RE:
Immoral and Unethical Business Practices in the Public School System which
Directly
Contribute to a Hostile Work Environment and Poor Mental Health
Dear Humans,
Please Help Us Create a Better Tomorrow
By Merely Enforcing Oversight and
Accountability
Toward What Administrators Are
Getting Away With
Within Our Children’s New York Public
Schools
I was born in Brooklyn
and raised in the Bronx of New York under what many will consider really poor
conditions. Spanish was the only language spoken at home. I experienced my
entire academic years in the Public School System in the Bronx.
Because English was my second language I really did not have a voice in the
public school system. I recall the times I was scolded in front of my peers for
speaking “that language”. The common rationale was that as long as I continue to
“speak like that” I will never learn English. Imagine the impact this can have
on a child’s perception of their Native language and cultural identity.
I remember some of the forces that
played a significant role in pushing me away from school, (isolation, humiliation,
intimidation, attending class along, other classes, in a gymnasium of a scary abandoned
school building in the Southern Boulevard section of the Bronx,
with bright yellow “CAUTION” tape covering the stairs to the upper floors). I wonder
how many students in the Public School System today are enduring similar
circumstances.
Eventually, I adopted “the street life”
as my classroom, my teacher, and my guide. Coming very close to losing perspective
in life, I eventually defeated the odds and proudly graduated from an Alternative
High School where classroom seats were arranged in a circle and teachers
facilitated more of a family based dynamic among faculty and students as
opposed to the oppressed institutionally based model emphasized today which
prepares our youth for the worst. As a teenager, still in high school, I was
fathering a young child and shortly there after started my own family. My children
actually saved my life. Around this time in my life I discovered an immense
passion for learning.
After high school, I went straight to college
and fast forward to today – I own a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and Human
Behavior and a Masters in Science Education. I attained both degrees from The
City College of New York.
I spent many years working hard in the
Social Service Field. I was a Counselor and Case Worker for several years in a
well known Adolescent Runaway Shelter. I managed several Group Home Programs,
facilitating the transition into community living for people with developmental
challenges and their neighbors. For several years I was a Mental Health Worker
for a Dual Diagnostic In-patient Psychiatric Program in a well known hospital
serving adolescents and adults. I was a Caseworker for the Administration for
Children’s Services, (ACS), and for the past nine years I have been teaching in
a Dual Language
Public School in New York City; mostly Mathematics and Science.
I am a New York
State Certified Science Educator.
I have and continue to proudly give
back to society but unfortunately pushing for moral and ethical treatment of
others comes with a heavy price.
I have always been a strong advocate for
the people whom I proudly serve. Unfortunately, in the New York City Public School
System I am currently paying a hefty price for this virtue. Sadly, I still do not have a voice in the
Public School System. The saddest part of this circumstance is that no one
seems to care about the impact which administration’s immoral and unethical
business practices actually has on students and the learning condition. In
fact, students are often used by administrators as pawns as they play their
game of retaliation and intimidation against any advocates.
The Breeding of a Dangerous Culture
The majority of working Americans are
too afraid to speak-up against immoral and unethical violations in the
workplace because they have a lot to loose and the forces against them are
callous, meticulous, organized, and far more resourceful. Malicious smear
campaigns are able to devour any modicum of good deed and permanently scar
one’s future job opportunities. Working Americans, especially ones barely
surviving from pay-check to pay-check, have become dangerously dependant on
their jobs. Such fear and dependency isolates workers and stifles improvements
from flourishing.
After teaching six years of Middle School
Mathematics and Science (8th and 7th grades) with
favorable evaluations and student performance, for the school year of 2012-2013
I was forced by administrators to teach a first grade class and all subjects (English,
Writing, Social Studies, Math, and Science). This move took place well into the
school year and I had no prior experience teaching this age group and other
subjects. I was told by administration that I will surely fail and they will then
take my teaching license away. I grieved this injustice but since the evidence
was not in favor of the Department of Education the result of the hearing fell
through the cracks. 327 days later (today) I still have not been provided with the
results to this grievance hearing.
The following school year I was forced
to teach fourth grade. Since testing became a greater priority in evaluating
teachers, administrators were certain that I will fail because fourth grade students
are formally tested in English, Writing, Math, and Science by New York State
and I had no prior experience teaching some of these subjects and working with this
age group.
During this year I had to endure more
of the wrath of administrators whom were clearly bothered by their failed
attempts to get rid of me the year before. I had to endure more lesson
disruptions, threats, lies, unrealistic expectations, bogus disciplinary write-ups,
etc. The Principal of the school once even wrote a memo and gave it to all of
my fourth grade students (and students from other classes) which depicts me as
a safety threat to the entire school and informed them that I will be removed
from the classroom. You have to wonder
what this is all doing to the students and other professionals that want to
advocate against immoral and unethical business practices.
This year I am forced to teach a fifth
grade class. Unfortunately, on September 8, 2014 I am summoned with a letter
indicating that I am being pulled out of the classroom as of September 9, 2014
for allegations made against me. Later, I am told that I have to wait until I
get the paper work for the details to the allegations.
This is a mere glimpse of what I and
students in the Public School System have to endure. There are more horrific
details to the harassment but I do not wish to exhaust you with them just yet.
What are we actually teaching our
future minds? What are we actually teaching other professionals about advocacy
and speaking-up for those without a voice?
To learn more feel free to contact me
at writing4light@yahoo.com or
visit my blog at http://writing4light.blogspot.com/
Thank you immensely for your time and
energy in this very important matter and for everything that you do for the human
condition. I wish you all the best always.
Sincerely,
Luis Ángel Perez
Mathematics & Science
Educator / Student & Parent Advocate
