From "Classroom Distinctions" by Tom Moore, a 10th-grade history teacher at a public school in the Bronx, in the January 19th New York Times:

"Films like “Freedom Writers” portray teachers more as missionaries than professionals, eager to give up their lives and comfort for the benefit of others, without need of compensation. Ms. Gruwell sacrifices money, time and even her marriage for her job.

Her behavior is not represented as obsessive or self-destructive, but driven — necessary, even. She is forced into making these sacrifices by the aggressive neglect of the school’s administrators, who won’t even let her take books from the bookroom. The film applauds Ms. Gruwell’s dedication, but also implies that she has no other choice. In order to be a good teacher, she has to be a hero."

There is a pervasive feeling in my school: it is that we are each fighting our own battle against the educational system, against the socioeconomic class of our students, against their parents, and against the restrictions put upon teachers by the Union. There are so many forces pulling us, hours of testing being the most depressing and oppressive, that we are forced to assume one of two personas: the hyper-positive, sunshiny optimist (who goes home and cries once a week from the bottled-up stress) or the bitter cynic, who spreads any and all gossip heard in the staff lounge, scrounging for bits of excitement in an environment seemingly steeped in disappointment.

I am concerned. I'm worried that in the school I'm in, staying a sunshiny optimist will be another upwhill battle, and definitely one that more and more of my colleagues seem to abandon every day. The problem is that this is more than a career. While all of the stressors of the job grind us up, we look down on these little, expectant faces gazing up at us. For every student I've seen slam another into a lock, say a racial slur, or show academic apathy already in the 2nd grade, there are others who just hope to learn, even some who feel the pressure to lift up their family through their education. So the fight against the system isn't just my fight to win, lose, or give up on; it's theirs as well. And so part of my job is to fight the system that surrounds and manipulates me as their advocate and voice. I know that most people face that crisis in their work as well, but the maternal instincts that I feel towards my students are starting to pull me apart. How can I force a student who speaks no English to take 20 combined hours of proficiency tests this Spring? How can I stand next to them as they cry and just tell them to keep clicking the mouse to keep the exam going? My hope is further diminished in the knowledge that my situation is much, much better than many. My anger at this system is momentarily silenced, because who am I to complain?

This is my conclusion: I will resolve to use my vote for education reform. I will choose an educational policy that does not assume the that teachers are mindless, lazy, and routinized...that ideology simply weeds out those that are optimistic; the bitter are much more difficult to discourage since their priority is no longer the children; it shifted long ago to self-preservation. I will choose a policy that recognizes that the 7 hours students spend in school cannot teach them anything if they are deprived of any stimulation at home. If they are hungry, scared, lonely, or if they are indoctrinated with a gang mentality or taught to steal, these forces are more powerful than free breakfasts and fun after-school activities. If parents reprimand their children with violent force or emotional manipulation, the child will not be able to follow our state-approved "choice"-based behaivor management technique. I will choose a policy that compensates teachers for their hours and money the way that most professions do. I will choose a policy that rewards teachers based on merit, not seniority established by simply showing up and following protocol. If the government would finally appreciate that the crimes of tomorrow are defined by the education that the potential perpetrators are receiving today, maybe they will make teaching less like mission work, less a heroric endeavor with the rewards garnered by lifting up children, the act of which is still a fight against the system itself.

If the next election appeared to be headed in the direction of previous campaigning seasons, with a democrat and a republican adhering to the status quo to gain approval, I would have probably have given up. But there seems to be something happening in our society today that is receiving much less attention than it deserves: Americans representing groups who haven't had their voice heard as loudly, as profoundly in our culture, are standing up and running for president. Their campaigns are serious and powerful. In two years, our country could have an African-American leader, a female leader, or a Latino leader. When in history has their been such proof of the advancement of the American ideal? Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. was marching, women were just starting to be appreciated at a national level outside of the kitchen, and Latinos were struggling for their rights out of the national spotlight. That we have gotten to this place, gives me so much hope. Maybe soon, the US will be able to focus on our crucial assets in need of protection here in on our own soil.