WHOOPS! SERIOUS REAL-WORLD REALITY-CHECK! (Of Course the Devil is in the Details))

2009 photo by SUSAN TUSA/Detroit Free Press

DPS emergency financial manag er Robert Bobb has signed an executive order ending social promotion, the practice of mov ing students up a grade when they have not passed their current classes.


Real life in classroom may hamper plan

I will call her Jane Doe. She has taught in the Detroit Public Schools for 17 years. She teaches third grade. And she thinks that ending social promotion in the city schools is vital — and fantasy. “THAT would be a miracle!” she wrote to me. 


I am sharing her story without using her real name because, like many teachers, she is afraid of losing her job if she complains about re forms in the school district, which has lost respect, resources and about 10,000 students a year for the past five. 


Hers was among hundreds of e-mails and calls I’ve received from teachers as I write about schools. Most agree that DPS’s problems are bigger than what Robert Bobb, the dis­trict’s emergency financial manager, can solve. 


Two Fridays ago, I wrote about a young woman who graduated from Denby High School in 2005 without being able to read her diploma. Last Fri day, Bobb signed an executive order ending social promotion, the practice of moving students up a grade when they have not passed their current classes.

The great irony is that nine years ago, I wrote about a woman who had graduated from King High School with out  being able to read at all. It is not a new phenomenon.

Only now, people are paying attention.

No control

So while people are paying attention, Jane Doe wants people to know what really goes on in a typical DPS elementary classroom.

“While Robert Bobb may desire to hold me accountable for my students, unfortunate ly this cannot be so,” she wrote.

“I have no control over the fact that little Johnny has gone to several schools this year alone, not to mention the 10 others he has gone to be fore he even came to my school … “I have no control over the fact that the adult in the family does not work with their child. 


I was a single parent for all of my children’s lives, and  am sick of this excuse. I worked long hours and did homework with them. My own parents also worked, and did this for me … “I have no control that Johnny’s parents don’t be lieve in his doing ANY home work.

“I have no control over the fact that Johnny’s parents tell me on the phone that they will discipline their child (when he is cussing, using inappropriate gestures, refus es to do his work, or (engaging in) other ridiculous behavior), and then stomp into the principal’s office demanding that I tolerate their little angel …!

“So, little Johnny is al lowed to run wild and run free ... at all ages!”

Age over academics

In September, the third grade teacher greeted her students: seven children were at the kindergarten level; 12 were at the first-grade level, and six were at a beginning second-grade level.

Jane Doe couldn’t teach third grade because she spent most of her time trying to teach 19 children how to read. She suggests that Bobb  survey district teachers to get their ideas. She said he would find that many agree with his goals, but not his methods.

For instance, she said, “Personally, I would like to put all of the K-5 children BACK into the grade they ACTUALLY should be in academically.”

Bobb plans to end social promotion with current pre kindergartners through third graders, not moving any up until they have mastered their current lessons. (He pledged to provide remedial help for older students.) But Jane Doe has other suggestions.

“It is interesting that other countries use ACADEMICS as a guideline. In the U.S., we group the children by AGE.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if  we came into this century and LOOKED at the individual and placed them according to their ABILITY?”

Jane Doe loves teaching, and she loves her students.

But she hates politics. So she wants Bobb to explain one more thing: “Just how do I get around a principal who wants to have the perfect statistics and school for ‘show’? ” She said if Bobb convenes a committee of teachers from whom to get regular input, she has a message for him: “SIGN ME UP!! SERIOUSLY!”

For now, she said, she must remain anonymous and anonymously wish Bobb good luck.

“I care about my kids. It breaks my heart that most of my third-graders are even in this grade. All I can do is shut my door and teach.”  
■ CONTACT ROCHELLE RILEY: RRILEY99@FREEPRESS.COM 

“I HAVE NO CONTROL THAT JOHNNY’ S PARENTS DON’ T BELIEVE IN HIS DOING ANY HOMEWORK.” 
JANE DOE , a Detroit Public Schools teacher for 17 years