We need to lose the pretense and get to what's really going on with the Articulated Instruction Module, Baltimore County schools' new grading system. What's really going on is that Superintendent Joe A. Hairston and his cohorts are trying to create the appearance of cooperating with teachers and listening to their concerns so that the public uproar subsides when, in fact, Mr. Hairston et. al. are continuing to do what they want to do without any legitimate input from anyone who doesn't agree with the stance they've taken.
(If people think that AIM is the first situation where this has occurred, they should look into the issue of detracking that came up last year. Due to furor created by parents, the county publicly stated they wouldn't pursue detracking, but, in actuality, it is now in place in most Baltimore County schools.)
Last Thursday afternoon, there was an AIM review committee meeting, and Cheryl Bost, the current president of Teachers' Association of Baltimore County (TABCO) and a former teacher, was supposed to be our teacher representative at this meeting. She's the logical choice, as she knows both the educational and political side of the situation -- not to mention she's who the members of TABCO elected to represent them.
When she arrived at the meeting, however, she was refused admittance and not allowed to represent us teachers at this meeting; she was told it could be anyone but her. Thus, teachers had no real representation at this meeting about AIM -- no teachers were asked to be part of this meeting. Nor were there any parents involved, just in case anyone was wondering. No one who might contradict or question what Hairston would say was part of the meeting.
Administrators like Superintendent Hairston and Barbara Dezmon (who created AIM and stands to profit from it if it is used elsewhere) aren't educators -- they're education overlords trying to come up with ways of justifying their six-figure salaries, as opposed to those of us who truly are trying to educate students. Maryland schools aren't No. 1 in the nation because of administrators like Mr. Hairston and Ms. Dezmon but despite them. Our schools are No. 1 because of the teachers, the ones doing the educating. I'm hoping that the public recognizes this and stands up for those of us who actually are on the side of students -- the teachers.
The writer is a high school teacher in Baltimore County.
Send your comments to talkback@baltimoresun.com.