Teachers and the public perception

[streetwaves]

Sorry it has taken so long to post.

Anyway, I have been teaching for sixteen years and it has never been worse. Teachers have gone from being sainted to vilified in a very short period of time. We bear the woe and responsibility for society's ills. Why? Because it's convenient to have a scapegoat. The majority of the public doesn't understand what we do/the difficulty of being a teaching. The old adage "those who can, do---and those who can't, teach" is bullshit. Teaching is an art and I have seen many fail over the years. It's far from easy.

Here are some basic misconceptions:

Teacher's don't have to go to school for six years.

Many East Coast states require you to have a masters degree.

We work from 8 to 3 and bathe in holidays.

I work from 7:30 to 4:30, weekends, nights and holidays. Granted, some teachers work from bell to bell and probably don't put in the time required to be efficient. But that's always been less than 10% in any building where I have worked. I have taught in three states and worked in seven schools.

We don't want to be evaluated.

No, we don't mind being evaluated. In fact, we expect it. What we object to is being evaluated based on student test scores. Why? Because not all schools are equal. I currently work at a Title I school (poverty level is so low that all students qualify for free lunch) that serves many second language learners and students with special needs. The median income is $30K. The school is located in Brooklyn. How am I going to compete with a school on the Upper East/West Side of NYC? I average 30% attendance in my first period class. There are too many factors that I can't control because I'm the teacher and not the parent. But I'm held accountable anyway. If you're a manager and a team member fails to perform, you can fire them. I can't fire my students.

We are spoiled.

Really? We make too much and have too many benefits? Almost half my paycheck goes toward rent. I pay into my pension. I am required to have a masters degree. I pay for many supplies/rewards for my students without reimbursement. I work during weekends and holidays. I am far from rich or greedy.

Unions are evil.

Are you kidding me? Unions are the only thing keeping the middle class alive. Even if you don't belong to a union---you have reaped the benefit of their existence: 40 hour workweek, overtime, healthcare, maternity leave, paid vacation, sick days, child labor laws, etc.

Tenure protects a teacher for life/prevents a teacher from being fired.

I wish. No, tenure essentially assures due process. You can fire a teacher by documenting their poor performance/poor behavior just like any job, but you have to prove it. That means paperwork and many principals don't want the headache.

If I wasn't so far in, I would leave education. As it is, I'm trying to leave NYC and go back to SF. Almost ten years in NYC public schools and I continue to watch Bloomberg ruin education. His policies and vision will prove detrimental for many years to come.

[mcm1610]

The 8-3 thing bugs me more than anything.

My school day's required hours are 8-3:30, but I'd say 80% of the teachers are there by 7:30. On top of that, most have other activities. Going down my hallway:

-one does NHS

-the next does Model UN and coaches the rifle team (it is paid, but that adds an extra 90 minutes to the work day),

-I coach hockey (paid, but it works out to about $3 an hour and is often before school) and coach club lacrosse which is unpaid

-the next teacher coaches lacrosse for free and used to coach football (which works out to about $2 an hour, adds 2 hours to every day plus most of their Saturdays)

-the next is department head, does Model UN

-the next is our "slacker" who goes bell to bell

-the next is cheerleading coach (paid, but added hours + saturdays) and class advisor

-the next is a class advisor

-the next does Mock Trial

-edit: forgot one, baseball and basketball coach

-also forgot another that I don't socialize with much.. I *think* she's an advisor for something like a class or NHS but I don't know for sure.

On top of that, teachers are expected to have a presence outside the school. We're encouraged to show up to the football game, or the volleyball game, or the musical, or whatever it is just so that our students know (or think, at least) we care.

[BBech]

You do have 3 months off.

[sirrichardrichard]

You do have 3 months off.

And are paid accordingly....in my area, teachers (like me) are paid for 10 months of the year, which is then doled out over 12 months. A Salary does not mean a "paid vacation".

I'd actually prefer something like the British model where there are more breaks throughout the year and a shorter summer. You can't go full year unless you retrofit all the schools to be air conditioned...the heat makes the kids too lethargic in June, let alone July and August.

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

You do have 3 months off.

how many teachers do you know who actually have 3 months off? I dont know any, and I know a lot of educators. everyone either uses that time (which they're not paid for, by the way, teacher contracts are for 9-10 months, with the option of being spread over 12 months) work on ciriculum and lesson plans for the next year. my wife gets 7 weeks "off", and of that 7 weeks, she spends at least 2 of it working on what she's teaching for the next year.

[mcm1610]

What they said. We go til the end of June and start up in early September. We get 9 weeks between school years, and I worked two jobs all summer long.