Unfortunately this scenario plays out across our nation. In a country where standing among nations was built on the unique gifts and talents of individuals not fitting a “mold” our vision for progress has sorely dimmed.
Avery Gigliano recently turned 13. She is a world-class pianist who has won international competitions. To play in international competitions, it is necessary to travel. To the D.C. public school system, she is not a champion, she is a truant. I forebear from using the words that come to mind. The D.C. schools should be celebrating her success. Instead, they drove her out of the school system. Great story by Petula Dvorak in the Washington Post.
“The prodigy, who just turned 13, was one of 12 musicians selected from across the globe to play at a prestigious event in Munich last year and has won competitions and headlined with orchestras nationwide.
“But to the D.C. public school system, the eighth-grader from Mount Pleasant is also a truant. Yes, you read that right. Avery’s amazing talent and straight-A grades at Alice Deal Middle School earned her no slack from school officials…
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Teacher Views Today 
I had not seen this news report before, despite the issue of inept bureaucracy being at the heart of so many of the problems tying the hands of good classroom teachers. Thank you for posting it — teachers need to get the word out about the real problems undermining our children’s high school education!
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Thank you for responding Don! I agree that teachers need to get the word out. While many state politicians think they know how to run education, very few (if any) know what teachers and students are confronted with in the classroom every day. There are far too many classroom teachers bearing the burden of inept state politician’s rules and regulations regarding the classroom. I’m sure teachers would love to speak out but many fear losing their jobs if they do. It is so sad that education has come to this. Thanks again for writing and for speaking out!
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I really appreciate your post! One of the hardest parts of trying to get the word out is twofold — the silence of teachers for the reasons you so well identified, and because the school administrators and DoE career bureaucrats are VERY good at hiding the problems they caused. I can’t tell you how many times I have spoken to someone about the issues, and because they have not been inside a classroom for years they, frankly, have a hard time believing it.
My hope is that more people like you get active in sharing and posting what is really happening — so that we can finally fix these issues for our children.
Thank you for getting involved!!
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Thank you Don. I think all teachers can relate. The amazing part of all of this is the lack of concern about what’s best for our students. Bottom line is our students’ well being and intrinsic achievement need to come first. There is far more to providing for these than paperwork, meetings, trainings, and high-stakes testing.
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