Listen up. What If Teachers ARE NOT the Problem? Why? I recently saw this video on Facebook that touched my heart. It essentially was stating that teachers are not doing what they need to do to help students achieve. And it hit my soul that What If Teachers Are Not the Problem?
Where Have All the Teachers Gone?
There’s a teacher shortage in the U.S. So we got some hardworking teachers to tell us what’s wrong with public education.
MY VIEWPOINT ABOUT TEACHERS
First, I live and teach in Georgia. Right now, Georgia is considering an educational change that will take away step raises for years of experience as well as raises for advanced degrees in school. Their proposal will change my pay to be based on specific assessments or test scores since that seems to be the only way the state wants to track or show student progress or growth.
I know I am not alone in GA with educational changes that seem to point the finger at teachers as the cause and solution of low test scores and/ or student performance. Here is a recent newspaper article from my state on the proposed changes to teacher pay. {Click here to see the article I am referring to.}
Decision-makers want to see student growth on tests. Scoring high on tests, in their opinion, show progress, student success, and teacher success. The feeling of those decision makers is that being a veteran teacher or advanced degree doesn’t prove to provide student growth and therefore isn’t worth paying for.
Teachers pay would be based on… you got it… student progress on tests.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN EDUCATION ISN’T VALUED
Now, I am watching states with drastic decreases in Education Majors in colleges like California and Arizona. Then, I am watching states with teacher shortages who can not find, hire, and utilize certified teachers in their classrooms.
Next, I am watching students being tested and tested and tested. All of these tests cost money to create or buy, more money to administer, and even more money to score and grade. I am watching those “tests” being deemed as important, significant, and a true way to show student growth.
I am watching those “tests” being deemed as important, significant, and a true way to show student growth. What an illusion. My goal is to make self-sufficient, productive members of society.
HEAR THIS… WHAT IF TEACHERS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM?
I want those people to hear me loud and clear. Those who are making these policies and decisions… those who think the educational system is broken because students are not showing progress on test scores…
You have it all wrong. Let me make this clear. I teach students. I do not teach test scores. I teach students. I do not teach test scores. In the world of education, the teacher holds very little control.
In the world of education, the teacher holds very little control. I do not choose how many students can be in my class. Additionally, I do not choose the specific students in my classroom.
More so, I have to take every student given to me regardless of learning level, home life, and behavioral issues. Now, I strongly feel God gives me all my students and that they are a blessing… but my roster is my roster. I do not choose the grade level or subjects that I teach. I do not choose the resources provided.
Furthermore, I do not choose the standards or specific skills I am required to teach. Nor, do I not choose how much money I am given for other materials for my students. I do not choose the type of tests or assessments required.
Why would anyone {taxpayers} want to listen to ANYONE {decision makers} who feel test scores are more important than students? Here is what I don’t understand… Why would anyone {taxpayers} want to listen to ANYONE {decision makers} who feel test scores are more important than students?
WHO IS THE REAL PROBLEM?
If the state thinks students are not performing as well on standardized tests and assessments as the state would prefer, why are teachers under fire? We actually hold very little control. I propose, maybe teachers are NOT the problem.
First, what if the real problem is the home lives of the students and the variables that studies have proven interferes with education? What if the real problem is the LACK of a long recess, music education, and art classes?
Then, what if the real problem is the policies that prevent money from going directly to the students who need it the most? Next, what if the real problem is decision-makers acting like they understand the real struggles of teaching when they do not?
What if the real problem is the decision makers acting like they understand the real struggle of the expectations we are putting on our students when they do not? I suggest that what if the real problem is the tests and assessments that are given and valued?
Finally, and with the most importance, What if the real problem is the goal of higher test scores and NOT to create well-adjusted, self-sufficient, functioning members of society?
What if the real problem is the way we push students to answer questions on paper or on a computer, but not to socialize with each other? What if the real problem is NOT the teachers? What if teachers are not the problem?
Finally, policymakers… What if the REAL PROBLEM is all the other policies
you have set up and decided for us? What if the real problem is YOU?
Looking for More?
I saw that video too. I'm absolutely baffled as to WHY decision makers seem to think WE are the issue. And I'm even more baffled as to why NO ONE will listen to the teachers when we say "Too much testing is interfering with my time to teach." It's absolutely maddening….and yet….it seems things will only continue to get worse. I have to believe at some point the pendulum will start to swing toward sanity again.
amen
AMEN!!!
They don’t listen because we don’t make them listen. We need a nationwide walkout. It’s what we need to do. Take a page from Seattle, and nationalize it.
Nationwide! I LOVE that idea!
At the very least, there should be the data they listen to. Record every moment you spend preparing students for tests as well as how much time is taken for testing. Compile it district wide and demonstrate exactly how much time is being taken away from teaching. Compare that to the proposed test score increases and demonstrate what does not work. That’s all they’re going to listen to.
Super idea – except in states like Georgia which are not unionized. Right to work states – we walk out, no one is there to protect our jobs!
Teachers, as a whole, in the south, will not walk out! They are timid or “afraid” ……for many reasons. For one, walking out or striking is against the law, and secondly, the teachers need the paycheck! There are not unions in the south either, only “professional organizations” which are there more as a liasion between administration & teachers (in other words, they are usually not on THE TEACHER’S SIDE, but are “in bed” with administration.) All this has been my experience over thirty years of teaching in GA schools.
I agree. We allow too much intimidation and don’t stick together. Some of this is nourish own fault. We’ve allowed then to bully us in this state far too long.
Our not nourish
“I’m absolutely baffled as to WHY decision makers seem to think WE are the issue.” Because we receive a pay check. It’s the typical mindset of decision makers and the public they want something (a high end quality something) for nothing. i.e. They think public education should be free as in their is no cost whatsoever, so they are trying to figure out how to get to zero. In the en the wealth which include many of the decision makers send their kids to private schools where they can use their wealth and influence to “get” the education they want their kids to have.
This should be sent to every law maker in our country. They need to understand how we are hurting our students with all of the testing.
Unfortunately, Anne……This really good essay will not matter to the “powers that be” because they 1.) don’t really care and 2.) they’ve heard it all before, and it hasn’t made a difference! The point about ‘educators not being able to control anything, or hardly anything, is a really good one, but the politicians & admins know this already and it makes no difference. Think money too–politicians are heroes when they save money. Many of the things GA has in mind, for example, not paying for higher degrees, will save “mucho dinero” for them and voila’: more money in the coffers for them to claim a surplus!
I am a teacher in the “terrible” Providence Public Schools after the Johns Hopkins report came out. We teachers constantly have to deal with new curriculums that are proven to not work. Our paperwork is out of control. I teach the youngest, most vulnerable children in our system. .Inclusion is not inclusion. Most of our children require special education interventions. We have zero support in our classrooms and we move children to kindergarten who have no business moving on. It is not surprising that many of our 4th students are less than proficient in both English and Math. They were never ready to move on in the first place. Data is the new 4 letter word but even if data is done, at the expense of time taken away from our students, no interventions or support are offered. We have no substitutes , have uncovered classrooms because we have no certified applicants who want to come to Providence. And apparently, it is the boots on the ground teachers who are to bale for this mess of a system. So yes, morale is low, teachers who have taught for 38 years like me are frustrated. When you feel like you can affect no change. When you feel like the powers that be have NO idea what it is like to teach in a classroom these days, it is beyond comprehension. And it makes people like me wonder why I went into teaching in the first place. Just my opinion.
They do it because we allow it. When we stop allowing it, they won’t be able to do it.
You are absolutely correct!!
They make the decisions that we are made to follow, if they fail, it’s on us!
I never planned to retire as soon as I reached the 30 year mark. I loved teaching children when I started 29 years ago and I love teaching children today. However, I will hang up my hat and find another job as soon as I can reach that magic number. Yes, I will be required, based on economics and family responsibilities, to find another job. Yes, it may or may not be working with children. No, I will not come back as a 49% employee to help solve the problems or as a substitute. I will be busy working a full time job elsewhere. Then, I hope I will be able to walk away each day at quitting time. I will not spend a large chunk of my paycheck buying the things I need to teach with or the personal things my students need to make their learning environment the best it can be when funded by one teacher's salary. I also teach in Georgia and I'm tired of not being able to teach my students the things they need to be productive members of society in the years to come. Instead, I am in a regular planning meeting with other teachers who want me to plan my lessons based on the test we will be giving in the spring of the year. I can't stand it anymore.
I have been saying that same thing…. 30 yrs. and out…. even though like you I never said it before…. and also like you I will find any other job to make ends meet…. I have even considered inventing these bandwagon programs to sell to school districts as "fix its"….. people seem to be so willing to buy them no matter what they do or don't address…. *sigh*
I live in Arizona, land of the worst teacher salaries in the US! The legislature is under a court order to fully fund education, but the state legislature and other leadership have ignored that court order. I think all those ignoramuses should go to Mr. Arpaio's tent city jail for contempt of court.
I retired a few years ago from teaching Title I Reading. The past several years a push to gain stanines in the scores began. Okay, kids and even schools can make said improvements. However, statistics are such that somebody always has to be at the bottom of the spread.
That is math.
The thing that so irritates me about the genius politicians who think teachers are the problem and therefore the solution is that I have yet to hear even one of them say, "Yeah, I took full advantage of my public education."
Blaming teachers is just a deflection for the public to focus on while they pass laws to pad their wallets.
I totally agree with you. Wholeheartedly! The reason I’m not teaching anymore.
I’m only 13 years in and have been on burnout for two years now. I’m currently looking for other options of employment. I dread going back after the break. It isn’t the kids, it’s all the other crap outside my classroom. Teaching isn’t “fun” any longer.
That’s EXACTLY how I feel. At least one day a week, we have a meeting to be told how to write plans based on the tests Georgia has decided to reqire. I spend more time trying to write my plans with the proper “eduspeak” required for my evaluation than I do coming up with new ideas. I love my kids-but constantly jumping through so many hoops is tiresome for me AND for them. Instead of spending our last few P.E. classes playing games and enjoying one another’s company at semester’s close, we had to make sure and complete SLOs and schedule the computers so the students could take surveys to evaluate ME for that part of my evaluation. If they were TRYING to run us all off, I’d say they’re doing a pretty good job.
Very well said! I wish you well!
Good comment—I am still relatively young, and as a retiree, I could go back as well, but I won’t! Any other job would have less “pressure!” The general public does not have a clue what goes into a teaching job! They just see teachers at work—not the hours and hours of work (not to mention money) that goes into the job outside the classroom!
I am also a retired teacher. I loved working with the students, but not all the district “Thou shalts and thou shalt nots” that have nothing to do with teaching and learning. We went to collage to learn about how students learn, but discover that we must push students through the material and often do not have time to make sure they have time to actually learn it!
Amen, Mary. Amen!
-Andrea
Very well said!
Very well said!
AMEN!! We in Ohio are having similiar "battles". I too often why other "factors" are never considered into fixing a "problem", yet it is ALWAYS we teachers to blame! In Ohio we don't even have subs that hold a certificate to teach! They literally just want a pay check for the day and don't care what does or doesn't get accomplished while I'm gone. I've always wondered I am not treated like other professionals with masters degrees…I don't get paid the same, my working conditions are not the same- hello- 88 degrees in my classroom today with no air- and I surely don't get the "clout" like other professionals get! Wish there was a way to rally all of us together and let our voices be heard! Maribeth
The only way I think we can garner attention is for teachers to have a sick out…all over the nation….at the same time. ..
I’ll do it! They know what’s really wrong with education. We are simply scapegoats. The thought of a successful, nationwide teacher sick out make me hopefull amidst a system that wants me to be and feel powerless.
The only way I think we can garner attention is for teachers to have a sick out…all over the nation….at the same time. ..
I agree with you Karen Dailey – a national teacher strike
Only hurts the kids. The “powers that be” don’t care.
Yes!!!!! And the ‘hurts kids’ excuse is how they keep us down. Time to strike for better conditions so our kids have a teacher who is fully present-mentally and physically.
I’ve been both a teacher and a social worker with Child Protective Services. Believe me when I say I sympathize with teachers but I was treated worse as a social worker (with a master’s degree)– less pay and on call 24-7. The judges and lawyers always thought they knew more than the social workers, who often were the only ones who knew what the children looke d like. The judges made the final decisions, yet if it was the wrong decision and the child was returned to an abusive home and reinjured, neglected, or God forbid, even killed, guess where the finger pointed–not at the legal system and certainly not at the state legislatures that cut funding and hiring. Fortunately, I was usually listened to but the one time I was not, the child was returned to her mother only to be abused by mom’s latest boyfriend. So yes, teachers, I sympathize with you. I know there are bad teachers and social workers, but most are doing the best they can under difficult circumstances.
Social workers are not paid anything close to what they deserve.
Beth—I made a comment earlier about southern teachers—Unless the ‘climate’ in the south changes, and from what I’ve heard, it has not, in the five years since I have retired—southern teachers will NOT STRIKE. No unions in the south, no cohesiveness, no solaridity, and most of the teachers need a paycheck!
Beautiful post 🙂 Thank you for sharing your honesty 🙂
Bravo Mary! So well said!!!!!
Preach it, sister! It absolutely baffles me that policy makers still believe that testing is the answer and not the problem.
Tiffany
KTeacherTiff
This needs to go viral! Florida has already taken a way our steps for years of service. You are saying everything I have been thinking!
Jessica
Tales of a First Grade Teacher
Excellent post!
Coming from a family of teachers, I have grown up knowing what REAL teachers do, and it is amazing. Spending hours and hours on preparations for the children they love, spending money from their own pockets for materials and supplies, and molding and shaping children to give them the tools to succeed in life. It is beyond ridiculous that our children are tested and tested, and those test scores are used to measure teacher performance. My question is, every class of students is different, so how can student test performance be used to measure teacher performance year to year? You are comparing apples and oranges. Every TEACHER knows that some classes of kids learn quickly, some take a little longer. So if a teacher has a class of fast learners followed by a class of slower learners, the teacher's "test scores" may APPEAR to drop, even though the scores on the tests only reflect differences in classes, NOT decreasing teacher performance! We need some (brave) teachers who KNOW teachers to get in there and re-write the teacher evaluation system, NOT more tests!
I’m in that boat myself this year. Last year, I had high scoring students who were motivated and interested. This year, I have students who went through 3 English teachers last year and are struggling, but I’m expected to produce higher results due to “historical data” that shows “my” capabilities.
Well said. Thank you for speaking your mind and standing up for hard working teachers everywhere!
I posted this on my blog the other day!!! Great video.
Well said!
Well said.
Thank you for expressing this so well. I will also be walking out the door in June for the last time. One thing – several responders said they don't understand why the policy makers believe that tests are the answers and not the problem. MONEY, that's why. The saddest part of ALL is that it is not what is best for children any more – it is who gets the kickback, whose brother owns the testing company, etc.
Thank you for acknowledging the importance of music and art in schools. I wish everyone understood everything you have said here.
Those subjects are vital to brain development and life skills! We NEED them for our students. Plus, they bring joy to students. And school should be joyful.
What happened to finger painting in primary school and algebra in the secondary levels. Let children be children and teach them to love learning again. We are so busy teaching academics to babies that we are neglecting the character-building that should happen in the primary years. Unfortunately, we (teachers) are guilty of letting others take over our “profession.”
So many great thoughts and comments. Thank you for being brave enough to say them!
I appreciate your article, it is very well stated. My dad was close but never made it to his 30 year mark. He had to quite early. He was working with resource and handicapped children and the amount of pressure for tests and the total disregard for his education and experience working with special case children literally drove him to heart attack. Luckily, he is still around, but had to quite for health reasons.
Also, my wife and I are working on creating tools for parents to teach their children music at home since they are not getting that in public schools like they need to. This is very much a work of love, and we are driven by the purpose of helping bring the joy of music to children. Children succeed best when they have a teacher that cares and has freedom to work with each child AND when the parents support their children at home. Shameless plug: http://www.teaching-children-music.com
Great article! I teach kindergarten. It amazes and infuriates me that I have to spend the first 3 weeks of school testing . They are 5 and 6 years old. Some are even 4! They do not even understand the meaning of tests!
Thank you for writing this. I'm a fellow Georgia teacher, and I applaud your bravery. I've written about it extensively on my own blog: love my students, hate my job kind of stuff. I show up for work every day because of those kids. They matter, and they're important. And some days, I leave feeling like I'm the only person in public education they do matter to.
The obsession with data is upsetting, bizarre, and infuriating. This is not what education is about. Education is about exactly what you wrote. I'm also cynical and jaded because I know for a fact the vast majority of the people coming up with these policies and decisions don't put their own children in public school; it's the height of hypocrisy.
For years and years, when I meet young people who want to be teachers, I've always told them things like: "Just be sure – it's long hours, hard work, low pay…some of the kids you'll work with are really hard to reach, and their parents aren't picnics either. But there are other rewards."
For the first time the other day, I told a friend's son: "You're insane if you become a teacher in this atmosphere right now. Absolutely, positively insane. Run away." I will continue to say that to young people who want to make a difference for children – there are hundreds of careers you could go into to help kids. No longer really convinced teaching is one of them. The data-centricity is mind bogglingly bizarre. And I'm curious how much money is being made by testing companies from all of this, and how many of the policy makers are in those testing companies' pockets.
On the positive side, there are resistance fighters, and I feel like this is a bubble that's going to burst. But I'm about done. They've completely burnt me out. So I'm looking to find another career, mid-career. I need to be able to do something that doesn't constantly leave me feeling dismayed and defeated. No profession is perfect; they all have their problems. But this feels so insurmountable. I wish I'd known it was going to go this route when I declared an Education major in 1992. I'd have pulled out and figured something else out.
Indiana has already turned this page and our pay is now based on our student's scores. I dread to think what this will be like in another 5 or 10 years. If only the lawmakers and "powers that be" could teach in a classroom for a month. See what we see every day. Deal with the parents of children who blame us for everything, even though our hands are tied. I am fortunate that I work in a very small school, but this is my second career, so I am here until I can retire. I do my best every day and NO ONE BUT EDUCATORS knows all the hours and dollars we spend to make a difference in our students lives.
If only we had someone higher up the "lawmakers" ladder that would listen……….
I am a parent and have lots to say on the subject because education has changed way too much!
I believe our teachers need some sort of evaluation process, but to attach your evaluation on test scores is only looking at one piece of the pie. Test scores show what a child learns and has studied. A child's education doesn't start and end at school. What about the home? What if a child doesn't have supportive parents? That child will have lower test scores, which isn't the fault of the teacher.
That all being said I truly believe our teachers need some sort of evaluation/review process. We have teachers in every school district that shouldn't be teachers; they chose the wrong profession. Just like we have customer service reps or others in the private sector that chose the wrong profession. the difference being, if you are in the public sector you get fired, but if you are a teacher you move schools and become someone else's problem or move to an administrative position until retirement. We need a fair way to review every teacher annually, just like me at my job. What that looks like I'm not sure, but I truly believe there has to be a way! What does the most powerful union have to say about this thinking? Or are they just another bureaucrat in all of this?
Please know that I am on the side of the teachers, but also get very frustrated when I see comments about a national sick out or strikes when I believe there is a compromise. Has anyone ever proposed any suggestions on reviews and merit increases? I would think that a group of teachers would be able to come up with something better than the government and unions!
Good luck to y'all in Georgia….keep spreading the word.
Well said!
Anyone who knows the video title or link? Thanks 🙂
Those that decree without the degree….that's why I had to retire early.
Right on! Let's get the testing madness out of teacher evaluation so we can focus on what teaching is supposed to be about–giving kids the chance to grow and become the best versions of themselves possible! Sign and share this petition…we can do this! https://www.change.org/p/susan-brooks-bradley-byrne-susan-davis-virginia-foxx-marcia-fudge-raul-grijalva-duncan-hunter-john-kline-dave-loebsack-kenny-marchant-mark-pocan-jared-polis-martha-roby-todd-rokita-gr-remove-the-teacher-evaluation-mandate-from-the-rea?recruiter=13364469&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/15/how-much-teachers-get-paid-state-by-state/
The problem with that lovely Washington Post article is it abuses averages. With almost a decade in education, I make no where near the NC average. The use of an average here is a nice way of hiding the real issue. Watch that average drop as more retire. Then again, in this country, I truly doubt that will be enough to wake people up.
This article, I’m afraid, includes all principals, supervisors, superintendents, etc. The numbers I see are not accurate for average classroom teacher pay…..
I live in FloriDUH, the leader in all of this craziness! Politicians are lining their pockets on the backs of our children. Parents are tuning in-somewhat! But the politicians, both at the Federal and State level are behind this! Yet they create even crazier ideas like ESSA! The reality of this “lovely” bill is that it places all the decisions in the States hands. Well, in essence, this says, “We are washing our hands of this!” The States will do nothing to change this. They have always had educational control per the Constitution, or lack thereof in the Constitution!
“But the framers also understood that there were many more jobs the federal government could not do better than the states, and hence should not do. Education was foremost among them.
Education is necessarily a state and local concern. Most states, in fact, include education among several rights guaranteed in their constitutions. But even if the subjects of education are the same everywhere—two plus two equals four in Anchorage, Alaska just as it does in Bangor, Maine—the needs and the character of any given community are often quite different from others’.”
We need to be aware of this deception as well. It is up to us, as members of our state, to go after our local legislators and hold them responsible. It is our job, as members of the community, to speak out! It is our job, as educators, to fight this! It is OUR JOB to protect our students through active participation in informing our parents, friends, families, newspapers, and the world around us to be HONEST!
You have done a fine job of being honest! Thank you for a wonderful post and sharing the thoughts I have been having lately!
Right on! I’ve already heard that our politicians say nothing will change in Florida, because what we are dealing with has already been place n the statutes. We will simply have to continue without the extra funds RTTT provided…..
Into my 41st year, I still haven’t had an administrator or a educational motivator speaker come to my classes and teach for one day!! However, I am still here…and they are not…enough said!!
After 25 years of teaching, I will be retiring in June. Was it worth being a teacher? No! Now I’m to live on my measly $1,500 pension. I have friends who were in men dominated unions who be collecting pensions starting from a refuse worker $3,000, to a bus driver$5,000 and a longshoreman $7,000. I know money isn’t everything but it would be nice to live comfortably and take a vacation or two in my retirement years.
We bear the future of the world on our shoulders!
I live in North Carolina, where they have already done away with “steps” and pay for advanced degrees and National Boards. And for some reason, we’re having trouble getting highly-qualified teachers to fill our classrooms. Hmmm….wonder why…….
Georgia lawmakers need to take a good hard look at NC to see how that kind of thinking works!
No child left behind/teaching to the test was designed to enrich some of Dubya’s cronies, had nothing to do with actually educating anyone.
Race to the Top has done exactly the same thing implemented by The Obama administration. States are doing EXACTLY as they are told by people not involved in education to get the funds “won.” t’s all a money making scheme and is making test companies very rich.
This post is so very true. All the tests our students and children are required to do is crap… there is so much of an importance on these tests that we’re forgetting these kids need to learn how to deal with real life… having RESPECT SO THEY CAN GROW UP TO BE PRODUCTIVE CITIZENS… learning a trade or something so they can make a living… not testing them.. reteaching and testing.I really wish the people making these decisions would work in a school setting and see what our kid’s really need.
WAHOO!! Somebody finally states the obvious! You can add Louisiana to that ever-growing list.
fantastic post- you have said and shared what teachers have been screaming from the classrooms and hallways, and it keeps getting worse.
Teachers in the US should be paid more, a lot more. Like, at least $75,000/year. Also, their should be less testing, and tests should be targeted. Why even test all students when statistically valid samples could be taken? Teachers should be given a lot more autonomy. There must also be equity in our schools. Poverty is also a huge issue that impacts students ability to learn that cannot be ignored. (My opinion: Poverty should be addressed by providing a living wage and guaranteeing health care. But hasn’t there been examples of schools that overcome lack of resources and poverty? And aren’t there wealthy, healthy students that aren’t up to par?)
That said, I’ll ask the educators out there what they think of the following proposals:
– Education programs should be selective, equivalent to a getting into MIT, or perhaps only selecting the top x% of students.
– Education programs should be extensive and rigorous, like going through med school, and student teaching should be like doing a residency.
– There should be an equivalent exam for teachers as there is for lawyers (BAR) or doctors (USMLE).
As far as standards are concerned, what do you, the educators, think would be best? NCLB wasn’t effective, and Race to the Top doesn’t seem to be better. But were the standards set by these initiatives the problem, or is/was it the testing? (Or perhaps some other thing I’m missing?)
Thanks for your insight and questions about teaching.
#2 Student teaching IS very rigorous and when doing, we are required to completely take over a classroom, attend all meetings, etc. exactly as the teacher would. In my opinion, student teaching is the most effective thing that college ed programs require because it is the only thing in the program that is tangible.
#3 Is already in place and has been for years. Teachers take an extremely difficult exam that requires months of study in order to become certified (called PRAXIS in my area.)
#1 is the one thing that the powers that be haven’t touched. Before the 1960’s, many schools were known as “teacher colleges” and only the brightest and those who were truly called to teach chose that as a major. But as education became more and more political, teaching became the place for those who couldn’t do anything else. In my opinion , we do not scrutinize teachers entering education programs as we would medical or legal because it is necessary for teachers to be “useful idiots.” The less we really know, the easier it is for the government to control education.
The problem is basically, children are not being allowed to be children. Legislation wants miniature adults in every class seat.
2. Poverty can not be easily addressed. Educated parents make sure their children get a quality education. They can provide meals and transportation for their children to attend charter and/or private schools, thus lowering the average abilities of individual classes. Research could be done and would prove that children in poverty rise to the average ability of their classmates. Even if that was addressed, teachers can not control how much rest, medical attention, nourishment, and encouragement children receive at home.
I have been teaching for 15 years, and for the last three years, I have been a mentor teacher in a high-performing parish at a nationally recognized primary school. This, however, will probably be my last year teaching. I am waking up at night with my heart pounding/racing at 150 bpm. The stress is overwhelming, and I am no longer willing to let this job kill me. I love teaching, but the behaviors in the classroom at times stop me from doing my job effectively. It seems that the rights of 10% outweigh the rights of my other 90% of my students and myself.
I, too, taught for 25 years before retiring 3 years ago. I taught 1st grade, Kindergarten, Reading Interventionist and 3 yr olds. We also had tests all the time, even the 3 yr olds. Not the same tests, but still testing every few weeks. All year long. I also spent my own money to buy resources for the classroom and students. One of my bones of contention is the amount of money going to the coaches and sports facilities. There is no comparison between the salaries of said coaches and teachers. I do know they spend a lot of time in a myriad of activities, yet we do too! Making learning resources, xeroxing, coloring, cutting, glueing, laminating, cutting again, after buying the pattern books. Carrying workbooks home to grade, and stacks of other papers. Teachers grade thousands of papers each year!! Then grades, grade books or computer programs to keep up to date, averaging, report cards, etc. I don’t even want to start on the difficulties in countered through disapline!! And working with parents!! Quite frankly, I would encourage parents to homeschool if at all possible!!
This philosophy made me physically an emotionally ill. I had to leave on disability! I am a Veteran teacher with experience both with students and my own successful three sons. Admin. is ruining students’ success and running off wonderful teachers!
My theory as to why teachers are being demonized and made to want to quit is that the policy makers are doing it on purpose. They want there to be a shortage of teachers. They want the public to blame teachers for everything, because their end goal is to have a computer in front of every child all day (making Bill Gates even richer). Teachers will be replaced by so-called facilitators, non-certified and/or non-educated glorified baby sitters (who can be paid a low, hourly wage). Meanwhile, the lessons will all be online (making the curriculum/educational software companies even richer).
Think it’ll never happen? It already is happening. My younger cousin graduated from a high school in the greater Houston area where all the classes were online and “taught” by facilitators. Also, there’s a high school in my parish where foreign languages are taught this way, all online. The “teacher” of the class is not certified to teach French or Spanish, and doesn’t even speak the language.
I taught 5 year old children for 29 years. I retired when I was beginning to have to teach things I knew were not age appropriate for my babies, i.e. filling in little boxes on standardized tests, and many other things. My beloved Kindergarten turned into a look-a-like 1st grade. I was not happy. My favorite poster, which I willed to another teacher with like feelings, simply read “Children don’t need “better” teachers, they need BETTER childhoods. My prayers are with teachers today–you have to be so dedicated to put up with government (pardon my expression) CRAP!
Blaming the highly educated, highly trained, and lowly paid educators for the problems in education today is like blaming a carpenter because he could not make a fine piece of furniture from a pile of sawdust, or blaming a dentist because his patients have cavities, even though they refuse to brush their teeth, or blaming a mechanic for a car’s engine failure, when the owner of the car refuses to change the oil or do basic preventative maintenance, or blaming a gardener because your plants died when you wouldn’t let her water them properly, or… The only thing that our idiot politicians can control is what goes on in the classroom, and they foolishly think that would fix things. I think we have had more than enough time to see that this approach has had limited success, at best.
Well said, Greg.
What if the real problem is the left wing bent of the education establishment (teachers and administrators)? What if the real problem is having a Federal Department of Education that takes control away from local School Boards (who can be responsive to teachers and parents) and placing it in the hands of bureaucrats in DC who have no idea about the local environment? What if the real problem is teacher’s unions and their members supporting those who would destroy the Constitution instead of understanding its wisdom?
I retired at 25 years. I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It was not the kids. It was all the other things that are mentioned above. Yes, some of the kids can read at K level but it is age appropriate developmentally at seven years old! Then you had all those that could not do it on so much paperwork it was ridiculous. I was moved from program to program the last ten years of teaching, was constantly harassed, gave all my time to teaching and only now realize how much I neglected my own kids doing for those in my classroom. I know two young girls who quit after just student teaching when they saw “reality”. Kids are starting to hate school and stay stressed out. I don’t know the answer but I don’t think a test is it!!!
My absolute favorite time teaching was when I was substitute teaching. It was there I could actually do what my education prepared me to do – TEACH CHILDREN. No committee meetings, curriculum meetings, faculty meetings or anything that interfered with teaching. I checked the work the students did and any home at night, knowing I’d done my best and that I could sleep at night instead of worrying my night away.
And I have thought long and hard as to how I can make a living assisting parents who opt to home school. I’m still working on that.
We are leaving an important piece of the puzzle out of this conversation. Politicians ‘think’ they have funded education at a higher rate than any other time in history, but do not calculate how many millions, maybe billions, are being taken off the top of those budgets by the testing companies…… Any comments?
I can only speak to what I know. My TEAM was given a budget for supplies for all 125 of our students for the whole year. The amount was shameful but the best my school could do. The teachers chose to put it towards technology. And I have amazing parents who support us with items we need for classroom supplies. I personally spend 2K-5K a year on classroom supplies and materials to make learning hands on, FUN, and memorable. So do I see education as being funded well? NO
I totally understand. There were years when I spent way too much, to the point of being ridiculous. Most of my expenditures were for equipment. My own kids didn’t have whet they needed, but I was trying to make sure my school kids had what we needed. Bad decisions on my part…… Maybe if no teacher spent out of their pockets, parents would realize education funding is not reaching the classroom…..
Well, what they are proposing to do to teacher pay in GA has already happened in NC. I haven’t had a pay increase in 8 years. They froze our steps then revamped the pay scale. I’m actually making LESS now than what I should had they kept the steps in place. They also took away longevity pay. Oh, but we got a whopping $750.00 bonus this December! Our students are tested out the wazoo and I spend more time “progress monitoring” than actually teaching. What these “decision makers” have done in NC is a travesty! They are working to dismantle the public education system and they are well on their way. The problem with public education is not the teachers…the problem lies in the heart of Raleigh at the state Capitol…the problem is the decision makers who know nothing about what it means to teach!
I do agree that the testing is over-rated, but I have to disagree on the pay issue. Even though
it might seem low, just try to find better paying jobs in out country. Yes, there are some, but
not many !
Teachers are scapegoats. It is impossible to fix dysfunctional families and societal values that affect a child’s education so blaming teachers for low student achievement is what lawmakers do. Of course, factors like more children living in poverty than ever before are also ignored. Lawmakers pledge to cut taxes and rein in spending even if it means negatively affecting the infrastructures of our country. Public schools get less money, teachers’ salaries remain low compared to other professionals with the same level of education and the message is clear: teachers and education are not highly valued in this nation. I see a future where fewer and fewer college students will major in education and the United States will face a severe teacher shortage. Then, the people who will be teaching our children will not be qualified to teach. Maybe at this point, lawmakers will honestly be able to blame the teachers for the lack of student achievement. I have taught for twenty years and come from a family of teachers beginning with my paternal grandparents who taught beginning in the 1930’s. Sadly,this is the conclusion that I have reached after observing the dynamics of the teaching profession.
“SOME BUT NOT MANY???” Garbageman. Costco checkout clerk. Baggage handler. Carpenter. Carpetlayer. Plumber. Nurse. Physical therapist. Office manager. Truck driver. Policeman. Legal assistant. Dental hygienist. Airline steward or stewardess. Medical transcriptionist. IT coordinator. Bank manager. Auto mechanic. Engineer, doctor, dentist, lawyer. Advertising agent. Theater manager. Ballerina. Professional musician. Tour guide. Court reporter. Interpreter. Accountant. College recruiter. Restaurant manager. Chef. Train engineer. Safety inspector. Roofer. Cement finisher. Real estate agent. Electrician. Industrial painter. Security guard. Landscaper. ALL OF THESE JOBS pay more than the starting salary of $33,000 that teachers earn, and many of them DO NOT require a four to five year college degree.
What a beautifully written article that hits the nail on the head! I teach in TN where they have done away with step increases for experience and higher education degrees and our pay is now based on test scores. It has gotten worse each year since we started! Not only that, but teachers with families are essentially docked pay for having to stay home with sick kids. Even if I have 30 sick days built up, if I miss more than 10 days I am ineligible to receive any merit based pay!