You hear teachers commenting on blogs about how certain children and their parents think they are "entitled" to "free babysitting", "free lunch", the list goes on and on. But as a parent who has been active in local the schools for the last ten years, I have observed principals and teachers who seem oblivious to parent's pleas to please teach their children. On more than one occasion, I have felt like some local teachers and administrators feel it is They who are entitled.
As a matter of fact, how's this for entitlements: job security for life (i.e. tenure), paid holidays, comprehensive medical plans. It gets old hearing teachers speak as if they are owed a job, above and beyond any standards of competency that are set for any other group of workers. As a matter of fact, all the rest of us need to fall back and worship the ground on which they walk, because it is They who are charged with dealing with our little heathens.
Other union employees have quality standards that they have to meet - why not teachers and other public school administrators? As it currently stands, the field of education is a one track gravy train. Enough already - put a stop to the lemon dance.
As a matter of fact, how's this for entitlements: job security for life (i.e. tenure), paid holidays, comprehensive medical plans. It gets old hearing teachers speak as if they are owed a job, above and beyond any standards of competency that are set for any other group of workers. As a matter of fact, all the rest of us need to fall back and worship the ground on which they walk, because it is They who are charged with dealing with our little heathens.
Other union employees have quality standards that they have to meet - why not teachers and other public school administrators? As it currently stands, the field of education is a one track gravy train. Enough already - put a stop to the lemon dance.
10 comments:
Seriously?
I was granted tenure after two years (normal time was 4 years) because the special ed coop wanted to keep me. I also had this "wonderful insurance". Guess what? As soon as I had a kid with a chronic medical condition my insurance tried to drop me...when that didn't work, my job magically disappeared.
In just this year alone, I've had two students experience seizures first thing in the morning after taking too many prescription pills. We tried, for weeks, to tell their families these children were in crisis to no avail. Even after the seizures, their families refused seek treatment for these children. They still have their cellphones, cars, driver's licenses and post to Facebook weekly about their exploits with drugs and alcohol.
I will be pink-slipped next week as will all my co-workers. Our insurance sucks (pre-existing clauses, no open-enrollment, exorbitant co-pays). We are all at-will employees who have NEVER worked with a contract or with a union yet we serve the neediest of the needeist.
I'm SO tired of the finger pointing and blame placing. While you all are all trying to figure out who is responsible for the fall of public education, there are an awful lot of us trying to reach students and parents.
This is exactly what those who would like to see public education completely privatized want us to do.
Rixblix, sorry about the unfairness you describe--this is what will happen to all teachers if public education is privatized. Getting rid of unions and tenure will bring about the same results.
Emerge, I fail to understand why you believe teachers are not subject to evaluations, etc. Of course, the new evaluation system does require even more hoops through which to jump.
Emerge, don't you understand that the system that you advocate will not be based on the performance of teachers. It will be based on money--as Riblix explains, if a teacher's need for insurance benefits increases, the teacher will be terminated "without cause." Private companies care only about the bottom line--classroom performance ultimately will have little to do with it. You seem to define older teachers as those who are inadequate. Sharon Kherat recently mentioned at a board meeting how difficult it is to operate without experienced teachers. Private companies don't want experienced teachers--they are too expensive. Teaching will become a 1 to 10-year career. People like Paul Vallas advocate that system because he is in it to make money, not to educate.
I heart teachers Rix, seriously...
I appreciate and understand your perspective. I know some wonderful teachers, who are dealing with ridiculous odds. Parents who don't call and who are not involved.
I have also been in situations where the only reason children were not learning, is the teacher and consequently the school, were not prepared.
Emerge, you make many accusations about teachers, but you make blanket statements with nothing to back them up. I am not denying that there are teachers who consistently or sometimes for just brief moments because of some personal crisis, etc., do not do their jobs well. First, I would want to know how many parents share your opinions about a particular teacher--and how many don't. Are there students in the class who are learning--if so, why them and not others? Then I would want to hear specific accusations. Then I would also want to know if the teacher has been given all the resources to help any specific learning disabilities that students might have. Are resources teeachers available, etc.?
How exactly does one evaluate if a teacher is doing a good job? It seems that many evaluation systems want to depend on testing of the students. This sounds reasonable, on the surface, however, in reality it's more complicated. Often the children that are the most challenging to teach are the ones that will score the lowest in testing. In that case, the teacher of the lower-performing students may be working all the harder for less of a result.
Additionally, in many small school districts, small classes make for a not-very representative sample. For example, the current senior class at my kids' school has a group dynamic of not being very bright. The junior class is the opposite. If you look at the average ACT score for the seniors, then for the current juniors, it will look like the school has improved, when it's really the lack of sufficient sample size causing misleading statistics.
However, if you go the route of subjective means of evaluation, then you deal with a whole other set of issues, such as Rix's case above.
I'm not denying that there are some poor teachers. My kids have had a couple. In that case, I think it's up to the parents to be both an advocate for their child's education AND to remember that formal schooling is just a part of their child's education.
Targeting public education is a red herring. Are there shitty parents? Yes. Are there shitty teachers? Yes.
Is a doctor a bad doctor because all the patients in her practice are sick? Is a dentist a bad dentist because all her patients have lots of cavities?
Am I, an educator, qualified to tell a "high falutin'" doctor that he's a shitty doctor because my neighbor's kids haven't been immunized and have whooping cough?
Is a lawyer qualified to tell me I'm doing a crappy job because I took a non-reading 8th grader up to a 4th grade reading level (in 9 months time)but he scored poorly on some random, subjective, corporate sponsored standardized test?
I, personally, am dealing with my own 9th grader who is taking Algebra 1 for the second time. He took it as an 8th grader but couldn't get high school credit for the class because his elementary school district (District 86 - East Peoria) wouldn't bus him (and his peers) two blocks to East Peoria High School (District 309). He's, literally, using the same exact book two years in a row.
The 6,000 pound gorilla in the closet is NCLB. A bill passed for the sole purpose of privatizing public education.
And I know you heart teachers, Emerge. I hate to say it, but get the hell outta dodge. I've got family and friends who teach well outside the I-80 Bible Belt and it's a different story. But I know you know that.
I generally lurk on the board, but your blanket statement is very inflammatory and demeaning to those teachers who try their best to educate our youth. There are certainly many teachers who only collect a paycheck, but it is totally unfair to lump everyone into your comments.
Emerge: I have a dear friend that teaches in D150. She has been called a fat, white, bitch by the same kid almost daily for the entire school year. She writes him up and for some reason, she is the one who gets called into the principal's office for a tongue lashing. She has been told to document everything and she does. She is the best record keeper I have ever met, on top of being an outstandingly professional teacher. She keeps parents informed when students don't return homework and she has instilled a sense of pride in her students. She doesn't believe she is "owed" a job, but she does believe she is "owed" respect, if not from the students who are allowed to verbally assault her, but perhaps her boss.
Why aren't all the people who are "pro-choice" when it comes to abortion pro-choice when it comes to schools? School choice vouchers for all, now. Let the parents decide which school is right for their children.
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