The Measure of a Teacher: A Novel Explores Injustice in Urban Schools
Location
DeSantis Room 1053
Format Type
Plenary
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
17-1-2020 9:15 AM
End Date
17-1-2020 9:35 AM
Abstract
The author proposes to read a selection from her unpublished novel, The Measure of a Teacher.
Teaching in Chicago could terrify most Nice White Ladies, but the novel’s protagonist, Betty Reifman, is determined to make a difference. It is 2001, on the cusp of No Child Left Behind policies that reverberate in our schools today, when Betty takes a bold step to walk away from her tech career to make a difference teaching math at a Chicago high school undergoing forced desegregation. Betty is isolated by veteran teachers who resent her fast-track route to teaching, but finds a strong ally in Erika Wilson, a young Black female teacher who schools Betty away from any White Savior delusions. Louis Carter, the citywide Black basketball star who lives in notorious housing projects, serves as the truth-teller of the novel. He brings glory to the high school in the press, but many adults on the inside want him out and Betty doesn’t understand why. When she stands up to the Athletic Director’s startling demand to fail Louis by offering him a second chance to pass the district’s new gatekeeping math graduation requirement, both Betty and Louis discover how punishing the price of an education can be. The author chose to study creative writing to use fiction to reveal a story based on composites of people and events she witnessed in Chicago and New Jersey, as a parent, teacher, local school council community representative, alternative teacher certification program mentor, and educational researcher.
Keywords
fiction, urban schools, mathematics teachers, race, tracking, students, eductional policies, inequity
The Measure of a Teacher: A Novel Explores Injustice in Urban Schools
DeSantis Room 1053
The author proposes to read a selection from her unpublished novel, The Measure of a Teacher.
Teaching in Chicago could terrify most Nice White Ladies, but the novel’s protagonist, Betty Reifman, is determined to make a difference. It is 2001, on the cusp of No Child Left Behind policies that reverberate in our schools today, when Betty takes a bold step to walk away from her tech career to make a difference teaching math at a Chicago high school undergoing forced desegregation. Betty is isolated by veteran teachers who resent her fast-track route to teaching, but finds a strong ally in Erika Wilson, a young Black female teacher who schools Betty away from any White Savior delusions. Louis Carter, the citywide Black basketball star who lives in notorious housing projects, serves as the truth-teller of the novel. He brings glory to the high school in the press, but many adults on the inside want him out and Betty doesn’t understand why. When she stands up to the Athletic Director’s startling demand to fail Louis by offering him a second chance to pass the district’s new gatekeeping math graduation requirement, both Betty and Louis discover how punishing the price of an education can be. The author chose to study creative writing to use fiction to reveal a story based on composites of people and events she witnessed in Chicago and New Jersey, as a parent, teacher, local school council community representative, alternative teacher certification program mentor, and educational researcher.