This is for every teacher who refuses to be blamed for the failure of our society to erase poverty and inequality, and refuses to accept assessments, tests and evaluations imposed by those who have contempt for real teaching and learning.
Reading is great, joining is better - please sign in. For BATs, by BATs, we do not sell data!
BAT Store
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We have now gotten a US Made and Union shop to sell us BAT shirts in all designs at a low cost.
Bumper stickers are coming soon and we hope to add more shirt types (tank, polo) if there is interest in the t-shirts!
Hello, fellow BATs! I teach in a suburb of Chicago. I'm an ESL teacher in a K-5 elementary school.I'll be starting my 24th year. This organization has become a lifeline for me as it has for so many. I am excited to do all I can to help it grow because it's incredibly important that we educate and activate the MASSES in this country to wake up to the corporate takeover underway...not just of education, but of our entire way of life!
K-5 ELL (or EL) teacher, starting 24th year, in a suburb of Chicago.
I am Lu, and I am a Tennessee BAT. I have been teaching for 15 years. I teach middle grades mathematics in a small, rural preK-12 school in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Originally from Savannah GA, I came to east TN ten years ago because of the beautiful, peaceful surroundings and the small, family-friendly communities. I love my job, my school, my colleagues and, most of all, my students! I am thoroughly disgusted, however, with the mushrooming test/data-driven mentality of our so-called leaders and the deterioration of REAL educational opportunities for our students. Unfortunately, we have a district leader who is all about the data and is proving to be a yes-man for TN DOE Commish, Kevin Huffman. Insecurity and distrust for district leaders is pervasive, which stem from numerous closed-door tongue-lashings and unexplained/questionable personnel shifts/firings/demotions across the district.
Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning. ~William Arthur Ward
Greetings All, my name is Brigid Lynch and I am a Florida BAT...not as cool-sounding as MassBAT is, but FlorIda does have some badassy going on. I taught elementary school for 8 years and was active on the union bargaining team and eventually became president. Ended up on staff with the Florida Education Association as Service unit/UniServ director. Retired now but like to keep up and contribute however I can.
Hi...Beth from NY. I teach hs FACS and am an adjunct professor at CUNY Queens college one night a week. We have the largest FACS department in NY and, along with the usual culinary arts, sewing and interior design, we teach many psycho/social classes like child psych, developmental psych and parenting. We are also the only FACS department I know of that teaches AP and college psychology. I'm going into my 12th year of teaching, and until last year or so, I would have said I absolutely love my job. I still love my students, and my district is amazing and supportive, but what is happening to the profession and reputation of teachers is making me disillusioned and sad.
I teach in an affluent suburb of NYC, and my school is highly ranked in the nation, still I am concerned about my future. Cuts, cuts and more cuts, and eventually it's going to hit home. Even my district will not be able to withstand the assault on public education and Cuomo's 2% tax cap is not helping one bit! We went $8 million into reserves this year, but so many districts in my area do not have those resources and are going to start to go bankrupt. We are still solvent, but for how long??? I really do love my district, the administration has been super supportive of us and has done their best to buffer us from the wrath of the APPR, but people are feeling it nonetheless. Since I teach an elective, ours will be among the first departments to be cut, if cuts happen. Honestly, I don't think I will be looking for another teaching job if I lose this one.
I am undergoing treatment for breast cancer (I'm fine!) and it has made me start to think about retiring - which I was planning on doing when I had 25 years in...now, I'm pretty sure I'm going at 20 if I can hang on to my job that long. I always said they would have to throw me out kicking and screaming because I loved my job so much...this is what has become of passionate teachers, this is what they have done to us
The way things go
You get so low
Struggle to find your skin
Greetings All, my name is Brigid Lynch and I am a Florida BAT...not as cool-sounding as MassBAT is, but FlorIda does have some badassy going on. I taught elementary school for 8 years and was active on the union bargaining team and eventually became president. Ended up on staff with the Florida Education Association as Service unit/UniServ director. Retired now but like to keep up and contribute however I can.
Maybe you can be a FloBAT?
Elem spec ed, 29th year (also gen ed, g/t, college experience) Indiana & Texas