The Teachers Union President responded that her members aren't volunteers; they are professionals, and if the Mayor wants a longer school day - show them the money. (The teacher's contract is up soon, and will soon be negotiated.)
It's very easy to beat up on teachers, but I happen to agree with the Teachers Union President. Teachers ARE professionals, and they are called on to do far more than just teach, for pay that isn't remotely comparable. There was another article about how the Brightest teachers are burning out. In the story, it pointed out a revolving door, where highly qualified teachers are leaving, and for those who teach in inner city schools?
............Such teachers who are in high-poverty, high-minority schools and the flee rate is even higher. Anywhere from 74 to 79 percent are gone after five years, according to "Leaving Schools or Leaving the Profession: Setting Illinois' Record Straight on New Teacher Attrition.''
I'm not surprised. Because I used to be one of them. I was not a teacher, but I worked for the school system, on the financial side, in the inner city for five years.
In my years there, despite all the sterotypical horrors that people would think about public schools, I didn't see any of it. These were clean schools that I dealt with, physically. No safety issues for students or staff. No incidents. The physical setting for the children was a positive one.
There is a lot written about schools, and I'm not saying that every teacher is fabulous. But, I honestly believe the number of bad teachers isn't high, and believe me, the principals -terrific, average or lacking - knew who the bad teachers were, and worked to get rid of them.
If I had to name concrete ways in which inner city schools were shortchanged, I suppose this is it:
1. Class size.
I don't believe that the class size should be over 15.
2. Lack of the following teachers:
Science, Foreign language, Librarian
It is very hard to keep any, let alone a good one of the teachers above.
3. Lack of support systems:
The low number of social workers, counselors and school psychologists
The schools are now being demanded to fill in horrendous gaps for children whose parents are simply not doing their job.
The hidden and little-discussed problem with regards to our schools is POSITIVE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.
It's the elephant in the room nobody wants to discuss.
Show me a child that is excelling, and 9 out of 10 times, I would recognize the child's parent, because they would have made themselves available to the school, and were actively involved in their child's education. Didn't matter if it was an inner city school, it was the POSITIVE parent that would make the difference.
But, nobody wants to talk about the parents. It's easier to beat up on the teachers, principal or ' school system'. I saw so many squandered and untapped resources left by the wayside by too many of our children. I understand the burnout of the teachers; it's a hard, unappreciated job.
For the last six months on the job, I was involved with a charter school. I thought many times before I left that I wish I'd been involved with this school from the beginning. But, by the time I got to that school, I was burned out. The students were from the inner city, but there was such a strong purpose, almost mission to the school, from the Principal, down to the lunch room workers. And, the biggest difference? You were almost tripping over parental volunteers. Changed the entire atmosphere of the school to have a solid group of committed, dedicated parents who wanted to be involved with their children.
I know that education is a serious issue for the community, but I don't think that until we're willing to seriously talk to the elephant in the room, we're going to get anywhere. We'll just be spinning our wheels.
If you know a parent that's involved, thank them for being that positive influence for their child. And, ask them if you can help them.
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5 comments:
I agree...
Teachers are asked to be too many things already- mother, father, counselor, mentor, confidant, security, etc, etc.
Lengthening the school day in school sytems where parental involvement is low...will not really deal with the problem.
If the day is lengthened... teachers should be compensated.
I agree that positive parental involvement is important but I dont think its an elephant in the room. Do you mean within low-income and black communities specifically?
I agree that positive parental involvement is important but I dont think its an elephant in the room. Do you mean within low-income and black communities specifically?
I believe within the Black community specifically. It's more pervasive - the lack of parental involvement -on the low-income scale, but Black middle-class parents aren't doing all they could be doing either.
These are us-helping-ourselves solutions that, if we took control of it, could turn around a number of things, and make us more powerful when trying to confront 'outside forces'.
Funny how the KIPP program is able to find motivated teachers willing to be paid less than the going rate of the public school teacher, work longer hours and even work one Saturday out of the month. They target public school children that have fallen through the cracks and are able to make significant inroads into their education.
In my strong belief the often heard cry that MORE MONEY is needed is a red herring. Yes money is "A" problem. It is not "THE" problem with public education.
The relative inflexibility of the teachers union is a problem as well. I respect that the job of the teachers' union is to represent the best interests of the TEACHERS. The problem is when the public at large are fooled to believe that the TU is representing the best interests of the students or of education itself. They are not.
The call for additional money for the schools directly benefits the interests of the teachers and does not inherently translate into better performance. Absent the accountability that NCLB has worked to implement as well as the input from the parents and the community as was noted by other posters - reform is not going to happen, regardless of the MONEY that is spent.
...and have you ever asked at what cost, constructive feedback? I have friends who work at a KIPP school. Their last faculty meeting was spent discussing how half the faculty is ready to quit at the end of the coming year if the work load and hours do not become more manageable.
There is a reason why KIPP's teaching population is almost exclusively gung-ho Teach For America kids - because few other teachers in their right minds would agree to such hours. Being a KIPP teacher pretty much precludes you from having any kind of social or family life whatsoever. Have you ever thought about what the children and spouse of KIPP teachers (the few who have them, obviously) must feel like? I know them, and they miss their parents and lovers.
KIPP is simply unsustainable if you intend to have a system with experienced teachers who are committed to their professions. If you think it's fine to use up teachers every 2-5 years and then spit them out, so long as they get those test scores up, then KIPP's your man.
Teaching is a paid profession, not an attempt at martyrdom. There are other ways to educate children effectively that respects the rights of teachers to have lives.
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