Today’s entry - I am communicating with you regarding the Report given by Anna Fusco, President of the Broward County Teachers Union. I asked "Rich/Mr. Producer" for Mark Levin to obtain this report because it is so powerful. Tomorrow, Mark will continue to interview Andrew Pollack. I know that you fill in for Mark on occasion because I always listen to his show as well as to yours. Before Mark's show tomorrow and his further interview of Meadow's father, I think it would be essential for Mark to have in hand the entire "2019 School Safety and Discipline Survey". The personal reports from teachers is beyond disturbing and yet this is only Broward County. What about all the hundreds of counties throughout the nation?
Bottom Line: I’ve always been a believer that while there are issues with the education establishment itself, the biggest issue is at home. If parents aren’t preparing their kids to go to school with the intention to learn and perform well, there’s little an educator can do to reach them. Disruptions, distractions and verbal abuse often derails whole classes from being able to learn. The report you cited from Broward’s teacher’s union is eye-opening. It’s probably safe to say that however bad one thinks student conduct towards teachers tends to be, it’s worse. There’s far more in the32 page report than I can address in this story, but here are a few excerpts to paint the picture you’re speaking of.
- 90% of teachers witnessed abusive/profane language last year directed at other students
- 61% of teachers were the targets of abusive/profane language
- 60% of teachers witnessed a threat or threats being made towards other students
- 24% of teachers were the targets of personal threats made by students
- 13% of teachers were victims of assault
Those are stunningly high numbers from Broward’s schools. It’s hard to imagine how to focus on education when you’re subjected to that type of behavior. A few decades ago, it wouldn’t have been tolerated by the school district and, importantly, it wouldn’t have been tolerated at home. What’s more, is that 76% of teachers are saying the problem is getting worse. So much so, that over half of the teachers say they’re personally fearful of students. Another piece of insight speaks to the lack of accountability at the administrative levels of schools, and the school district itself. 71% of teachers stated they don’t think code is consistently and fairly enforced.
It’s hard to imagine how difficult it is for teachers to be able to effectively teach with so many being exposed to the issues addressed in the report. Almost as troubling is the lack of accountability at the administrative levels. Many teachers must feel like they’re on islands. Just as the Promise Program brought tens of millions of federal dollars from the Obama administration, expulsion and related policies that diminish headcount would mean less money rolling into the district. That’s motivation to keep that status quo. Clearly, there are no shortage of problems in the Broward School District, and likely across the country. But again, it all starts at home. Until and unless kids are arriving at school ready to learn, we're not going to see most of these problems resolved.
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