Education is great. We are told that without it, we can go nowhere in our lives. We have been fed this idea for a long time; now all those warnings seem ready to come to pass. Kind of like the Y2K threat a few years ago.
I taught for 34 years at two different schools. Longevity pays. Older teachers, like me, went into education knowing full well we wouldn’t get rich. We loved learning and helping others learn. Pay was a nice by-product, but we took two jobs so we could pursue a passion we had. Me? I worked at various radio stations, I sold insurance, I did whatever I had to do in the summer to do what I loved. And something is bothering me about education today.
Besides the fact that we have all these neat regulations and teachers are losing their creativity and their educational freedom, there is a growing problem with new teachers and administrators and the new education model. Seems to me that even as my career was winding down, these new folks were changing the face of education from a humanist centered approach where learning and teaching was done in a warm inviting atmosphere, to a cold, uninviting, intimidating, bottom line, show me the numbers, business approach.
These new educators are more worried about scores and money than they are about the people they teach.
New teachers want more money and they take a “you are no better than me” approach their salary. Never mind that they have no experience, are more prone to mistakes, and just don’t understand the ways of the world yet. Still wet behind the ears, they think that their lack of experience should command the same amount of money, if not more, than a veteran teacher who has been in the trenches for twenty or more years. They don’t really care that the people they serve are having trouble meeting house payments, are losing jobs or having to move away. They are worried about what is in it for them. Like their business counterparts, they want to grab the brass ring and have it all without paying dues. But that goes back to when they were in little league or some other activity and were told that they were just as good as someone else, when in reality, in this situation, they are not. There are not many professions where unproven rookies get more than tried and true veterans.
I remember in one negotiations meeting we had, a school board member told me that I was not very bright because I worked on weekends and at night. I told him that I worked those hours because I needed to let my kids know I cared for them. That year we took a freeze in our salary, and the next year, we did, too, because there was little money. But we had jobs! No one was riffed. When the money came around, the board took care of us and rewarded our loyalty. Sometimes you sacrifice. So the new car or the renovations or the trip to the Bahamas are put on hold, big deal. Think of someone else besides the person in the mirror.
Administrators don’t seem to be as personable either. Used to be that after a football game, the entire faculty, staff and school board would get together at someone’s house for pops and conversation. Not now. This new breed are taught by the people in the Ivory Towers that they must build a wall around themselves and keep detached from those they rule. The reality is, when I was teaching, you were friends with your principal and superintendent and you worked to make them proud, not because you were afraid of your job or some test score. Loyalty is rewarded.
Basics are basics. If people are treated right and shown that they are cared about, they will work hard. Business cares only about the bottom line, but educators cannot have that attitude. They are not in an input/output situation with immediate gratification. Students that are mediocre now, may be inspired later because someone cared.
My advice to education is this: Dump the test score idea, dump the business attitude. Get back to basics. Fail someone who doesn’t deserve to pass. Don’t worry about the rest of world’s scores. . Don’t be greedy. Make STUDENTS accountable.
Education used to be a family experience, make it so again.
Doughnut
No comments:
Post a Comment