Monday, October 19, 2009

Quit Bashing Our Teachers

It's a rare occasion when our local "news media" reports anything positive about teachers, schools, or education in general. In fact, right now, teacher bashing is in vogue due to recent reaction to the Saucon Valley teachers strike. And when it comes to education issues, our local "newspaper" provides a stage for lunkhead columnist Paul Carpenter to bloviate regularly his misinformed opinions.

Teachers strikes are not good news, but the overwhelmingly negative opinions about teachers expressed in the majority of letters published in the Opinion section of The Morning Call is bad news for our community. If those know-it-all critics who like to opine about education would volunteer and spend just one day in a classroom in the Allentown School District, I believe they would have a new appreciation for teachers and the extremely demanding job they do. And it's a job that benefits everyone in our society. Sadly, teachers have been labeled as liberal elitists who belong to corrupt unions and work less hours than everyone else. Bullshit. And if it's such an easy and cushy job, then why aren't you a teacher?

Because of the Federal No Child Left Behind Act, teachers must now spend much more time doing paperwork and grading tests, so they are putting in many extra hours in addition to the very demanding school day of handling up to 30 or more kids in a classroom. But before NCLB and its mandated curriculum of teaching to the test, dedicated teachers spent extra time conducting after school clubs, preparing creative lessons, attending meetings and conferences, calling parents. What's expected of them now is unrealistic. And because of the unrealistic demands put on teachers due to NCLB, there is less time in the schedule for teachers to be creative. I could go on and on about the detrimental effects of NCLB on students, teachers, and society but that will have to be a topic for a future post.
Striking is a last resort for teachers. In Saucon Valley, one of the issues that the school board and teachers cannot agree on is tuition reimbursement for graduate work. The school board is discouraging teachers from becoming better, more motivated teachers because they believe teachers shouldn't be reimbursed for graduate work. They want to make sure that the already underpaid teachers don't make too much money by moving up on the pay scale! See this article

But in the private sector, it's common practice for companies to pay for employees to take graduate classes and to continue their education for the overall benefit to the company. This decision by the school board shows a disrespect for the valuable job that teachers do. And the commenters at the above article are saying "FIRE 'EM ALL." If this kind of negative attitude towards teachers is the norm in our community we are doomed, and I can understand why teachers may not feel motivated to do their jobs. Hopefully, the closed minded attitudes of some Lehigh Valley residents aren't representative of the rest of our community. If people really cared about children, they would not be bashing teachers, instead they would be supporting teachers.

This post was written by Mrs. Dottie, a former teacher.

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh come on, you're kidding, right? With platinum health and retirement benefits, plus salaries that are far above the average and the mean for the county in which they work, the Saucon Valley teachers are already too well off. Now they're trying to take the tax payer out behind the building and rob him. If the teachers don't like the offer, they can take a hike to find employment elsewhere.

There's a backlash coming, and it will get ugly. Bust the union -- that's really what we need. Break it, smash it, and then let the teachers negotiate individually for whatever jobs they can find.

This time, they're really going too far.

Angie Villa said...

RE:"the Saucon Valley teachers are already too well off"

Anon 9:05 you just proved my point.
You don't value teachers.

Anonymous said...

Missus Dottie, don't expect much "support" from the loonie right-wing blog world but I'm with you.

Anonymous said...

I second that.

Anonymous said...

The Saucon Valley teachers are supposed to be among the best paid in the area. That doesn't help their case. I'd be a lot more comfortable with the strike if it was in another school district. See http://www.stopteacherstrikes.org/index.php?pr=120,000_Salaries for data for 2006-07.

Now, high school teachers are not well off. They're middle class. If their salaries "are far above the average and the mean for the county in which they work" (can you post where you got those stats?), that's because there aren't enough companies around here to provide solid, well-paying jobs to the Lehigh Valley workforce. That's got nothing to do with teaching. It's got to do with the local economy. And the resentment probably won't stop until the non-teacher people find a job they're happy with so that they can focus on their own life instead of bashing the teachers.

Angie Villa said...

Thanks anons 10:47 and 10:51, I knew I'd immediately get attacked on this one.

Angie Villa said...

Anon 11:20:I agree, even teachers with masters degree, plus, at the top of the pay scale are not "well off" and teaching is not exactly a career one would pursue to become wealthy.But teachers should be able to pursue their education for a better salary, just like everyone else. I agree, because Saucon Valley is a wealthy area, teachers get paid pretty well, but the point of my post is to call attention to teacher bashing in general and my belief that teachers are undervalued. Thanks for the link to teacher's salaries.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the people who resent teachers for not going to work in the summer also resent their own kids for having the summer off. ;o)

Bill Villa said...

" ... volunteer and spend just one day in a classroom in the Allentown School District, I believe they would have a new appreciation for teachers ..." -Mrs. Dottie

It did the trick for me, I'll tell ya. Mrs. Dottie had me in as guest speaker for her 'best class' at South Mountain middle school circa 1999. I'm (normally) good with kids and good at 'working a room.' I couldn't wait to get the hell outta there. Whatever salaries teachers in the ASD are making they should triple it and give them an extra coupla weeks of paid vacation.

Angie Villa said...

Anon 1:29 said "I wonder if the people who resent teachers for not going to work in the summer also resent their own kids for having the summer off. ;o)

Good one! But I think many teachers work during the summer, or have young kids at home,attend conferences or take classes, so it's not really like time off.

Angie Villa said...

BV was an excellent guest speaker, and some kids were very interested in the subject of advertising. Sometimes 8th graders just don't respond with the kind of enthusiasm that younger kids have.

Bill Villa said...

My read was that half the kids in Mrs. Dottie's "best class" were behaving "normally" (for a classroom) and paying attention, but the other half were super high maintenance, disruptive, needy, etc. What struck me was how much energy a teacher needs to expend on things other than teaching.

Anonymous said...

You people are the looniest of the loonies. The Saucon Valley Teachers are idiots, and the Union isn't living in reality.
If you think they are worth so damn much, then you pay them.

I value the education of my children, but I'm not going to fund a Privileged class of people to get it done.

tbagshaw said...

This one must have realy hit home Miss Dottie said BUllSHIT!! Well its all true. Here is Beautiful Lower Nazareth Twsp. our teachers have also been subjected to NCLB and you can see the frustration on their faces at open house. For the past five years I have been watching my daughters and now sons teachers as they cover the years curriculum while letting us know how they don't have the time to really reach out because they are given pretty strict direction when it comes to how they must teach to the standards of the PSSA. This is Bullshit! it back them into a wall and turns them into drones that just spew out the dictated circulum without having a chance to use their training and creativity to make the school day more interesting. My kids live in a house where we try to make them think outside the box but at school there is little time for creativity. I could go on and on about this but the truth is the majority in this country elected dictator Bush and his cabinet of buffoons who put this great system together. Its kind of like extortion for the school districts. They deliver the scores and the government gives them the cash sounds simple but there is a catch. Inner city schools are still under funded compared to the suburban schools This paln has failure built in for the inner city and i believe that is how the Bush white house wanted things to happen Just protecting the constituents I suppose. Meanwhile we have the sham they call higher education, I think the reason they call it higher educaton is that the price is higher. My wife attends Cedar Crest College in Allentown in pursute of her master in education. For the cost of two classes we have paid our school tax for the year. Heres my plan. All of the inner city colleges should have to split there tutuion for each student 50/50 with the local school district so we can incourage the kids of the inner city schools to move foward into higher education. Higher education has nobody watching them with the prices they charge they sould be monitored by the state gaming commission not the state education commision.

Angie Villa said...

Thanks for proving my point again anon 7:28! You don't value teachers.

Teachers are a "privileged class of people?" "Teachers are idiots?" Wow. You are a complete moron. Go back to your cave and don't come out.

Angie Villa said...

BV makes a good point about the fact that kids are very needy. And it's not just the kids growing up in poverty. A lot of parents just don't spend time with their kids or teach them how to behave. Makes the teacher's job extra demanding and difficult.

Angie Villa said...

Tom, your thoughts on NCLB are right on target! More parents should care about how the curriculum has changed, and is now geared completely around testing. I am not happy that Obama is continuing NCLB, but just modifying it. I say just trash the whole idea right now. And the point you make about how NCLB sets up urban districts to fail is SO TRUE! It's so frustrating for teachers right now because they have to follow a mandated schedule and curriculum, regardless of the needs of the kids. And kids don't retain anything after they regurgitate the answers on the test. It's a failure.

Bill Villa said...

Dunno who Chris Casey (a.k.a. "anonymous" wink wink 7:28) thinks he's fooling, he lives in A-Town/Macungie :)

Bill Villa said...

"Higher education ... sould be monitored by the state gaming commission not the state education commision."

Good one, Tom!

Anonymous said...

The teachers who want to pursue a Master degree now (and so care about tuition credit reimbursement) are probably the younger ones, who are also the lowest paid. Getting a MS degree can be hugely expensive but could help retain teachers.

Once people have gone to the trouble of getting a MS degree in education, they might think twice before changing careers. So it could be a good investment for the district.

Do you know how Saucon Valley reimbursement policies compare to the ones in other districts? What about attrition rates for young teachers?

Angie Villa said...

Anon 2:34: I agree, getting a Master's Degree could help retain teachers. According to the article I linked to, the school board is concerned that teachers are moving up the pay scale too quickly. They want to limit the number of graduate degrees a teacher can get on the district's dime, limit number of credits to 12, and also choose what colleges or universities the teachers can attend, and be able to choose what courses the teachers can take. Seems like the district wants a lot of control over the teachers. The article says that Bethlehem and Easton districts also limit where a teacher can get credits, but I don't know if they set a limit on master's degrees and graduate credits.

I don't know what the attrition rate is in Saucon Valley, but I
would think it would be an attractive district for young teachers. But now if those young teachers are discouraged from continuing their education, they may not want to stay.

Anonymous said...

"This post was written by Mrs. Dottie, a former teacher."

"Former" shmormer, I learn something from Mrs. (and Mr.) Dottie every day!!

Angie Villa said...

Anon 4:58 thanks for tuning in.

Bill Villa said...

Oui, merci.

Angie Villa said...

After reading more about the tuition reimbursement issue I have learned that the school board is opposed to the number of professional development classes that the teachers take, and the board claims that these aren't credits that would go toward a master's or doctorate. The school board says that the courses are unnecessary, so they don't want to pay for those credits.

That's ridiculous. Teachers need to take these classes to maintain their teaching certification status, and to improve teaching skills. It's absurd that people other than education professionals would be dictating what courses are important for teachers.

Anonymous said...

Absurd indeed.

Anonymous said...

Kudos on being the #1 Best Blog in the Valley again this week.

Angie Villa said...

Merci ;D

Bill Villa said...

We're #1 (week after week after week) only b/c our loyal readers are #1. Thank You. xx

Anonymous said...

We wouldn't be loyal readers if your blog wasn't interesting. Keep up the good work.

Bill Villa said...

Excellent point (and merci).

Anonymous said...

Thanks for a great post. Have you read this from the NYT?

http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/academics-under-siege/?scp=1&sq=trials%20of%20academe&st=cse

College profs are getting bashed too.

Angie Villa said...

Thanks anon 10:22, I just read that NYT article, and started to read some of the comments. I'll go back to read more. One of the commenters mentioned the "anti-itellectualism" of America, and that seems to be the attitude of a lot of people these days. Professors, and now even school teachers are viewed as a privileged class of liberal elitists. And the negative way professors are portrayed in the right-wing media does not help.

Bill Villa said...

the "anti-intellectualism" of America is running especially rampant in our local blogosphere.

Present company excluded, natch :)

Anonymous said...

"Merci" :)

Angie Villa said...

Reading some of the comments (at the NYT article) from real college professors really opened my eyes to how demanding their jobs are. Here's what's expected of them:

1. Teaching classes, (Preparation,grading, e-mailing students.
2.Conducting research, finding grant opportunities
3. Mentoring and advising students
4.University service (committees, etc.)
5.Professional service (editorial boards, etc.)
6.Public service to community

Some profs work up to 80 hours a week, most work on weekends, and have family resposibilities too.

Angie Villa said...

Question: Why haven't the leaders of Academia been more outspoken against NCLB for stifling critical thinking and creativity?

Anonymous said...

Hi Mrs Dottie,

I think academics haven't spoken out against NCLB because college profs and high school teachers don't interact enough. So most college profs don't see what NCLB is doing first-hand.

Even in terms of media, the Chronicle of Higher Ed is the main resource for college profs and will mostly focus on higher ed issues, not broader education issues.

Educators at all levels have to start viewing education as an integrated K-16 effort that they all participate in.

Angie Villa said...

RE: "Educators at all levels have to start viewing education as an integrated K-16 effort that they all participate in."

Yes, I agree.