. Every single parent has something crazy to tell me. 

You hear about the creepy men, the screamers, the losers, the ones that smell, the teachers who are too strict, not strict enough, hate kids, love kids too much, and the teachers all the students hate. Everyone has a story–no one doesn’t. 

Too many teachers are not teaching. And we can’t get rid of nobody.

Here is what I think teaching is, so we have a definition: Teaching is an art that creates knowledge and inspiration in that space between what kids know and what they don’t. It means drawing the kids in immediately, holding their attention and challenging them, it requires 100% effort, it requires leadership, and love, and strict rules and boundaries that fall away to let students work without limits; it doesn’t allow you to sit at your desk, it means you are walking up and down the rows of desks, getting to every kid if you can. It is being the teacher you want your kids to have. 

This is a high bar, I know. I expect greatness, and the reason for these lofty expectations is this: The stakes are too high.

The stakes are higher for these kids than I think most of us are willing to admit. I think too many teachers teach in a school that isn’t their community, and they come to these schools for the money, the challenge, whatever, but they see too many of the students as other people’s kids. 

But the stakes are too high for all that. At some point we gotta get rid of some people. 

Keep in mind my argument needn’t be a hot take. All I’m saying is teachers should be teaching, and if they aren’t they should be able to get fired. The only people I imagine would be triggered by this are teachers who aren’t teaching. If this hits a little too close to home, well, that is probably a problem. 

That isn’t to say it is hopeless. The big takeaway from Hannah-Jones’ article is that, and this is a recurring theme in my writings, education is all about the teachers. And while the superintendents and principals and lunch ladies have some culpability, the ones really at fault are the teachers. Teachers are the main thing. Every other job in education should be a stepping stone to being a teacher, not the other way around.

The story is not whether Nikole Hannah-Jones made the right decision. Her daughter is going to be fine no matter what. That girl is going to an amazing college–belee dat. In the big scheme of things her daughter doesn’t matter. Who I think about is all the kids at her shitty schools who don’t have Nikole Hannah-Jones as a back up plan. 

I am teacher centered. We need to demand respect, but that also means we must demand accountability. When done right, this job is great. You should feel great about the work you do. That’s the whole point. But you should also be exhausted at the end of the day. Like Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade said in my last archived Teach4Real post, teaching the students in your community is “collective struggling alongside of one another, sharing in the victories and the pain.” You gotta roll up your sleeves and be about the work. Inspire, challenge, demand excellence, and act like your kid is taking your class. 

The stakes are too high to not be teaching. If you aren’t actually teaching, that is the true betrayal.