The following essay was submitted by Curtis Czarniak, retired teacher and school administrator, Tully; Jeanne Elmer, mental health consultant, Tully; and James C. Czarniak, former deputy commissioner of the Onondaga County Department of Children and Family Services and Founder of Brightpath Strategies, East Syracuse.
Public education is in crisis. The full impact of this crisis hit home a few weeks ago when a niece, a dedicated, creative and caring 8th-grade English teacher with 22 years of experience, decided to leave teaching. She joins the thousands of teachers who have left the profession since the pandemic.
Much is happening in our country and world today that we worry and care about. It can be exhausting. In this environment, education can easily get lost in the shuffle. But now is not the time to overlook our children, their teachers, and our schools. We need to pay attention. And we need to act. It is not enough to try to simply “reform” education in our community. We must completely reimagine it. We want you to be a part of the process.
Yes, there really are national crises in education that impact students, their teachers and our communities. If you think these crises are happening only in some far-off city or state, you are mistaken. They are happening here, in Central New York, at different levels of severity, in every district and school.
The crises facing our children, their teachers and our communities know no geographic, economic, racial, ethnic or gender boundaries. All of our children are capable of intolerance and bullying. Any of our children can struggle with academic achievement. Disconnected from peers and adults, they can all seek a sense of belonging in gangs, drug culture or other unhealthy relationships. They can all experience threats of violence, high levels of stress, anxiety, loneliness, and despair. A frightening number of high school aged students report seriously considering suicide (30% of females, 14.3 % of males). And every one of those students has a face and a family. Maybe your family. Poor life choices know no boundaries.
Teachers are also in a state of crisis. The implementation of programs, policies and curricula aimed at addressing pressing student issues falls on the backs of already overworked and overwhelmed teachers. Teachers are isolated, often not treated like the true professionals they are. Despite their unwavering support and concern for the students in their charge, they are held in low regard by many in the public, and subject to attacks in today’s polarized political climate. Teacher job satisfaction is at its lowest level in 50 years.
This dark side of the teaching profession frightens away many of the caring individuals our kids need most. Interest in the teaching profession among high school seniors and college freshman is at a 50-year low. And many teachers, like my niece, are burning out and leaving the profession early. As my niece said in her email to me, “The expectations placed on teachers are unsustainable. Our education system is broken, and I just can’t be part of it anymore.” The result? In many locales, teacher shortages are already a daily, unpleasant reality.
These crises that impact our children and teachers also impact our communities. When fewer students emerge from our schools thriving, feeling a strong connection to their community, ready to go on to higher education or vocational and technical schools, fewer will then return to work, shop, buy homes, pay taxes, and make a meaningful contribution to their community. A failure to address the problems facing our children and their teachers ultimately harms us all.
We, the signatories to this commentary, are educators, juvenile justice and mental health experts and advocates for disaffected youth. Each of us views the problems facing our students and teachers from our own unique perspective. We applaud past and current efforts to address issues and concerns facing our students and teachers. We don’t question the concern or resolve of our educators. But the issues and problems facing education and educators today are not new. They are deeply ingrained in the traditional way we conduct schooling and have resisted reform efforts for decades.
We have choices. We can choose to do nothing, which is wholly unacceptable. We can continue to flail away at the problems our students and teachers face with Band-Aid solutions, playing an educational version of Whac-A-Mole as the crises in education creep closer to our doorstep and increase in severity. Or, we can take a holistic, proactive path and have Syracuse and Central New York take the lead in reimagining, not reforming, public education.
To do this we must leave behind the traditional educational paradigm that focuses almost exclusively on individualism and independent effort. We must eschew the present culture in our schools that which leaves both students and teachers isolated and disconnected, with little sense of belonging, common purpose, or common goals. We must discard school cultures where bullying, intolerance, and violence thrive.
The schools of Syracuse and Central New York must foster great academic growth in all our children while simultaneously helping all students to grow and develop positive relationships, robust social emotional skills, and strong connections to our community.
We can create an overarching culture that is more collaborative and supportive between and among students, and teachers, and parents, and put in place new structures, policies, and procedures to sustain it. Students immersed in this new culture in every class, every day, for many years, will develop and internalize positive attributes in the normal course of pursuing academic excellence, attributes like teamwork, cooperation, self-confidence, diligence, empathy, respect, kindness, and welcoming acceptance.
When this happens, everyone wins.
Tackling seemingly intractable problems and making these much-needed changes to our traditional educational paradigm will not be easy, nor will it happen quickly. It will require collaboration between parents, teachers, support staff, counselors, school administrators, board of education members, superintendents, university researchers and community members. Your participation and contributions of time, energy, experience and expertise are key to the process.
We ask that you do three things. First, to better understand why it is essential to reimagine our public schools, what this will look like, and how this can be done, we encourage you to read “Bringing Henry Home: We Always Do What Is Best For Kids, Unless . . .” by Curtis Czarniak.
Copies are available at public libraries throughout the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County.
Second, start talking about this new educational paradigm with like-minded people who share your love and concern for our children’s educational and social-emotional growth and development, friends, neighbors, colleagues. As explained in “Henry,” anyone, regardless of their position or title, can initiate the process of reimagining schools in their home district. The process begins with dialogue.
And finally, we ask that you contact us at papaczarn@gmail.com or (315) 657-1934. Share your thoughts. Tell us where you are on your journey. Ask us to come speak with your group.
Our mission is to promote new ideas and concepts that will make schools function better for both students and teachers. We are not trying to sell you, your school or your district a curriculum, consulting services or books, for that matter. Our goal is to provide a spark, to open dialogue, that will eventually lead to districts reimagining their schools to always do what is best for kids and their teachers. Please join us.
You are not powerless. We are not powerless. We all have choices.