If You Go Straight To YouTube, Or Use Google,
You Need To Type In MACELIVETV Without Any Spaces.
DeKalb Teacher/Coach Praises Attorney
Brown And MACE!
"David
Brown, one of MACE's Network Attorneys, did a tremendous job representing me in a hearing when I was falsely accused recently.
Mr. Brown represented me like he was representing someone in a murder case. He was all over them, dotting all of the
"I's" and crossing all of the "T's." He turned their witnesses into my witnesses. Attorney
Brown is personable and thorough. I appreciate what all MACE has done for me!" -- Earl White (DeKalb Teacher/Coach).
DeKalb Teacher Thanks Norreese
Haynes And MACE!
"We appreciate the kind notes of thanks that we receive on a regular basis from our members. We have a back-log of new testimonials that we will try to get up on the website soon! Thank you for being
members of MACE, the union for "teachers teaching
in tough situations." We don't apologize for agitating for you. MACE provides the members "aggressive representation when
you need it." Believe me: When you need representation, you want it to be aggressive. Who wants some half-hearted, half-butted attorney or representative? Teachers, if you teach without being a
member of MACE, you are teaching in the danger
zone!" -- Norreese Haynes, MACE Chief Operating Officer
Atlanta Public
Schools:Egregious and Flagrant Violators Of The Law!
By John R. Alston Trotter, EdD, JD
Someone recently asked if people just "have
it out for Dr. Hall."Do I have it out for Dr. Hall?I have never met the woman
(the Dali Lama's more accessible).(I hope that I spelled the Dali's name correctly.Ha!)Well, I did speak before the school board on Hall first public meeting with the school board in Atlanta in the summer
of 1999.We spoke briefly afterward.Hall has set up an administration not too unlike
the old Politburo of the late Soviet Union.Fear and intimidation just flows from the Taj Mahal on Trinity
Avenueand out into all the schools.The system reeks with fear, intimidation, nepotism,
cheating, and corruption.Hey everyone:Have we forgotten about the "lost"
$75,000,000.00 of E-rate?Where did it go?I know that at least one gentleman went to
prison over this.But, this is just symbolic of how corrupt Atlanta is.
Atlanta, like most urban systems (including
Cobb, Fulton, and Gwinnett) fail to adhere to the State Grievance Law for Certified School Employees as outline in OCGA 20-2-989.5
et seq.One quick example of one of Atlanta's many, many violations of this law:The
grievance law clearly outlines three levels of hearings (with each appeal being a "de novo" hearing).There are definite time lines (which APS just simply ignores...even in their written local policy about grievances!).The gall and chutzpah that APS has relative to the state statutes is mind-numbing.The three levels
of hearings became in the Atlanta Board of Education's policy four levels -- an extra step thrown in there to make sure that
a teacher's grievance never reaches the board of education level.
By the way, Bradley Bryant, our Interim State Superintendent,
wrote an opinion for the State Board of Education in the Gill v. Muscogee County case that there
"three levels" of hearing in the grievance process.So, there you have it, school board attorney
who try to do all that you can to keep me out of representing a teacher before the full school board.I
remember the Gill case well because the Hearing Officer in Muscogee County kicked me out of the hearing...because I was eviscerating
the stupid actions of the administrator before the full Muscogee County Board ofEducation.Mr. Gill, the MACE member whom we were representing in the hearing, must have liked my "thorough and sifting"
cross examination because he reached out and handed me a $1,000.00 check on the way to my car.He said
that it was a "tip."I took it and my colleagues and I drove back to Fayetteville even more merrily.
In the past, I would
raise h_ll in Atlanta board meetings about this and other flagrant and egregious violations of the State's minimum requirements
about the grievance law.(I would always sign in to speak and raise h_ll very "orderly."LOL.I don't have to get loud.I just expose their violations of the law, even
handing the school board members copies of the law.) Going back to the days of Harris, Butts, Canada, Strickland, et al.,
I was always raising h_ll about this.Finally, I think that someone in APS -- perhaps Hall herself -- sent
the message down to make sure that MACE grievances are processed and to try to resolve the matters before they start climbing
the appellate ladder -- and before MACE gets on the sidewalks with picket signs!
As long as the teacher is happy with
the results, I am happy.But, as a matter of law and principle, APS just ignores the law in general.It, like DeKalb, is a "gangsta school system."MACE and I have been saying this for years.We have also been saying for years that systematic cheating was rampant, and we were glad that the AJC shed some light
on this matter and that Governor Sonny Perdue had the mettle to openly address the matter.Most politicians
simply shrink like violets when it comes to addressing controversy, especially if there is an element of race which people
can exploit.I think that most of the highly-connected Blue Ribbon Commission members are white, if I am
not mistaken.I think that it is racist NOT to address this systematic cheating.All
children deserve better than the insults of systematic cheating.It is telling children that you don't
think that they are capable of learning.Dr. Hall, that would be racist, don't you think?(c)
MACE, August 31, 2010).
When Did
The Snoopervision Begin In Georgia Public Schools?
By John
R. Alston Trotter, EdD, JD
In Georgia, this snoopervision thing has been strangling public education for the last 25 years.It
began to rear its head in the late 1970s here in Georgia with the now-infamous Teacher Performance Assessment Instrument (TPAI)
which the courts in Georgia kicked out because of its inequitable results, abuse, etc.At the time, the
new teachers were sentenced to suffer through this TPAI hell.I remember one gentleman who is now teaching
(perhaps close to retirement now) in Glynn County who kept failing the "observation" of TPAI at a school in Morrow,
Georgia back in the early 1980s.He had a wonderful principal, but a horrible, myopic assistant principal
lady who apparently had it in for Jim.She was either totally incompetent herself or simply was going to
refuse to allow Jim to pass his "evaluation."She kept getting him on "enthusiasm."Jim told me that he was so "enthusiastic" that he was almost jumping over chairs!This
"evaluator" succeeded in ruining this man's career.He ended up working at a restaurant in St.
Simons Island.True story.
When the courts finally kicked out this hellish TPAI, Jim was allowed to teach again, which he did at Glynn Middle
School (and I think that he is still there to this day and getting along swimmingly).I knew Jim and his
mother who had retired from the Clayton County School System back in the 1970s.Good folks.Jim is a good educator, but he is only one example of many teachers whose lives were destroyed by petty, myopic, and
mean-spirited (and often totally incompetent) administrators.
Now we have Race To The Top (RTTI).It's
just more educational gobbledeegook.Pure gobbledeegook.It won't do anything
but ruin public education even more.I have seen it all...APEG, Minimum Foundation, QBE, NCLB, TCT, TPAI,
CRCT (Creating Results Cheating on Tests?), PRAXIS, GTOI, GTDRI, ad infinitum.All of these programs
are lame attempts to improve public education.They are complete failures.They are
really Simply Hatin' & Insultin' Teachers (SHIT).You know what really works?Just
letting teachers teach!Supporting, esteeming, respecting the professional knowledge, judgment, and wisdom
of the teachers is what works.Making sure the students know that if they try to cause disruption in any
classroom that the teachers have full backing from the administration in dealing with these disruptive students, including
removing them from the regular classrooms.How refreshing it would be to see some of these educational
numbskulls actually learn and implement what school administrators forty years ago instinctively knew worked.Again, you cannot have good learning conditions until you first have good teaching conditions.(c)
MACE, August 30, 2010.
Dr. Trotter Called The DeKalb School System "A
Gangsta System" Before Others Took Notice! Check
Out This Channel 11 Interview Back
In May of 2009!
(Administrator) in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution!
[Editor's
Note:This is a response to a poster on the AJC's Get Schooled blog -- the link is at the bottom of this
page -- who tried to pooh pooh MACE pickets.There's not a school administrator in the State of Georgia
who would welcome The MACE Strike Force in front of"his" or "her" school.In this short response, Dr. laid out an analysis of the picket which "Devil's Advocate" pointed out in the
blog.It was a picket by The MACE Strike Force in the rain at Atlanta's Douglass High School.]
Devil's Advocate:No, our standard picket is about "five guys" (like the hamburger place!).But, sometimes
we send eight or nine.When you have guys in suits and ties with florescent color signs and bold statements
on them, you don't need to send in an army.MACE just sends in a strike force...sort of like the Navy Seals.In fact, we call our picketers "The MACE Strike Force."
The particular link which you put up shows a picket in the pouring down rain at Atlanta's Douglass High School.This principal also had a Complaint filed against him by a MACE teacher (assisted by MACE, of course) with the Professional
Standards Commission (PSC).This principal mysteriously resigned in the middle of the school year...after
this picket and the PSC Complaint.We also picketed his replacement, the interim principal, who told the
Douglass teachers that they had to teach on Saturday; this illegal activity was also stopped by the picket.Furthermore,
the principal before the one who resigned abruptly in the middle of the year also announced surprisingly in the Spring that
he would not be back at Douglass High -- after MACE had picketed him three times that year and had filed four PSC Complaints
against two administrators -- one was him -- a counselor, and the Registrar.The PSC found against all
four of them.I also send and 11 page letter to the superintendent, the school board, and throughout the
State about one of the counselor's threat on my life.You can read this letter on our website...it may
be in the "Archives" section.
But, Devil's Advocate, thanks for the opportunity for me to demonstrate to our readers just how the process works.By the way, I also had the principal (who had the three pickets against him in one year) in a Grievance Hearing downtown
at the Taj Mahal Building on Trinity Avenue and...well, for those teachers who have ever witnessed me engage in my "thorough
and sifting" cross examination of an administrator, you can imagine how this made him feel.Devil's
Advocate, I've got a feeling that you have witnessed one of my cross examinations, eh?LOL.(c) MACE, August 29, 2010.
Teachers "Teach"
The Students, Not "Learn" Them.
RTTT.Race To The Trough!
By
John R. Alston Trotter, EdD, JD
CRCT, TPAI, NCLB, QBE, GTOI, GTDRI, APEG, Minimum Foundation, A+ Program, RTTT, and on and on.None
have or will significantly improve education here in Georgia.What we need is Discipline In The Classrooms
(DITC), Motivation From The Students (MFTS), and Decent Parents At Home (DPAH).But, how do you fund these
essential components?Harping on these essential components will not secure politicians any votes, so they
think.But, I think that they will secure votes!Nonetheless, President Obama and Arne
Duncan, like most politicians (George W. Bush and the late Ted Kennedy included), continue to adhere to Blame The Teachers
First (BTTF).Added to this is the destructive program called Let Administrators Run Roughshod Over Teachers
(LARROT). Educational Rot. This educational stench is so strong to every fair-minded
and intelligent nostril.But, the masses will continue to eat the slop until someone points out that this
slop is really for educational swine.RTTT?Race To The Top?No,
Race To The Trough. Teachers "teach" the students, not "learn" the students.Physicians "treat" the patients, not "heal" the patients.Lawyers "defend"
the accused, not "acquit" the accused.Until our politicians and policymakers start holding the
students and their parents responsible for the learning facet of the educational equation, then improving education is like
spitting into a tsunami.Other countries and cultures understand this simple concept, but in our "wisdom,"
we have become educational "fools." (c) MACE, August 27, 2010.
The Motivation To Learn Is A Cultural Phenomenon
Part II
By John R. Alston Trotter, EdD, JD
A student will not learn unless that student is MOTIVATED TO LEARN.The motivation to learn is a cultural phenomenon or social process.Peer pressure, family history
and appreciation for academia, family income, culture, etc., are many of the factors which bear upon a student's MOTIVATION
TO LEARN.What is wrong with so many of our schools today is that students simply do not bring the proper
motivation to the table of learning.It is not that the student is incapable of learning; the problem is
that the student does not want to learn.I have always said that 90% of our students could master (not
just have a grade given to them, as is often the case today) 90% of what we dish out to them in way of academics if they truly
were motivated to do so.After my youngest son attended a Lead America program at Georgetown University
this Summer and studied about the Central Intelligence Agency (and perhaps the F. B. I. too) and met a friend from Missouri
who makes straight As, he announced to his mother and to me that he intended to make all As this school year.I hope that he does.He is capable.And, what if he falls a bit short of his
goals?What if he makes a few Bs?At least he has cranked up his motivation-to-learn
level.(By the way, his high school has the third or fourth highest test scores of Georgia's public schools.It's probably tougher than many private schools.)The key to learning is the motivation to learn.
This is nothing that I just stumbled
upon.I begin to observe this phenomenon in the 1970s when I was student teaching.In
fact, my thesis for my Master of Arts degree at UGA was conducted on peer pressure perceptions (which is a major determinant
to a student'smotivation to learn) and later published the results of my study in a major referee journal.As I began to work on my doctorate and was a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Educational Administration and
Bureau of Field Studies at the University of Georgia in 1980-1981 (graduated in 1984 after working two years on a huge dissertation),
I begin to learn from the keen observations of a professor named Dr. Eugene Boyce.I had an office in the
department, and I really appreciated Dr. Boyce's acumen.He was a little eccentric, but highly intelligent
folk often are.Dr. Boyce served on my dissertation committee.He had served as an educational
expert in West Africa, East Africa, the old U. S. S. R., and in the People's Republic of China.He would
ask, "Do you know how they teach students English in the Soviet Union?"He would hold up a glass
and say, "This is a glass," and the response from the students in the Soviet Union would be, "This is a glass."They did not get into any of the supercilious methods of teaching that are espoused today by our so-called Staff Development
experts (my father always called these people "the Insultants").They did not have to.The students were already motivated to learn.Perhaps this is why nearly every student who graduates
from the high school level in Europe or China knows how to speak English.Is it because these European
or Chinese students are smarter than my children or your children in the United States?No, it is because
a student from China brings a higher level of motivation to learn to the equation.
Dr. Boyce noticed that in Africa the students who attended those schools
which were preparing the students to work in the diplomatic field (whether as interpreters or whatever) had much higher motivational
levels to learn than students who attended what Dr. Boyce called the "Village-Tribal Schools."The
latter students did not appreciate the world of academia and did not see how this "book-learning" would be relevant
to their lives as physical laborers.These students had no hope for rising above physical laborers.They had no hope for a working life different from hard, physical labor.Therefore, their motivation
to learn academic subjects was very low.
I remember teaching one year in Greene County (about half the faculty car-pooled from Athens to Greensboro).I
had several young girls in my classes (I think two in my ninth grade homeroom) who were pregnant during the school year.There was no stigma whatsoever.In fact, either in this school system or another system (I just
can't remember now), there was an unofficial "Baby Day" where the students would bring their babies to school.People would ooh and aah over the cute little ones (as we all should praise and stand in wonderment of God's little
creatures).But, the point that I am making is that this was the time that our school systems (including
Greene County at the time) were trying to prevent teenage pregnancy by teaching the teenagers to put condoms on cucumbers
(literal cucumbers).Our educrats had concluded that teenage pregnancy was happening because of a lack
of information, not a lack of motivation.The educrats were treating teenage pregnancy as a technical breakdown,
not a motivational breakdown.These young girls actually wanted to get pregnant.In
fact, I'll never forget one of the older gentlemen who car-pooled with us announcing when he got in the car that afternoon:"Well, Carrie told the class today that she was going out to the Hill this afternoon to get pregnant."Carrie was a student in his Special Education class.Motivation is the key, baby!No
pun intended! (c) MACE, August 27, 2010.
Too Many Pimps, Sluts, & Bitches
Running Our Public Schools!
By John R. Alston Trotter, EdD, JD
You cannot have good learning conditions until you first have good teaching conditions.
I was reading a few weeks ago that Douglas Reeves was coming to Atlanta.WoopieDo.Douglas Reeves and educrats of his ilk start from the fallacious premise that students are not learning because teachers
are not teaching.No, Dougie Boy, most of the time, it is simply a lack of motivation.Largely,
students do not learn because students don't want to learn.It is just this simple.The
Educational Commercial Complex starts with the assumption that teachers need more and/or different types of training (this
is where big money lies) or that the students must be treated from a technical breakdown perspective (lots of"chedda" here too) rather than from a motivational breakdown perspective.Public Education
has become a big business.Superintendents are essentially Sluts who jump in and out
of different beds (school boards) throughout the country, depending on how much money is offered to them; school board attorneys
are the Pimps who are really telling everyone, including the superintendents, what to do; and, of course, we have far too
many Bitches (males included) who are pretending to be principals in the schools.Now I know that my language
is graphic and makes some people uncomfortable, but sometimes graphic language is what is needed to communicate reality.I like to speak in terms which cannot be misunderstood.In nearly every county in Georgia (and probably
nationwide), the local school board's budget is the largest budget in the county.Attorneys, book publishers,
consultants (or, "insultants," as my father calls them), and superintendents have long since realized just how "profitable"
these "non-profit" budgets can be.Oink, oink!The pigs are at the public
trough!
There's just too much money on the table.If we simply allowed teachers to teach, supported them
in the areas of discipline, quit snoopervising them (and thereby eliminating thousands of useless, inane, and counter-productive
bureaucratic jobs), and selected principals and superintendents of the basis of proven local leadership where they
have been vetted through years, then our schools will be much better off.But, the voracious publishers
and superintendent search firms and law firms would not be making the big bucks.It's all about the money.That's right.The school business is really a profitable, money-making business for the few.But, the Educational Commercial Complex is smothering and choking the educational systems throughout the country.Teachers know what is wrong with the public schooling process, but no one asks the teachers what is wrong.No, the Educational Sluts, Pimps, and Bitches have the school systems on lockdown.What are the
real problems in public education?First, we have too many defiant and disruptive (and unmotivated) students
in the regular classrooms, and the administrators are either too lazy or too scared to support the teachers in the area of
classroom discipline.The teachers cannot do it without administrative support.This
is a fact, Jack.Second, too many of today's parents are irate and irresponsible.Instead
of supporting the teachers, they are on the rampage against the teachers.When I grew up, if I got in trouble
with the teacher at school, I caught more heck at home when my parents found out.Parents back then, as
a whole, supported the teachers. Third, we have way too many angry and abusive administrators in our central offices and in
our schools.Teacher abuse is epidemic.Teachers are abused by these myopic, incompetent,
and cruel administrators.This too is a fact, Jack.Of course another problem that we
at MACE have been hammering on for a while -- like we were lone wolves in the educational desert -- is the widespread, systematic
cheating on the standardized tests.This too is a fact, Jack.We think that the widespread
use of standardized tests should be jettisoned.The curricula have been reduced to teaching the tests,
but this entails a whole article (and I have already written other articles about this).
There you have it:Let teachers teach and get rid of the Educational Sluts, Pimps, and Bitches!You read it here first...on TheTeachersAdvocate.Com!(c) MACE, August
1, 2010.
RTTT?Runts Trying To Teach?
By
John R. Alston Trotter, EdD, JD
Awarding the RTTT grant to Georgia will only further destroy the Georgia schools.Twenty-five years ago, I very publicly opposed the Quality Basic Education Act (QBE) when all the
politicians were singing its praises.I said that QBE was going to stand for "Quit
Being anEducator" or "Quit Brutalizing Educators."We see what QBE has brought about...a manipulative, punitive, and retributive process of "evaluating"
teachers.At MACE, we deal with this every day.QBE
also brought about the standardized testing mania, which was only compounded more by No Child Left Behind.The Race To The Top (RTTT) foolishness is pure Federal bribery for more of the clueless Arne
Duncan's and Bill Gates's notions about how to run schools.These guys are clueless;
neither have ever taught a day in public schools.RTTT will reduce teaching to even more
of a "cookie-cutter" approach and will result in more "shutter-upper"
effects.In other words, creative and energeticteaching
will be stifled and essentially eliminated.If a teacher questions any
of the top-down curriculum craziness, this teacher will be papered-out (corporately executed)
of the school system.Bill Gates apparently thinks that teaching students is like mass-producing
computer software.What does Arne Duncan think?Who knows?His only teaching"experience" to become the United StatesSecretary of Education was having "helped" one summer in his mom's after-school program.Now that will really prepare you, heh?As I have said many times, Arne Duncan is
clueless when it comes to public education.Tall, proud, innovative, and creative teachers will be metaphorically
reduced to runts.Runts Trying To Teach (RTTT).But, marks like Maureen
Downey of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution will continue to think that RTTT will
improve education.(c) MACE, July 28, 2010.
Teaching
Is Relationships!
By John R. Alston Trotter, EdD, JD
It is rather humbling to have forty-plus-year-olds whom you taught in junior high get on Facebook and say so many nice
things about their experiences in your class.One of my former students even remembers the cheer that I
started up when he came to Home Room (23, by the way) late one morning.Our homeroom always won the contests
-- no matter what the contests were.So, we were in a can food drive, and trying to "whup" (not
just beat) the other homerooms.(I actually instituted a campaign called "Cheatin' for Charity"
and would buy the cans from kids from other homerooms while I was on hall duty in the morning.)We
actually turned our HR into "Big Star."(Y'all do remember Big Star Grocery Store, right?)Well, this one particular morning, Devin strolled in late (and Devin was and still is a character), and I demanded,
"What did you bring?"He sheepishly pulled out a can of yams!I started, "Bip
Bop Bam!Devin brought some Yams!Bip, Bip, Bam!Devin brought some
Yams!"The whole class in unison was doing this cheer!Today, the numbskull administrators
would probably write me up for this.So stupid these days.But, more than 25 years later,
Devin, who, by the way had a serious stroke last year but is doing much better now, brought this cheer up on FB.
The other day, one of my former junior
high football players, Eric, wrote me a note on FB.I remember in the 7th grade that he did not want to
play football (and kept saying this as he hugged the grass on the ground) but his father (a Delta airline pilot) made him
stay out for football.I nicknamed him "Tiger."Well, Tiger gets bigger and
bigger and by his senior year at Jonesboro Sr. High, he makes First Team All State and signs with Perdue University in the
Big Ten Conference.The other day, he wrote me a message and said that he told all of his Perdue teammates
that he never had a coach (even in college) who could motivate the players and get them fired up like "Coach Trotter,"
his junior high coach.I am a little hard and crusty these days, but this did make me smile.
I saw that another one of my students
had on his school profile as a teacher and coach in North Georgia that I was a great influence in his life as far as becoming
a teacher and a coach.He has great parents, and I see David’s parents occasionally down here on
the Southside.This kid did not have much athletic ability but he had and still has great heart and is
a great coach.This reminds me of Charles (Chuck) Hurston.He played football for my
father at Jordan Vocational High School in Columbus, Georgia in the late 1950s.The Head Coach wanted my
father to take up his uniform because "he'll never be a football player."My father refused.Chuck began to come around.But, he was still tall and gawky.But, by his senior
year, he signed with Auburn University.After Auburn, he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs of the old
American Football League.In 1967, Charles (Chuck) Hurston was a starting defensive end (# 85) in the First
Super Bowl versus the Green Bay Packers.He and my father still see each other from time to time, and although
my father is 85 (and my mom too), Chuck still calls my father "Coach Trotter."
Not all teachers are the same.Granted.Some are better than others.Some are more skilled than others.Some have better personalities than others.Some
have more life experiences and teaching experiences than others.Some are more educated than others.Some are more motivated than others.
With all this granted, the number one influence
in whether or not a student becomes well-educated is his or her set of parents (or, in many cases, single parent).I hate to say this, but it sometimes boils down to "the Lucky Sperm Club," as one of my political friends
so bluntly states it.
FACTS:
1.The teacher's authority is paramount in the classroom.When the educrats undermine this authority,
they only hurt the children, not help them.As a previous poster noted, the great success of the Ron Clark
experience is first establishing the unquestioned authority of the teacher.The emphasis should be teacher-focused,
not this cockamamie student-focused crap.How can ignorant kids teach each other anything?Yet, our teachers are written up today because their classrooms are not student-focused enough.Oh,
so we divide up into "centers" or groups and allow the children to teach each other Latin, heh?Is
this how they do it at Westminster, Marist, Lovett, Woodward?No.
2.The
motivation to learn is a cultural process or phenomenon.Without the proper motivation to learn, no student
will learn, regardless of who is teaching.Bill Gates could begin to teach computer programming each day
at Atlanta's Kennedy Middle School, but if the students fail to show up for class (but are loitering up and down the drug-infested
James P. Brawley Drive) or when they do show up, they are pushing and kicking each other during class or actually playing
digital game on their ubiquitous cell phones, I don't think even the good ole Harvard drop-out will make a dent in "teaching"
these students.Oh, Gates can teach them, but he can't "learn" them.Only
the student can learn, but the student has to be motivated to learn.This motivation is a social or cultural
phenomenon.The motivation that he or she brings to school is determined by the more than 85% of the time
that a child spends AWAY from school until the child turns eighteen.The schools only have the children
for a small percentage of their lives.What happens in the child's overwhelmingly majority life that is
spent away from the school building?Whatever happens is what largely determines whether or not the child
brings motivation to learn to the school building.Yes, the influence of their parents is substantial.
3.You cannot have good learning conditions without first having good teaching conditions.Educrats are so mistaken when they assume that coddling and pampering students is what they need.They
assume that this is nurturing.No, this is spoiling the students and turning them into spoiled and rotten
brats.They become even more hellions than their previous potential.(All children can
learn, but all children also have the potential to be hellions.)The students become defiant and disruptive.Effective leaning cannot take place.Yes, a teacher can teach his or her heart out, but if the teaching
conditions in which a teacher teaches are so horrific, the student will not learn.A great lawyer can do
a masterful job in the courtroom.He or she can defend his or her client, but cannot acquit the client.A great physician can treat a patient, but cannot heal a patient.A great teacher can teach a student,
but not learn a student.
[The following was written
by Dr. John Trotter in the Get Schooled blog of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.Dr. Trotter writes regularly
on this blog, on this MACE website, TheTeachersAdvocate.Com, as well as on other site that are listed at the bottom of this
page.]
"Retired Educator":I know that you are just fishing for info, but I will still answer you anyway.I am currently out of the country, but the MACE Office is fully manned (and "womanned") every day!Just call the MACE Office and see that you will be fully assisted!Or, better yet, go by the MACE
Office in Fayetteville.Our Summer Hours are not until 11:00 PM and Midnight like during the school year.We try to get out by 7:00 PM or 8:00 PM during the summer time.We are not fully staffed (yet still
staffed) on Fridays during the summer months.We are, as you can imagine, representing teachers all summer
in hearings.Unlike some organizations, we actually go to the hearings and fight like h_ll for the teachers
instead of twisting their arms to "just resign."I just submitted a new article the other day
for the front page to our website (www.theteachersadvocate.com) and will, at your behest, send some more to Renee via email.Renee, Norreese, Jeff,Ben, Michael, et al., are at the office and are always glad to welcome anyone
who shows up!
I
am getting rejuvenated (spelled correctly?) right now.I am doing a lot with my children too!During the school year, we put in so many hours that the children sometimes get short-changed, it seems.Matt just emailed me today wanting to fly to Missouri to see a friend whom he met in Washington, D. C. last week at
a Leadership American Conference (on the FBI and CIA) at Georgetown University.His new friend and family
have invited him for a week to Branson, Missouri.I've written to him twice today, emphasizing that his
Grandmother was born a few miles away in Springfield, Missouri, the home of Ma Barker and Her Boys (notorious gang).Ha!My Frazier and Shackelford relatives hail from the Ozarks, home of some of the most fierce fighting
during (and AFTER) the Civil War.Add this DNA to the Dueling Alstons, and you see where I get all of my
feistiness, heh?Matt, by the way, was a "beast" (as one coach described him) in the 400 as a
Freshman this year.
Robert, Matt's older brother, will be attending
an elite football camp (by invitational only) in Virginia this month.His highlight video is available
right below.
Rob gets much of his athleticism from his mom, although
my senior year in high school, I was the only "white boy" on the court with nine brothers in the opening game at
the old Columbus Municipal Auditorium.Jordan vs. Carver, 1971-72.I could handle
a basketball, I might add.Always had a little flavor!(Now I can hear the offended
now, "Why does he mention color?"Because I wanted to.Get over it.This is life!Ha!)
"Retired Teacher":Thanks
for asking about MACE.We are doing quite well, and we are not ashamed to say that we thank the Good Lord!MACE is sort of like the Educational Stature of Liberty.Send us your oppressed and huddled masses!Ha!Just for you, I think that I will send Renee a photo for the front page of TheTeachersAdvocate.Com.It will be a special photo of me enjoying the summer.When the school year begins, I will feel refreshed
and ready to kick some administrative a_s.I mean those administrators who abuse classroom educators!At MACE, we protect and empower classroom educators...one member at a time!Tchau! (c) MACE, July
12, 2010.
Again:Beverly Hall & Cheating, Crawford Lewis & Corruption, and Mark Elgart &
Hypocrisy.
John DeCotis Will Be Missed…
By John R. Alston Trotter, EdD, JD
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) has finally shone a little light on the egregious and shameless
culture of cheating that the Beverly Hall Administration established years ago (when she arrived in the Summer of 1999).Hall has been atrocious but has had her Atlanta Chamber of Commerce folk and EduPac folk (more or less the same folk)
to have her back, so to speak, all these years.We have been speaking out for years now here on TheTeachersAdvocate.Com
(as well as on the GetSchooled blog of the AJC and on Teachers.Net) about how completely corrupt the Hall Administration is.This administration makes previous APS administrations look like they were hatched and nurtured in convents.The effrontery of the Hall Administration is indeed shameless. Many a good educator/person has had
his or her rights trampled upon and many good people have lost their jobs unjustly because of their willingness to speak out
or because of their unwillingness to "go along just to get along."
In the 2008-2009 school year, we at MACE had occasion to visit at Atlanta’s White Elementary (one of the schools
in Atlanta which had apparently engaged in unconscionable cheating).When we walked in and signed in after
school just to meet with a particular teacher, you would have thought that Darth Vader showed up.When
I asked to attend the restroom and was escorted as if I were a criminal, a lady from the Atlanta Central Office called my
cell phone and asked what was going on "at White Elementary" (this is not unusual but this time the anxiety of the
administration appeared to me to be more acute).I explained that I simply had to go to the restroom.Now, looking back on the situation, perhaps they were afraid that my colleagues and I were there to look for erasures!
I have said many times and continue to say this:The three most hypocritical people associated with public education in Georgia are Beverly Hall, Crawford Lewis, and
Mark Elgart.It appears that Lewis has turned in his cleats for good.I hope that someone
on the Atlanta Board of Education will have enough sense to tell Hall to turn in her cleats.Then, we have
only the self-righteous and hypocritical Mark Elgart of SACS remaining in the arena.He, in my opinion,
is an educational fake, and SACS is a money-grubbing outfit which uses its powers to carry out personal vendettas for its
personnel or for its friends placed in high places.Mark Elgart is the Elmer Gantry of Georgia Public Education.I would love to debate Mark Elgart about the uneven-handedness of SACS.Are you listening Mark?Who can arrange for an open, public debate between Mark Elgart and me?I think that he is not only
an educational fake but also a moral chicken.His unconscionable actions are also shameless.
Dr. John DeCotis will be sorely missed in Fayette County and
in the State of Georgia.He is a kind, good, and caring person who shows that you do not have to be an
ass to be an effective leader and superintendent.A few months back, I wrote to him and wished him a happy,
fruitful, and relaxing retirement.Perhaps he could be used throughout the State to teach some of our superintendents
how to treat people.But, the real jerks (who need to practice his prescient ways) would not show up --
they are already jackanapes and think that they need no one to teach them!(c) MACE, June 30, 2010.
Superintendent
Salaries Are Outrageous!
By John R. Alston Trotter, EdD, JD
Most of Georgia's superintendents (and in other states also) aren't worth metaphorically wasting a bullet on them.That was a metaphor.You have heard someone say, I am sure:"He ain't
worth shootin'."Well, my grandfather would say:"He ain't worth wasting
a bullet on."Now that I have cleared up the fact that I am not violent nor do I ever advocate violence,
let me now say this rather categorically:Most superintendents have to eat a lot of "do do" to
get in the position of being "vetted" by the good ole boy system that is somewhat self-perpetuating and incestuous
here in Georgia -- and I am sure in other states as well.Since they had to eat so much "do do"
to be where they needed to be in order to be tabbed as the next "savior" for whatever school system is desperate
(like when Atlanta hired Beverly Hall in 1999 -- heck, she had made a complete mess of New Jersey!), these booger-eaters and
butt-kissers then tend to think that they deserve these whopping salaries from the public trough.At best
they are just the top educrat on the educational totem pole, but they do not interact with any students.They
issue top-down, heavy-handed commands as if this is some type of effectual "reform" (this is truly a worn-out word
which I detest).All -- let me repeat...ALL -- so-called educational "reforms" which have been
touted and ballyhooed through years have panned out to be abject failures, and I challenge anyone to defy this statement,
especially these wannabe State Superintendents.
Yes, these school superintendents' salaries (and benefits) are way out of line.Like I said, most
of these creatures aren't worth their salt when it comes to running a school system.I am sorry that
you have to hear the blunt truth from me, but I don't apologize nor vacillate one scintilla.They are the
problems, not the "saviors."Someone needs to stand up and say that Alvin Wilbanks, Beverly Hall,
Edmond Heatley, Cindy Loe, Fred Sanderson, Crawford Lewis (and his interim replacement), et al., are naked as a jaybird.The educational emperors (and they do act like emperors, don't they?) are naked.Why are people
so afraid to point this out?I commend the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for shedding some needed light
on the superintendents' outrageous salaries and the concomitant behemoth bureaucracies which the superintendentsestablish to serve them, not the students.(c) MACE, May 25, 2010.
MACE's Spring Picket Parade...Shiloh
Middle & More.
What Will The New State
Superintendent Do About The "War Zone Schools"?
By Dr. John Trotter
I see that Kathy Cox has stepped down.She's had enough.I am sure that Kathy
is a nice person, but from the beginning she was in way over her head.She won simply because she had an
"R" next to her name.The same for Linda Schrenko.Both are pleasant enough
to be around but entirely clueless when it comes to improving education in Georgia, particularly in the urban areas like DeKalb,
Gwinnett, Cobb, Atlanta, Clayton, Fulton, Muscogee, Richmond, Dougherty, Chatham, Bibb, et al.Some school
systems in Georgia are doing just fine, despite the State cutting large sums of monies from the systems.But,
where education is failing is largely in the urban school settings...where teaching there can be like teaching in a war zone.
In the "War Zone Schools" (perhaps
I can coin this phrase like my "educrat" and "snoopervise" phrases, eh?), there are some salient features
which plague them.At MACE, we have been talking about these "plagues" for years, but this is
not popular to talk about and borders on being "politically incorrect," which is something with which we don't too
much concern ourselves.Here are the "Four Horsemen of Failing Urban Schools" (ooh, I like this
phrase also; I see that I easily impress myself -- ha!):(1) Defiant & Disruptive Students (Thugs);
(2) Irate & Irresponsible Parents; (3) Angry & Abusive Administrators; and (4) Systematic & Widespread Cheating.There you have it.These are the crucial issues, and each and every candidate for State Superintendent
will blithely ignore all of them and proceed to offer up some pedagogical pabulum and platitudes which, first of all, will
be theoretically and practically unsound, and second of all, will not make a scintilla of difference in these "War Zone
Schools."
Why
does MACE thrive?Because we tell the truth about these "War Zone Schools," and we do not candy-coat
the problems.We address the problems head-on.This is what GAE and PAGE refuse to do
-- in fact, CANNOT do because they cater to the whims of administrators who are also their members.No
matter who gets elected as State Superintendent of Georgia -- John Barge, Roger Hines, Richard Woods, Beth Farokhi, Sandra
Cannon Scott, Brian Westlake, Joe, or Kira Willis --he or she will not do one thing to improve these"War Zone Schools."Oh, Harris County will be O. K.Fannin County will
be O. K.Bremen City will be O. K.But, what about Sylvan Middle School in Atlanta?What about Fain Elementary School in Atlanta?What about Indian Creek Elementary School in DeKalb?
What about Tara Elementary School in Clayton?What about Lindley Middle School in Cobb?What about Shiloh Middle School in Gwinnett?What about Columbia Middle School in DeKalb?What about Mays High School (yes, the once storied Mays which is now floundering) in Atlanta?What
about Clarkston High School in DeKalb?What about Randolph Elementary School in Fulton?What
about these schools?What will the new superintendent do about these schools?Nothing.(c) MACE, April 18, 2010.
"Y'all
Want A
Fight? Let's Go!"
"Y'all want a fight?Let's go!You guys [school board and administrators] want to blame everything on teachers and fail
to place the blame right where it belongs...with the students and their parents.We have told you over
and over that you cannot have good learning conditions until you first have good teaching conditions.So,
if you want to continue to blame teachers and abuse teachers, then we're always ready to thrown down.Let's
go!I only wish that there were more hours in the day so we could kick more administrative ass!We're not educational terrorists; we're just freedom fighters, freeing up teachers from administrative abuse, parental
abuse, and the daily abuse suffered from student-thugs!MACE uses every legal means available to protect
and empower our teacher-members so that they can teach in peace, without the daily abuse affecting their minds, bodies, and
souls.So, yeah, y'all want a fight?Then, as my colleague Norreese Haynes says, 'Bring
it.'Unlike GAE and PAGE, we're not going to tuck our tails and run.MACE was born fighting,
and we've been fighting for Georgia's classroom educators
for 15 years, and we offer no apologies for this fact.This is why the school-based administrators and
the central office administrators push for "their" teachers to join GAE and PAGE.They're not
afraid of PAGE and GAE, but I quote one school board attorney in the Metro Atlanta
area:'MACE terrorizes the principals.'Good.If they are abusing
teachers, then they should be terrorized of MACE.Let's go!" -- Dr. John Trotter, MACE Chairman &
CEO.
The MACE Vidette Stands On The Watch For Teachers!
MACE
Fights Merit Pay!
Merit
Pay Rears Its Head Again!
Vote The Suckers Out!
By John R. Alston
Trotter, EdD, JD
Sonny Perdue and
some of his henchmen have totally disrespected teachers with this Merit Pay Mirage.Do they really think
that this will improve education in Georgia? (I have written several articles on Merit Pay on www.theteachersadvocate.com.)
What our schools in Georgia need is a better class of students.Do you think that anyone at GAE or PAGE
will say this?Ha!It is true, and in your hearts, you guys know that I am speaking
the truth.You cannot have good learning conditions until you first have good teaching conditions.This is our constant mantra at MACE, and no one can logically dispute this.No one.Another statement prominently displayed on MACE literature (and even on our envelopes) is this:"MACE
Devours Administrators Who Abuse Teachers."Administrative abuse?Of course.Every day.It is rampant.In the Spring of 1996, the headline for the lead article
in The Teacher's Advocate! magazine was "Teacher Abuse Is Epidemic!"It's
been epidemic for years, but everyone wants bury his or her head in the proverbial sand.Darn it!When are governors, legislators, school board members, and other policy-makers (including Arne Duncan in Washington,
D. C.) going to take their heads out of the sand and listen?They are operating like they still believe
that the Earth is flat.They need to sail West (discipline in the classrooms) to reach the East Indies
(academic achievement).They apparently think that they will fall off the Earth if they insist on classroom
discipline.But, there will never be any significant changes in academic achievement without first establishing
classroom discipline, and teachers cannot establish good classroom discipline when a handful (or a whole classroom full) of
miscreants and thugs substantially disrupt the classes, knowing that the weasel, booger-eating, and kiss-up administrators
are either too afraid or too lazy to do anything to the thugs who are running some of our schools.Abject
administrative cowardice, laziness, apathy and/or callousness!
Any legislator
who goes along with Sonny's maniacal Merit Pay plan should be voted out of office!Vote all of the
suckers out of office!(c) MACE, April 28, 2010.
Dennie (“Dink”) Trotter was born on April 21, 1925 in Madison, Georgia to Robert Alston
(“Doc”) Trotter, Sr., and Nellie Jane Clemons Trotter (both interred in Columbus).Dink is
the youngest child in his family, and he is the grandson of Dr. Robert Walter Trotter and Elizabeth Howard Alston Trotter
(both interred in Madison) and the great grandson of Col. Robert Augustus Alston, Esq., and Mary Charlotte MaGill Alston (both
interred in Decatur).
Dink joined the U. S. Navy during the height of World War II and saw horrific action as a teenager.He
married the love of his life, Jo Ann Frazier, toward the end of World War II when he returned Stateside on a mandatory leave
because his ship was blown up by a Japanese Kamikaze plane.After the war, Dink matriculated at Auburn
University, graduating in 1948.Patti had been born in 1947.In 1948, the young
Trotter family moved to Nashville where Dink entered Peabody College (now a part of Vanderbilt University).Upon earning his Master’s degree at Peabody, Dink and family moved to Dasher, Georgia, a little community outside
of Valdosta where he taught and coached at Dasher Bible School (now Georgia Christian School), making many long-life friends
at Dasher.In 1950, the young Trotter family returned to Dink’s hometown of Columbus, Georgia where
Dr. William Henry Shaw, Superintendent of Muscogee County School District, immediately offered Dink a principal job. Dink
wisely turned it down to accept a teaching/coaching job at Columbus Jr. High School/Jordan Vocational High School. Dan
was born in 1950 and youngest child Johnny was born on New Year’s Eve, 1953.(Dink named “Johnny”
after his best friend, Johnny Rhodes, who was killed in January of 1945 while fighting in the Battle of the Bulge.)Dink later became Assistant Principal at Jordan and Principal at Daniel Jr. High School. He
retired from the school system in 1981, after having been blessed with thousands of cherished friendships and associations
of colleagues and former students throughout his career as an educator.After retiring from the school
system, Dink accepted a job as the Executive Director of the Columbus Area YMCAs.(He had earlier turned
down a highly publicized offer from Columbus Mayor Jack Mickle to be the Director of Public Safety for Columbus, Georgia.)
Not only is Dink a great “School Man,” he most essentially is a Christian, a Man
of Faith.Many a person, especially in a time of need, has turned to Dink for help, and their needs are
met and without fanfare.He is the essence of the benevolent man.He served his church
for about 50 years as both a Deacon and an Elder.If Dennie Trotter is your friend, you have a friend indeed!Since the inception of MACE in 1995, Daniel D. Trotter, Sr., (aka “D. D. T.”) has been one of MACE’s
most reliable supporters.Through the years, he financially supported the young teacher’s union (now
a veritable force to be reckoned with) in a quiet and steady manner, knowing that he too has always been a “teacher
advocate.”For over a dozen years, D. D. T. served on the MACE Board of Directors,
and the existence of MACE today is attributed greatly to the support and wisdom provided by Mr. Trotter and by the example
that he set in empowering teachers through the years to do their jobs.This MACE Conference Room will be
known henceforward as the “Daniel D. Trotter Conference Room.”
[Editor's Note:This article originally appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Get Schooled
blog.Hence, the references to the "AJC" and to "bloggers."]
I see that you guys have been having fun on this blog lately.Let me chime in on Mark Elgart and SACS, if you will.I have said on this forum and many other fora
(including www.theteachersadvocate.com) that Mark Elgart, Crawford Lewis, and Beverly Hall are the threebiggest
educational hypocrites in Georgia.It appears that most now agree with me on the latter two, especially
in light of recent corruption and cheating scandals.If the AJC would focus some light on the ways that
Mark Elgart and SACS work, I think that this would be very entertaining and revealing.
SACS charges the schools and the school systems monies to
received SAC's "accreditation."In my opinion, this is a complete scam.I
will quote a former Clayton County school board member and my colleague at MACE, Norreese Haynes, who bravely called SACS's
mechanizations and manipulations "a sham and a farce."SACS is, in my opinion, about MONEY.Hey, what about this acronym?Mark's Oiley Nickels Every Year (MONEY).Yep, the
nickels keep flowing into the SACS organization each year because no one wants Mark Elgart to label their school system or
schools as "deficient" and not worthy of SACS's "accreditation."
Any insider (for example, any administrator) in public education
knows that an "evaluation" from SACS is a joke.Just jump through a minimal paper hoops and PRESTO!You're "SACS accredited."In the past, I served on several SACS Five Year Interim "Evaluations."What a complete farce.Just serve good coffee and donuts to the "evaluators" (so many
times they are your administrator-friends from other schools), and you ought to be just fine, as long as your "report"
is typed up neatly.It doesn't matter that there is a complete failure of student discipline in the school
or that teachers are verbally and physically assaulted by the miscreant students on a regular basis.No,
this doesn't matter.Just look at what been going on and is still going on in the DeKalb County Schools
and in the Atlanta Public Schools.Do you see Mark Elgart and SACS even snooping around on the periphery
of these systems?Nope.Does Sara Copelin-Wood micromanage the schools?Is grits groceries?Does it get dark at night?Do roaches climb walls?Do cats have tails?Of course she micromanages.We at MACE have been hearing
about this for years!We have picketed this board member on a few occasions.Does Mark
Elgart and his "holy standard" get involved?Of course not!SACS is
about money and control!Every forty years, pick on a school system like Clayton County (because two of
its board members, then Chairperson Ericka Davis and then Vice Chairperson Rod Johnson, stupidly "invited" Mark
Elgart to Clayton County mainly because Ericka Davis could not "control" fellow school board member Norreese Haynes;
Davis herself was an inveterate micromanager).Or, go pick on a little system like Warren County because
someone apparently from Warren Countyin the Governor's office was allegedly offended by the on-goings
in that system and because Mark Elgart and his boys desperately wanted the legislation passed which would give SACS even more
power in Georgia.It really is sick, if you cogitate upon this abuse of power.
One of the bloggers is correct
in talking about SACS taking taxpayer dollars.In addition, the State has tied in the Hope Scholarship
to schools being either GAC (Georgia Accrediting Commission) accredited or SACS accredited or accreditation being secured
from other agencies by private schools.I don't know why the naive school systems just let SACS hold some
kind of threat over their metaphorical heads, except that I realized that SACS has done a remarkable marketing job through
the years, convincing the unsuspecting public that it is the "Good Housekeeping" Seal of Approval.To
the contrary, SACS is a house of cards.It looks so imposing.But, if the AJC (or some
other media outlet) would focus for a moment on SACS, the public would then know the truth...SACS is indeed "a sham and
a farce."(c) MACE, April 5, 2010.
We Were Ready With A Clown Suit!
Is Crawford Lewis Being "Banned" From DeKalb?
By John R. Alston Trotter, EdD, JD
At MACE, we have
always called Crawford Lewis a "candy ass."He and his administration refused and still refuses
to go by the State-mandated provisions about teacher grievances (OCGA 20-2-989.5 et seq.).I think that
we conducted at least seven (perhaps eight) "Candy Ass" pickets against Crawford over the years.He
didn't seem to like these pickets.We had actually bought a clown outfit and blanket-sized dollar bills
(as well as very large bills to fall out of the clown's pockets), and we are about to conduct a "Crawford, the Superintendent
Clown" picket when the police raided the Crawford's office and home.Oh well...We had to picket that
day at Atlanta's Douglass High School because the interim principal was trying to mandate that all of the teachers had to
work on that Saturday.(The previous principal abruptly resigned in the middle of the school year.It may have had something to do with a negative disposition that he received from the Professional Standards Commission
after a MACE teacher had filed a complaint against him.Hey, I don't know.)
Well, our Clown Picket was aborted it.But, I did tell everyone on this blog back when Crawford
stepped aside that he would NEVER return.I don't think that he will.I think that he
is being "banned" from the Board of Education.Wow, look how these "banning" things
work.I have survived several ridiculous false arrests and "bannings" through my years of advocating,
representing, and empowering classroom educators.But, by the grace of God, I survive all and even outlast
the so-called "banners."Looks like that I am still kicking up my heels and Crawford is the one
who is being "banned."I now "ban" the DeKalb County Board of Education!You have been "banned"!I also "ban" DeKalb's pitiful legal team led by Josie
Alexander.You have been "banned"!I finally "ban" the feckless
Office of Internal Resolution led by State Senator Ronald B. Ramsey.You have been "banned"!(There could be hope for this Office because despite their cowering to the wishes of the Crawford Lewis Administration,
I do actually believe that many of the souls in this office have good hearts.Even after the departure
of Crawford Lewis, not all in this office have to, metaphorically speaking, "sleep with the fishes.")I "ban" Eugene Walker!I "ban" Jay Cunningham!I "ban"
Sara Copelin-Wood!I "ban" Zepora (sp?) Roberts!I "ban" Bob Womack!I "ban" all of the DeKalb County Board of Education members!DeKalb School System is henceforth
a "banned" school system!Now how is that for "banning"?I think
that the mantra to follow is "ban not that you be not banned."The school board and the
superintendency are in the political arena, and the political arena is the market place of ideas.If a
superintendent (in this case, Crawford Lewis) and the school board (in this case, DeKalb County's board) can't handle a voice
of a critics or his ideas about the job that they are doing, then don't try to snuff out the critic's voice by attempting
to "ban" him or her.The same unjust "banning" that you try to lay on others may justly
return to ban you!
Oh, by the way, we also had a gas can for theSuperintendent Clown.We were selling
gas which would get two miles per gallon!CrawfordCo Gasoline!Oh well...Perhaps Party
City will give us a refund on the clown suit and the accoutrements.(c) MACE, April 5, 2010.
Beverly
Hall Must Go!
APS:
Teachers Teach.
Administrators Cheat.
Stop
The Standardized Testing Mania!
By John R. Alston Trotter, EdD, JD
All
of this test mania in Georgia (and nationwide) should
cease, and we should go back to the days when teachers developed their own plans (written or unwritten) to match the creative
ways that they would employ to reach the hard-to-reach students.These standardized tests have indeed become
the false gods of public education (as we have pointed out many times on www.theteachersadvocate.com).The
standardization of testing and the shameless teaching of the tests are, as Sir Ken Robinson, author of The Element,
has stated, not unlike gorging young kids with fast food.Our students are indeed malnourished.I have been calling for a cessation of this standardized testing for years.It is a dumbing down
of the educational process.Students are not allowed to tap into their "element," as Sir Ken
Robinson rightly points out.Students become very bored with this very narrow and very boring and very
homogenized and very shallow form of indoctrination which we have the nerve to call "education."It
is at best nothing but regurgitation.A good step in the right direction would be to STOP THE STANDARDIZED
TESTING.Then, systems like Atlanta, DeKalb, Houston, L. A., et al., will not
be so tempted to take the path of easiest resistance by cultivating a culture of fear which then enables the nazi-administrators
to create the culture of cheating.It would be nice to see Governor Sonny Perdue and the Georgia Board
of Education simply say: "Enough is enough.We are going to free up our teachers to teach.After all, they are professionals.We are going to cease all of the educational snoopervision.A loose net will catch anyone not acting professionally.A tight net only suffocates the whole educational
establishment."Wow, it would be nice if they actually said this.There
would be celebration in the schools all over the State!
Which of the politicians and/or policy-makers have the nerve to state the obvious?Who will acknowledge that an 800 pound polka-dotted gorilla is sitting in the educational parlor?Who
will stand up and say, "The Educational Emperor is naked!"?Will DuBose Porter step forward or
will he continue to think that he can beat Roy Barnes and Thurbert Baker by coming up with stupid gimmicks like running his
wife for Light Gov?Will David Poythress continue to rely on his "General" status to catapult
him to the top in the Democratic Primary?No, these poor political souls will take the traditional route
to ignominious and easily forgotten defeats.None, I fear, will have the chutzpah to come out
of the pack like Joe Frank Harris did in 1982 with his "No Tax Increase" promise.Zell Miller,
in 1990, took the Lottery & Hope tack and rode it to victory!Who among the gubernatorial hopefuls
will tap into the inordinate frustration in Georgia's
educational family?Educators First, Bureaucrats Last!Slogans
like this tap into the ethos of educators who have demonstrated that, en masse, they can swing statewide races, especially
with the numerous family members and friends whom they can sway.I have been paid handsome sums to come
up with memorable logos and slogans (like the slogan above) for politicians through the years.This slogan
just popped into my head as I was typing this.Who likes bureaucrats?No one.Bureaucrats are despised by people in society, but especially by educators.Yes, the word"bureaucrats" serves as a "straw man" but a "straw man" which symbolizes what is wrong
with government...faceless bureaucrats who have little sympathy for the painful needs which beset the voters.
On the GOP side, there is little doubt that John Oxendine will walk away with
the primary nod.He will probably score in the forties, if not barely over the 50% magical mark.If he slips below that mark, he will face Karen Handel in the Republican Runoff.The way the scene
looks now, I predict (and I could be wrong, but I don't miss this often!LOL!) a Roy-Ox match-up in November,
with Gwinnett pitting its political prowess against the "Marauding Mob of Mableton and Marietta" (as I have often described
the good-ole-boy "mafia" of Cobb).The Gwinnettians have not quite demonstrated to me that they
have the political moxie to flex their muscles state-wide, but the race will be one of the closest November races that we
have had in years.Oxendine would serve himself wisely if he aligned himself with frustrated educators
in Georgia and "allowed" ole Roy to suffer as the "author" of many of the problems in education today
in Georgia, especially the testing mania and the "blame the teachers first" culture.Roy knows that this is his weakness, and he is doing all that
he can now to try to get sympathetic teachers to put their fingers in his Educational Dikes.The Ox should
constantly remind educators that Roy is the King
of their Educational Problems and Angst.I don't know if any of these already-declared candidates really gets it.I offer this "free
advice," hoping that at least one will realize that Georgia's Educational Community is about to explode and that putting
political Band-aids on massive and festering sores will only exhibit the folly of their understanding of what is going on.Zell Miller understood the power of the Educator Vote.After his shocking election, Sonny Perdue
began to appreciate it.But, he is no longer running, and he has now proposed an imbecilic "All Star
Teachers" program which will only continue to cultivate and facilitate the culture of cheating in our schools.Who among the candidates now is willing to tap into this acute frustration?The first to do so in
a full-frontal assault will win this vote.Those who tip toe to it will be resented by educators as Johnny-Come-Latelies.
(c) MACE, February 22, 2010.
"Save Teachers.Reduce Administrators."
MACE Storms The Capitol!
Teachers
Teach.Administrators Cheat.
By John R. Alston Trotter, EdD, JD, www.theteachersadvocate.com
I wish that
the Governor and the General Assembly would balance the budget by chopping away at the administrative bloat in public education
in Georgia.We could get rid of one-half of the useless administrators in the State, and the school systems
would get along just fine because so many of these administrators are worthless and counter-productive.They
hinder learning, not facilitate it.Hey, I like this slogan on a good picket sign:"Teachers
Teach.Administrators Cheat."Or, "Teachers Teacher.Administrators
Snoop."Or, "Next Election: Teachers With Pitchforks!" Finally, "Let Teachers Evaluate
Administrators."Right now, bad and evil (yes, evil!) administrators can do a lot a damage in the
educational process, including destroying and getting rid of good, dedicated, and effective teachers, but a good teacher has
no recourse against an angry and abusive administrator.The Georgia Code permits the teacher evaluation
of administrators but school boards and superintendents don't want to know about the terrible administrators; they choose
not to exercise this option.This "option" ought to be mandated by the State.You
would see many administrators "get religion," and the teachers would at least appreciate this small effort to mollify
their situation in these very tough economic times.
If I were running
for Governor, I think that I would tap into this huge frustration and try to actually do some things for teachers that cost
the State virtually no money...mandate that school systems allow the teachers to evaluate the administrators and that the
compilation of the scores be presented to the school board.Also, the State should just simply chop in
half the administrative bloat so that teachers would not have to be furloughed.We have way too many useless,
ineffective, and abusive administrators in Georgia.(c) MACE, February 17, 2010.
“MACE
Is Blowing Up!”
“MACE is
blowing up!MACE is a virus to abusive administrators, but MACE is a powerful antibiotic for teachers who
are suffering under the abuse from administrators.MACE is spreading like a California wildfire!We constantly get calls and emails from teachers wanting MACE to come to other states.We’ve had inquiries from Florida, Texas, California, New York, Alabama, Missouri and other states.But, for now we are holding the line in Georgia.We are
not going to stretch our supply lines, so to speak.At MACE, we believe in keeping the troops intact.MACE provides aggressive representation when a teacher needs it.At MACE, we protect teachers one
member at a time.” – Norreese L. Haynes, MACE Chief Operating Officer.
Haynes Serves A Georgia Open Records Request On Clayton’s
New California Superintendent!
Currently Edmond Heatley, Clayton County’s new superintendent from
Chino Valley, California (where school board members are apparently telling people on the Clayton County Board of Education
that they sure are glad that Clayton made him the offer –certainly not good news for Clayton), is
started off with an illegal bang.He affixed his signature to a letter wherein he denies a teacher the
right to a hearing before the Clayton Board of Education (which is a direct violation of the Georgia Law, O.C.G.A. 20-2-989.8[4])
and we hear from people on the school board that he is even denying citizens the right to speak before the school board (a
violation of the Clayton County School Board Policy).(Incidentally, Mr. Douglas Hendrix of Clayton Human
Resources also wrote a letter denying a teacher from having a State-guaranteed hearing before the school board.We presume that Clayton wants to join the ranks as a full-fledged gansta and ghetto school systems…where respect
for law is disdained and power and might is the only thing that counts.)Didn’t MACE
warn the Clayton Board of Education from hiring Edmond Heatley…just like MACE warned against hiring John Thompson and
Barbara Pulliam?No, school systems don’t need to hire Glenn Brock of Brock Clay (the Marietta
law firm) who is presumably advising Heatley (after all, “Glenn Brock the Search Firm” is the entity which presented
this “California Reject” to the Clayton County Board of Education) to pick them a superintendent; school systems
just need to consult with MACE in these matters.MACE seems to be somewhat prescient in its forecast.Is this the same Brock Clay which gives legal advice to the Cobb County Board of Education which was recently cited
for meeting fifty-seven (yes, 57 ) times illegally (behind closed doors when the meeting should have been opened to the public)?Yes, the same Brock Clay firm.Well, Mr. Haynes wants to know how much money has
been paid by the Clayton County citizens though the action of the school board to this Marietta law firm
since 2007.We are wondering if Superintendent Edmond Heatley will ignore this Georgia
law as well.Hmm.We will keep you posted on this matter and other matters as it relates
to the apparent legal and/or ethical breaches of the California superintendent and his “counselor,”
Glenn Brock.I remember reading in the Code of Ethics for Lawyers that correct legal
advice to clients is mandated and is not discretionary.Click the link below to see the digital version
of Mr. Haynes’s request.
We
often see such ludicrous actions or lack of actions taken by public school systems that we are dumbfounded at the school systems
lack of ability to subscribe to simple precepts.When a school system simply refuses to acknowledge simple
realities relative to the public schooling processes, the results are disastrous.From our combined experiences
as a teacher, administrator, and/or representative of teachers over the years, we have compiled some simple realities that
most superintendents, school boards, policy-makers, and politicians ignore when dealing with the public schooling processes.Below are eleven simple statements which, in our opinion, are irrefutable and intractable.To ignore
these simple statements will imperil any school system.
All children can learn but not all children want
to learn but rather some children even refuse to learn.
Unmotivated and disengaged students often disrupt
the learning environments of those students who want to learn.
You cannot have orderly learning taking
place in the classroom without order first being established in the classroom, and the chronically-misbehaving and disorderly
students must be removed from the regular classroom.
You cannot have good learning conditions until you
first have good teaching conditions.
Creative teaching is effective teaching, and states and school systems
need to free up teachers to be more creative and therefore more effective.
A smothered, suffocating, beat-down,
and beleaguered teacher is an ineffective teacher.
A top-down, heavy-handed approach to teacher supervision kills
a teacher’s spirit and creativity and works counter to effective teaching and student learning.
A
teacher can only teach the student, not learn the student, just like a physician can only treat the patient, not heal the
patient, and a lawyer can only defend the accused, not acquit the accused.
Ultimately, the student is responsible
for appropriately engaging or not engaging in the learning processes, and the onus for learning must be put on the student,
not the teacher.
If the student refuses to appropriately engage in the learning processes and therefore refuses
to learn, there is nothing that the teacher can do to make the student learn, and the teacher should not be held responsible
for the student’s refusal to learn.
The artificial and manipulative inflating of standardized test
scores is no true indication that students are learning but that a superintendent is trying to financially bolster his or
her professional resume at the students’expense.
School Administrators' Public Enemy No.1?Dr. John Trotter: "Who? Me? You Mean The Administrators Aren't Afraid Of GAE And PAGE? Oh, I Forgot. The Administrators ARE Members Of GAE And PAGE."
MACE has a teacher's agenda, a focused mission, and a clear vision. MACE is about the empowerment and protection
of classroom educators. MACE is forthright in its goals -- teachers securing control of their profession and teachers being
treated as professionals (and not being micro-managed like "day laborers"). MACE is tired of seeing teachers treated
like tall children. MACE is tired of teachers being mistreated. MACE is unapologetic in its mission. MACE will not vacillate,
will not equivocate, and will not back off a single inch from its mission -- liberating teachers so that teachers can do what
teachers were called to do, viz., teach the children.
If you are tired of the
I gotcha approach to supervision; if you are tired of being snoopervised by petty and myopic administrators who seem to enjoy
any contrived opportunity to "write you up"; if you are tired of having your teaching micro-managed and having your
professional knowledge, wisdom, and judgment ignored; if you are tired of being treated like a "day laborer" and
dealt with in a heavy-handed fashion; if you are tired of having little or no input into your teaching environment; if you
are tired of having to put up with an inept top-down management style that's been proven to be ineffective in business, industry,
and education; and, if you are just plain tired of all this mess, then join the Metro Association of Classroom Educators (MACE).
"Teachers, do yourselves a favor and join MACE! MACE provides aggressive representation
when you need it. At no other union can you tap into the experience and effectiveness of Dr. John Trotter, Mr. Norresse Haynes,
Mr. Jeff Cox, Mr. Darryl Plenty, Mrs. Renee Bishop, Mr. Tom (Thug) Berry, Mr. J.B. Stanley, and other dedicated people
committed to empowering classroom educators. Join MACE and enjoy peace of mind!"
I have not had time to read this so-called "independent report."(None of this of
type of reports is truly "independent" no more than the "hearings" before the school boards are "independent"
-- the superintendent is trying to fire a teacher and "the judge and jury" team is the very school board which hired
the superintendent.)This "conclusion" does not surprise me ONE BIT.I think
that the DeKalb School System under the UNleadership of their clown for a superintendent, Crawford Lewis, will never improve.DeKalb Discipline will continue to be an oxymoron.The administrators will continue to sweep disciplinary
problems under the proverbial rug and throw them back into the teachers' faces.Teachers Beware:When you try to teach in DeKalb County, you have to "deal with" certain thugs and bullies in the classroom
(who not only "bully" other students but will "bully" you on a regular basis).You
will very, very seldom receive any support by the administration for this malaise of discipline.Oh, by
the way, you will be expected to not count off of the student's grade if you catch him or her red-handed cheating on an exam,
etc.Don't worry.Just give the students' their grades (without any rigor or expectation
that the students have to perform a any genuine standard), and you will be liked by the administrators.That's
why DeKalb has so many students who "make good grades" in their classes but cannot pass the end of the year standardized
exams.And, about 60% of these students who have been coddled and passed along under the "Premier"
administration of Crawford (The Superintendent Clown) Lewis will have to take remedial classes when they reach the Georgia
public colleges.Hey, I have an idea, why don't The Superintendent Clown and I engage in formal debates
with formal propositions with a live audience (and even televised) about whether bullying occurs on a fairly regular basis
in "Premier" DeKalb?That would be fun.I issue this invitation to Crawford
Lewis.Do you think that he will accept the challenge?"He's scared.He's scared.He's scared to shoot dat ball!" (c)MACE,2009.
"Crawford Lewis must think that he is dealing with GAE or PAGE. Unlike these other organizations,
MACE doesn't leave teachers hanging. Our Motto: No Teacher Left Behind!"-- Norreese Haynes, MACE COO.
Dekalb's Superintendent Crawford Lewis Afraid To Process Grievances?
Editor’s Note:This
article originally appeared in The Teacher’s Advocate! magazine.The author is the father of Dr. John Trotter, and he serves on the MACE Board of Directors.Mr. Trotter is a retired
Georgia school principal.
The following
is a list of characteristics that I would suggest to any principal who cares to be respected and admired by both students
and teachers:
Always be completely open to teachers.Be willing to discuss any policy that you have and give the background as to why you instilled the policy.
It is important that you always speak pleasantly to your teachers and never
put them down in the presence of others.All constructive criticism should be done in private.Never raise your voice when you have a need to correct a teacher.Never strip your teachers of their
dignity.
Be generous with praise and cautious with
criticism.Be quick to give credit to others when it is due to them.Make it a policy
to commend your teachers often.Look for reasons to commend them and you will see that they will work harder
for you.
Always tell the truth – even when it hurts.No one
respects a person whom they can’t depend on to tell the truth.As the saying goes, “Tell it
like it is.”
Be easily approachable.Encourage teachers to ask you for help, if needed.
Be seen!A principal should be in the school
halls when students are in the halls.You should be in and out of the cafeteria during lunch.You should go into the classrooms often, if only for a few minutes.You should be visible in order
to be a leader.
Make discipline your number one concern.Without discipline, little teaching or learning can take place.You are the key to any school’s
discipline.You must have a firm policy and be sure that both teachers and students fully understand it.Be willing to take a stand and then stand.
Never accept an accusation against a teacher
until you first speak with that teacher.Be a friend to your teachers and support them as much as possible.When they make mistakes, let them down easily.
Be
open to teachers’ suggestions and, if you disagree, be pleasant in your discussion.You have no need
to be threatened, if you are open and honest.
The last characteristic is a summary of the other
nine.When you deal with teachers, remember two things:Tell the truth and treat others
like you would want to be treated.
Trotter. Doesn't Suffer Administrative Fools.
Haynes. MACE's Executive Director.
Making'em an offer they can't refuse...
...and if they refuse the offer...
MACE Successfully Intervenes For
Columbus Teacher!
Meeting with a few MACE members at Douglas County High School.
Keith Murwin was MACE's first member in Douglas County in 1996.
MACE Membership.
Only for Teachers
MACE started in the Fall of 1995, and within its first week of soliciting members, it had already
enrolled two former presidents of GAE locals (Fulton and Cobb), a former
president of the Atlanta Federation of Teachers (AFT), and other leaders of other educational
organizations. These teachers joined MACE because they knew that MACE was totally committed
to the protection and empowerment of classroom educators. The message of MACE
resonates with Georgia’s teachers. The good news of MACE continues to spread throughout Georgia,
and MACE now represents teachers in over forty school systems in Georgia.
MACE does not allow administrators to join. Why should MACE? Administrators
have their own organizations (like GAEL, GSSA, GAESP, etc.); however, administrators
continue to flood the membership ranks of GAE and PAGE. This is one of the main reasons
that GAE and PAGE cannot speak forthrightly for classroom educators. Sometimes,
to advocate for teachers, you have to be critical of the misconduct of administrators. Sometimes, you even have to call names.
But what happens at GAE and PAGE when there is a conflict between a teacher and a principal
and both are members of the same organization?You know! It’s a classic case of conflict-of-interest.
Furthermore, the assistant superintendent and/or the superintendent may also be a member of that organization. What will
GAE or PAGE do? Nothing, probably. And, that’s what often happens – nothing.
The teacher’s interests do not get served. Frustration and a sense of impotence set in. Not so at MACE!MACE knows that the administrator is not a member of MACE. MACE knows that
there’s no conflict. MACE knows whom we serve and for whom MACE advocates; therefore,
keep spreading the good news that there is a union for teachers, a union which does not apologize in advocating
for teachers. Keep encouraging other teachers to join the growing union that packs a powerful punch. When you say “MACE,”
administrators listen.
Dr. Trotter driving home a point before the Atlanta Board of Education.
Raising
Heck On Behalf
Of Classroom Educators!
William L. Woods, Esq., Rest In Peace.
Georgia Teachers Speak Out!
"I teach special ed in a small system in South Georgia.
A student pulled out his thing and pissed all over my desk. I wrote him up and sent the incident report to the office, and
the principal wrote me back and said she needed more details. She also asked if I had contacted the parents first and if I
had looked at his IEP to see if that pissing on my desk was part of his handicapping condition. Is this insane or what? Like
MACE says, it’s a motivational breakdown, not a mental or technical breakdown. Any person knows that it is not O. K.
to piss on the teacher’s desk, although I remember when I was in junior high and some of my friends pissed in the referee’s
car after he tried to steal the football game from us." - Nemo
