Being a teacher is not something that I do for a living-it is who I am. In the last few years teaching and education has become a VERY popular institution to attack. Since almost everyone attended school, the masses are quick to comment and criticize.
There are days it seems like very ill of society is supposed to be fixed inside the walls of a school. Children who live in poverty, move every 4-5 months, have a parent in prison, and live under daily stress are expected to perform as well as the kids in the "Burbs" who have every advantage imaginable. Of course when these children do not perform as well as their suburban neighbors-it's the teacher's fault. To make things even crazier-the very districts that seek to educate , feed and cloth these children, are then punished by having more funding taken away because the children are struggling. I equate this to throwing a drowning man a brick.
Suddenly doctors, lawyers, and insurance salesman who all make well over 100,000, think the average pay of a Michigan teacher at 48,000 dollars, is paying too much! I am especially hurt when listening to people I thought were friends, paint teachers (through their unions) as greedy saying it is all about money. Perhaps they have a way of paying their bills without money-but my mortgage company, and the bills I need to pay, require money.
These very same people do not have to purchase out of their take home pay the materials they need to even do their jobs. For the past few years my husband has refused to deduct all the money I spent on my classroom for taxes because it is too high a percent of my take home pay. Many people in the teachers lounge are hearing the same thing from their tax specialists. Costs have simply risen much faster that the dollars available for education. Teachers have picked up the difference by digging into their dwindling take home pay.
There is so much misinformation about teaching that the general public seems to believe. First of all being a tenured teacher does not mean you can't be fired. It does mean that in order to be fired the administration must have document why they are letting a teacher go. Trust me I have seen plenty of tenured teachers fired. Administrators that say it is hard to get rid of a tenured teacher are really saying that they do not want to stop in the class observe, and record their reasons. I once saw a principal try to fire a teacher because he was having an affair with her teachers aid, and when his wife found out he thought the teacher was the one who told. It turned out it was another person, but if not for tenure the real facts would never have come out. In this case the teacher was allowed to transfer-and nothing happened to the administrator who was having the affair.
Another piece of information that is incorrect is that teachers are paid in the summer and get all this time off. First of all we are only paid for 60 hours every 2 weeks even though the required hours in our buildings are 40 hours per week. They subtract the 30 minute lunch and the two 15 minutes a day. This is very misleading because I have yet to meet a single elementary teacher who ever got two 15 minutes breaks a day. Lunch time is usually spent problem solving issues that students have and returning parent phone calls. Then like many professions we have work to take home. The difference is -these work hours are not billable. There are no year end bonuses and God help you if you ever miss a message or don't return a parent phone call within a 24 hour period. Gosh I wait weeks for test results from my doctors, lawyers call back when they feel like it, and then I have to pay them extra for the phone call and for reading the tests.
As for summers-hey I would work them if the schools were open. I did not set up the summers off system. However I will tell you I attend lots of classes, inservices, and specialized training at my own personal cost during this time.
I am tired of being attacked and I am no longer going to apologize for the 50,000 dollars a year I make. I know I am worth it. Education is worth it. If you think education is too expensive and teachers are over paid-just watch what is going to happen in the next few years. Take a look at the low test scores and huge turn over in the Right to Work States.
Colleges are seeing many talented students leave teaching programs. No one wants to work in a profession that is not respected, under funded, and the brunt of all societies problems. We need these young people. I do understand the cost/benefit ratio. They cannot graduate with these huge student loans, and take a job that will require them 10 years to pay off their loans. I am worried that we under fund education at the peril of our children.
I love teaching, I love my kids, and I love my profession. It is time more of us speak up. Let's face it if we do not it is the kids who will suffer.
I am a teacher-I am proud of it-and I am worthy of respect and adequate compensation for my skills and expertize!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Valentines Day
So what does a teacher of 14 year old 8th graders do for them for Valentines day? At this point I am going to make them each a valentine with the schools logo and put a treat inside the envelope. I did give each of my girls a pair of socks from Target with hearts on them-but the guys they are a bit more problematic. So any thoughts out there?
I'm a Moderate
Yep I am proud to say it. Go ahead and disparage me if you wish-but I refuse to be labeled as a left winged liberal nut case, or as an ultraconservative right winged closed minded conservative. I am quickly realizing that there are more of us out there than either of the afore mentioned groups would like to acknowledge. So what I do believe in???
I believe, in God, Family, Freedom of Expression and Common Sense.
RELGION
I believe in the freedom of religion-NOT- the freedom from all religion. Since the supreme court opens with prayer, our money says “In God we trust”, a teacher should be able to have the class take of moment of silence out of respect for the death of a classmate or leader. Those who do not believe in God are not harmed by 60 seconds of silence. I have no problem with people wishing me Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, Happy yon Kipper, or any other religious holiday. I personally am up for goodwill in any language or culture.
I believe in a right to a decent life. That means that if we outlaw abortion we are making an 18 year commitment to feed, cloth and educate that child. It is an expensive proposition-but I do not think a right to life should end after the child is born. I am always amazed by the right to life people who are pro death penalty and not willing to fund public schools. A right to a decent life included a decent education.
EDUCATION
I value education and I do believe money does make a difference. After all if it doesn’t- the schools that receive so much more money would have no problem in giving up some. It makes no sense to me that children and teachers are funded at different rates across the entire state and yet are expected and punished if they do not meet the same academic standards. It is unacceptable to me that urban teachers are expected to work with lower pay, higher student teacher ratios, and many times without textbooks or materials. I consider myself a well-educated person but I will never understand quantum physics. Thanks goodness my teachers were never punished for my lack of talent in that certain area. The world is full of talented people-not every child is the same and expecting them all do well at everything, is simply not possible. There is a difference between having high expectations for students and asking then to accomplish something that it beyond their means (AKA quantum Physics and myself). I am sorry to admit that all the art classes in the world would not make an artist out of me. Perhaps we need to have some flexibility in courses, to maximize the talents each individual student has, instead of trying to make them all the same. (Core curriculum)
Respectful SPEECH
I am never sure what it means to be politically correct. I am sure that every human being should be treated with respect. That means listening and debating ideas not personalities. It means not demeaning the idea of another person in order to elevate my own. Too often all ideas are lost in the shouting and disrespectful tone of an argument. I am also willing to concede that I am not always right, and that an opinion of mine is subject to change based on new information and new life experiences. This does not make me wish-washy-but rather someone who is willing to see an issue from a variety of perspectives.
Discipline
Discipline should not be a dirty word. Self discipline is perhaps one of the hardest skills to attain. My continual battle to diet is a testament to this fact. Too many people in our free society get away with too much. Somehow it’s only wrong if you get caught, or if other people were doing the same thing-it is supposed to mitigate personal behavior. When I was a kid a little fear kept many of my behaviors in check. If I was in trouble at school I was in double trouble at home. Now, the children are proud to tell teachers not only is their mother not going to do anything she may come up to school and kick my behind. Teachers get in trouble now for speaking to harshly to a child, and sending them to the office is often seen as a fun way to get out of class. Basically they know-nothing can or will be done to them if they choose not to comply. Not great training for the work world where you do as you are told or lose your job. Discipline must be restored to the schools if achievement is going to progress in an upward direction.
UNIONS
I think unions are fine as long as they represent their workers. Once the administrators for a union make more than twice as much as the workers they represent-they have become an institution in and of themselves. I was recently surprised and disconcerned about the amount of money the MEA leaders were making. After years of pay cuts and benefit concessions-they need to feel the pain as well. On the other hand it makes no sense to me that managers make millions while they ask workers for pay cuts. In my school district there are so many administrative positions no one is really sure what half of them do. And if Charter and Catholic schools can run without huge layers of administration-why can’t public schools?
TAXES
Taxes-as much as I hate paying them, feel I pay too much of them, I know they are necessary. I am for transparency, in the budget process. There would be less bridges to nowhere built if we could actually see the budget expenditures. Public Service should be compensated but not made rich. I am also thinking that making money in tell all books about public service should be reviewed as a matter of national security. I am tired of the TRASH TALKING.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Social Security was set up to be a retirement fund. You put money in while you are working and when you retire you get the money back. The problem with social security today is that it pays people who never put a cent into the system. It covers kids with ADHD who are not even old enough to work, people who are too over weight to work, ect. I am not saying that these groups do not need help-but social security should be used for what it was set up for- retirement. If you are disabled and need to retire sooner-ok-you can draw off the money that you put in to date. No more free rides.
GUNS
I believe that my family should be allowed to own a hand gun for protection if we wish (and we don’t}, and that deer hunting requires things like rifles, bullets, bows and arrows. My uncles all hunt and since I am not a vegetarian, I eat meat that someone has killed. However, I do not believe that my family is entitled to an AK47 assault rifle. I would like to believe military weapons belong in the hands of the military! I think it should be more difficult to get a gun permit than a driver’s license. Guns do kill people-they are made by people, shipped by people and used by people. Privilege’s and responsibilities come hand in hand. Responsible gun ownership is both a right and a privilege.
Common sense is behind most of my ideas. I do not claim to be an expert on any subject. I would however like the experts to learn how to communicate in a civil manner and practice the time honored and true method of compromise.
I believe, in God, Family, Freedom of Expression and Common Sense.
RELGION
I believe in the freedom of religion-NOT- the freedom from all religion. Since the supreme court opens with prayer, our money says “In God we trust”, a teacher should be able to have the class take of moment of silence out of respect for the death of a classmate or leader. Those who do not believe in God are not harmed by 60 seconds of silence. I have no problem with people wishing me Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, Happy yon Kipper, or any other religious holiday. I personally am up for goodwill in any language or culture.
I believe in a right to a decent life. That means that if we outlaw abortion we are making an 18 year commitment to feed, cloth and educate that child. It is an expensive proposition-but I do not think a right to life should end after the child is born. I am always amazed by the right to life people who are pro death penalty and not willing to fund public schools. A right to a decent life included a decent education.
EDUCATION
I value education and I do believe money does make a difference. After all if it doesn’t- the schools that receive so much more money would have no problem in giving up some. It makes no sense to me that children and teachers are funded at different rates across the entire state and yet are expected and punished if they do not meet the same academic standards. It is unacceptable to me that urban teachers are expected to work with lower pay, higher student teacher ratios, and many times without textbooks or materials. I consider myself a well-educated person but I will never understand quantum physics. Thanks goodness my teachers were never punished for my lack of talent in that certain area. The world is full of talented people-not every child is the same and expecting them all do well at everything, is simply not possible. There is a difference between having high expectations for students and asking then to accomplish something that it beyond their means (AKA quantum Physics and myself). I am sorry to admit that all the art classes in the world would not make an artist out of me. Perhaps we need to have some flexibility in courses, to maximize the talents each individual student has, instead of trying to make them all the same. (Core curriculum)
Respectful SPEECH
I am never sure what it means to be politically correct. I am sure that every human being should be treated with respect. That means listening and debating ideas not personalities. It means not demeaning the idea of another person in order to elevate my own. Too often all ideas are lost in the shouting and disrespectful tone of an argument. I am also willing to concede that I am not always right, and that an opinion of mine is subject to change based on new information and new life experiences. This does not make me wish-washy-but rather someone who is willing to see an issue from a variety of perspectives.
Discipline
Discipline should not be a dirty word. Self discipline is perhaps one of the hardest skills to attain. My continual battle to diet is a testament to this fact. Too many people in our free society get away with too much. Somehow it’s only wrong if you get caught, or if other people were doing the same thing-it is supposed to mitigate personal behavior. When I was a kid a little fear kept many of my behaviors in check. If I was in trouble at school I was in double trouble at home. Now, the children are proud to tell teachers not only is their mother not going to do anything she may come up to school and kick my behind. Teachers get in trouble now for speaking to harshly to a child, and sending them to the office is often seen as a fun way to get out of class. Basically they know-nothing can or will be done to them if they choose not to comply. Not great training for the work world where you do as you are told or lose your job. Discipline must be restored to the schools if achievement is going to progress in an upward direction.
UNIONS
I think unions are fine as long as they represent their workers. Once the administrators for a union make more than twice as much as the workers they represent-they have become an institution in and of themselves. I was recently surprised and disconcerned about the amount of money the MEA leaders were making. After years of pay cuts and benefit concessions-they need to feel the pain as well. On the other hand it makes no sense to me that managers make millions while they ask workers for pay cuts. In my school district there are so many administrative positions no one is really sure what half of them do. And if Charter and Catholic schools can run without huge layers of administration-why can’t public schools?
TAXES
Taxes-as much as I hate paying them, feel I pay too much of them, I know they are necessary. I am for transparency, in the budget process. There would be less bridges to nowhere built if we could actually see the budget expenditures. Public Service should be compensated but not made rich. I am also thinking that making money in tell all books about public service should be reviewed as a matter of national security. I am tired of the TRASH TALKING.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Social Security was set up to be a retirement fund. You put money in while you are working and when you retire you get the money back. The problem with social security today is that it pays people who never put a cent into the system. It covers kids with ADHD who are not even old enough to work, people who are too over weight to work, ect. I am not saying that these groups do not need help-but social security should be used for what it was set up for- retirement. If you are disabled and need to retire sooner-ok-you can draw off the money that you put in to date. No more free rides.
GUNS
I believe that my family should be allowed to own a hand gun for protection if we wish (and we don’t}, and that deer hunting requires things like rifles, bullets, bows and arrows. My uncles all hunt and since I am not a vegetarian, I eat meat that someone has killed. However, I do not believe that my family is entitled to an AK47 assault rifle. I would like to believe military weapons belong in the hands of the military! I think it should be more difficult to get a gun permit than a driver’s license. Guns do kill people-they are made by people, shipped by people and used by people. Privilege’s and responsibilities come hand in hand. Responsible gun ownership is both a right and a privilege.
Common sense is behind most of my ideas. I do not claim to be an expert on any subject. I would however like the experts to learn how to communicate in a civil manner and practice the time honored and true method of compromise.
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