Robert had something wrong with him – I think he had a brain tumor, which brought on some kind of mental impairment. This makes the bullying even more abhorrent. What kind of bully picks on the most vulnerable of its population? Well, that’s the same question I’ve been asking at work. I am a public elementary school teacher.
The bullies are the state politicians, school administrators, and in some cases, public opinion. The children are supposed to be a priority, but often times they are not. So this vulnerable part of our population has teachers to stand up and fight for them. But we have our own struggle as well. Right now, the district and school board bullies have refused to give the teachers in my district a fair and equitable salary increase. They have given us no choice but to strike and that is SO difficult for teachers. We have to leave our students. We have to disrupt the routines that so many of them desperately count on. Their education is being sacrificed and compromised by the purse strings of a bureaucracy. And the teachers are forced to live with the upside down pyramid (those that are in place to support the teachers are the ones making the most money). We do all the work with these kids everyday, but are being ignored and disrespected. If the teachers are treated this way, how must "they" feel about the students we are fighting for?
3 comments:
Thank God-a blog written about what teaching really entails. 6 hours a day? Summers off? This isn't the 1950s. I spend almost my entire summer either taking seminars or teaching seminars to other teachers. Then there is setting up my classroom, lesson planning, xeroxing materials the District won't provide, CLEANING MY ROOM because custodians are practically a thing of the past. My spouse thinks I'm just compulsive. I'm not. Everyone I know works ridiculous hours, spends way too much of their own money on classroon supplies, and has so much paperwork to deal with that family time is a thing of the past. My sister tells people I'm in the Peace Corps. I used to think that was a joke. Now, it's not so funny. I'm a highly qualified professional. Yes, I could make more money outside the classroom. It's been offered and rejected. I love teaching. I love my "babies". Please check out the article in Edutopia Magazine called Without a Net. It says it all. Thank you, Sal. I thought I was too tired to vent. It's time that teachers take back the classroom and change the dialogue about this job.
Word! This really needs to become a nation-wide dialog about education and what teachers really do, both inside and outside of the classroom in order to teach their students. It seems like only those who are teachers and who know teachers personally really understand the dedication and time, money, and resources that teachers spend in order to provide their students with the best possible education. This needs to be outed to the general public. There need to be nation-wide surveys and serious focus groups and studies compiled. Hell, we could even use some quality reality TV to show how it really is to be a teacher! It really is in the hands of us teachers who can use all of the technology and information dissemination resources to our advantage to spread real information about what it means to be a teacher.
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