What is it about spelling bees that open the door to so many larger school issues?

When I was a reporter for the now-defunct Milwaukee Sentinel back in 1992, my newspaper sponsored an annual spelling bee. One of our assignments was to write puff-pieces about the teams from schools that were advancing up the rungs to the citywide championship. At one of the contests, which I was covering, a soft-spoken African-American boy took a shot at spelling a somewhat difficult word. The judges, which included retired business leaders (aka old white dudes), had trouble hearing the kid. I was right up front and could hear that he spelled the word correctly. The judges asked him to repeat the answer in a louder voice, which he did, only this time he mixed himself up and spelled it incorrectly. He was out, and he bowed out gracefully, almost as if he felt he wasn't really supposed to advance in the competition.

A few kids later, a precious blond-haired kid took a turn at spelling an equally-difficult word. Midway through the word, after he offered an incorrect sequence of letters, one of the judges (an old white dude) interrupted him with, "uhhh, are you sure about that?" The kid backtracked, quickly corrected his mistake, and was allowed to complete the word. The precious blond-haired kid advanced to the finals and went on to represent the school in a regional round against other nearby city schools.

This all happened without much fanfare, but I found myself utterly depressed. I talked about it with an editor when I got back to the newsroom. I felt an outrageous injustice had been committed before my very eyes (hello soapbox!) But the fact that no one in the school auditorium but me seemed to give a hoot, and the sobering reality that the newspaper was the sponsor for the event, meant it was not going to be something that got included in the warm, fuzzy story about the city's talented team of young brainiacs who were spelling their way to history.

It may not have been front-page material, but we didn't blow even a little whistle, so we were pretty much in on the con.

It still bothers me to this day, especially the idea that we had a chance to point out the kinds of circumstantial/institutional racism that I happen to believe do, in fact, play a role in maintaining the achievement gap that exists in many cities. (A brief aside: On another occasion, which also shed light on larger education issues than the mere spelling contest, a teacher refused to allow her class to participate "because there are too many losers in spelling bees, and my students need to know they are winners.")

All of this comes to mind today following the stories in the Daily News and the Post this morning about a Brooklyn principal who decided not to allow a special education student to represent his school in a spelling bee competition. I have no idea what really happened, but there are two quick points I wanted to make here:

1. For all the ribbing I do with the UFT about various things, for my money this is where the teachers union provides the greatest value to students, schools, and the larger community. In both stories, the source of the information is noted as coming from students and teachers. Having written many stories like this in my career, I can tell you that the union frequently plays an invaluable role in shedding sunlight on what really goes on in our schools and classrooms. Even when the union's fingerprints aren't on a story (i.e., the story bubbles up to reporters organically, without help from union press folks) there is a recognition among teachers that they can speak the truth without fear of retribution. For reinforcement, I used to tell my teacher sources, "If anyone tries to do anything to you after this story appears let me know immediately, because that story will be even bigger than the one I'm working on now."

It was teachers who first told NYC that mayoral control meant that desks would no longer be arranged in rows, that elementary teachers should have rocking chairs, etc. It is teachers who usually smoke out the awful principals, who alert the public when standardized exams are screwed up, etc. If you believe in transparency, you've got to cheer the unsung role the unions do in helping to get the story out. It's important stuff.

Now does this mean all charter schools need to be similarly unionized? I don't happen to think so, but others obviously will argue strenuously that this is another reason to do so. And many will disagree with me on this, but I think that is an argument that makes a lot more sense than arguments about whether teachers work a longer day or can be reached on school issued cell phones. I think the grievance-based system of running schools, and the bizarre bureaucracy that existing labor contracts maintain can be problemmatic for charter schools. But I think gagged teachers are just as problematic.

At the very least, this is an issue that charter school leaders should ponder. Can charter school employees speak out when they see injustice with more informal protections? I think this is more possible now than ever before, especially since the whole "card/cod check" issue has raised the stakes in the press and since the blogosphere itself has ways of allowing the truth to hold people accountable. If you are a charter school teacher who is in trouble with the Man because you spoke your mind, you're on the front page of the newspaper. You've got hand right now. But I think it is an issue that charter schools should take seriously.

So I'll extend the same offer to charter school teachers that I offer to public school teachers: If anyone ever does anything to you because you are raising legitimate concerns about what you see in your schools, you know where to find me. UPDATE: Of, if you don't trust me, contact the people at EdWize. They certainly can help.

2. Last year we lost a true warrior when Jill Chaifetz died of ovarian cancer. Jill was the heart and soul behind the group Advocates for Children, which has done amazing work representing families who have been completely hosed by public education. One arm of AFC has been the Insideschools.org team, which was founded by former Newsday writer and author Clara Hemphill. Clara, who is a friend, wrote the school selection bible for NYC parents, and has probably poked around in more city schools than anyone I know. Clara recently left the organization to do other things, including finishing up another book. Yesterday, the Insideschools email blast noted that executive director Elisa Hyman is also going to be leaving to pursue other interests. Turmoil.

In light of what I've been saying here about whistleblowing and advocacy, New Yorkers should be praying that whomever assumes these positions (and shapes the future of that organization) has the same amount of "fight" in the blood as people like Jill Chaifetz did. NYC's kids need all the fighters they can get.