SECTION A: THE CHALLENGE
A number of people helped to write this book, but the primary voice is mine—Alan Singer.
When a piece is written by another author, it bears his or her name. Otherwise, although
other people contributed ideas to help shape mine (or perhaps to confuse me), I take full re-
sponsibility for these ideas. In Yiddish, the language of my Eastern European Jewish ances-
tors, there is a word that I love—Ungapochka. It means just the way it sounds; something is
all “mushed” up together. If you find this book a little tooUngapochkafor your tastes, you
only have me to blame.
I became a teacher and I am writing this book, because I sincerely believe that if you like
teaching it can be the greatest job in the world. I also know that if you dislike it, it is 30 years
of purgatory until retirement. Let me warn you now—do not be surprised when you hear
teachers who enjoy their profession advise preservice teachers and beginners to steer clear
of the faculty lounge.
The participants who put this book together are secondary school classroom teachers
and university-based teacher educators. We want to begin by issuing you a challenge. Some
of you may remember the movieThe Faculty(1998), in which a group of space invaders took
over the bodies of high school teachers and tried to use this as a base of operation for con-
quering the world. One of the songs in the sound track was Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in
the Wall (Part II),” which accuses teachers of trying to brainwash children so they fit in and
support the status quo. During the song a group of elementary school age children chant
that they don’t need no education, at least not the kind traditionally offered in schools.
Another movie, Spike Lee’sDo the Right Thing(1989), opens with Rosie Perez dancing to a
song by Public Enemy, “Fight the Power.” In this song, the hip-hop group says they have no
choice but to fight back against unjust authority that is intruding into their community.
This book is based on the premise that every teacher must make a decision: Will you
“fight the power” or become “another brick in the wall” of an educational system that re-
wards some students, tracks many into limited options, and leaves others behind? In 1996,
the Children’s Defense Fund organized a march in Washington, D.C., and invited Americans
to “Stand for Children” by working against inequality and injustice and by working for pro-
grams such as quality education for all children. Teachers cannot make all the difference in
the world, but we can make a difference. In this book we are challenging you to become a
teacher who stands up for children.
Chapter 1 introduces educational philosophies we feel you should consider as you define
your own teaching philosophy and presents the thoughts of “new” teachers whom we be-
lieve “Stand for Children.” It concludes with excerpts from reflective journals written by two
preservice teachers who were taking their first education class and a summary of my own
“pedagogical creed (beliefs about teaching).”
JOIN THE CONVERSATION—MAGIC WORDSAs student teachers prepare for job interviews they try to anticipate the questions they will
be asked. I always recommend they think about the big issues that are being discussed in
the field. The “magic words” change periodically, sometimes because the substance of the
discussion has shifted and sometimes because educators, parents, and politicians are us-
ing a new vocabulary. These are the eight terms teachers are expected to understand and
be able to discuss at the time of this writing—but maybe not tomorrow or when you read6 CHAPTER 1