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01 November 2004: The Schools Are Burning (5 of 6)
Then, as it turns out, the only thing the powerless administrators can do is impose upon the teachers the fire-fighting policies imposed on her.
The truth is, I don't know the teachers who ran from their burning school. I don't know the conditions that they have worked under, and I don't know their lives. But thier negligence is frightfully reminiscent of the attitudes of many urban elementary school teachers that I have known.
I have seen two types of teachers run from burning schools. There are those who don't realize the building is on fire. They simply go about their day, teach through the billowing smoke, and walk past the fires on their way to the parking lot. Their responsiblity exists only between A and Z. The second type of teacher who runs from a burning school is the one who believes that the students started the fire, so they are only getting what they deserve. Neither of these teachers see putting out the fire as their responsibility.
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