Kommon Kore Krazies Drive Another All-Star Teacher Into Retirement

Cross-posted to GD: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027560535

>>>>This month, he said the principal eliminated his early-morning civic leadership class, which engaged students in activities such as feeding the homeless, saying it was not part of the Common Core curriculum. Mr. Porton was already skeptical of that curriculum, saying it shortchanged students by focusing on chapters of novels and nonfiction essays rather than entire works of literature.

So, next month Mr. Porton — a 67-year-old educator whom students praised as a lifesaver and life-changer — is walking away from teaching. He handed in his retirement papers on Friday.

“My career has always been based on the emotional and social well-being of the child,” he said, inside an office whose walls were decorated with awards, proclamations and photos of him alongside several school chancellors; Michael R. Bloomberg, the mayor at the time; and the rapper DMC. “Now, I don’t know where teaching is headed. I just know I can’t anymore. I find it torture. I’d rather separate myself from the classroom doing something that is distasteful and try to spend my days doing things that are important.”>>>

The rest at:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/25/nyregion/a-beloved-bronx-teacher-retires-after-a-conflict-with-his-principal.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fnyregion&action=click&contentCollection=nyregion