MIPA Workshop Blogs

My (Former) Teacher.

Zack Medow

“If you imagine Locke as the cup cake, Hobbes as the filling and Montesquieu as the frosting, the ideologies build on each other. That is how John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Charles Montesquieu are all just like red velvet.”

I sat there astonished as my new AP US Government and AP Economics teacher compared some of the most world-renowned, complex political philosophers to a cupcake. As I quickly learned, this was not a rare occurrence. Throughout the semester Jeffery Austin continued to make startling comparisons of advanced governmental ideas to easily understandable things in students’ lives. Mr. Austin made government and economics, usually the most utterly unbearable subjects, actually enjoyable.

But now nine months later, he is gone.

Mr. Austin has not left Berkley but he is no longer teaching Gov and Econ.

Finished.

I wonder, why on earth the best social studies teacher I’ve ever had would move to a different department? I started to ask around and soon arrived at the most obvious source of the problem.

Due to some brilliant work by BHS administration, a few teachers have been shuffled around, in order to make schedules more efficient. Because of the switches, the Social Studies department requires one less person and the English department requires one more.

Younger teachers, regardless of their teaching ability compared the their more… seasoned colleagues, are moved around because they lack seniority. The movement of teachers pays no mind to who is most capable and has the best connections with students for the hardest classes.

Mr. Austin is the best and has those connections.

At the end of the school year, juniors and seniors are often faced with hordes of AP tests that are seemingly impossible. Only the best of the best receive “4’s” and “5’s”. This has never stopped Mr. Austin. He spent countless hours outside of the classroom conducting review sessions and hosting live-blogs just to prepare us for the AP tests. I have never known another teacher to do this; I dare his successor to do the same.

When I found out about this at the end of last year I went straight to the source.

According the Dennis McDavid the BHS administration does not want to move Mr. Austin to a different department; however, their hands are tied by the Teachers Union. Time after time Mr. McDavid comes over the PA and reminds us that this is mainly a place for learning.

“Academics and student success are the main goals in the building.”

In that case, I beg of the administration: act like it. This hypocrisy may drive me insane.