Thursday, May 3, 2012

What are you reading?

School is almost over for the year and summer vacation is just around the corner.  What are you planning to read this summer?  I still have one more novel to read before summer, then I will be buying something new to enjoy during those lazy afternoons.

The book that I have left on my list is a Jack Whyte's novel, Order in Chaos.  I am finishing up Phillip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?   I am very eclectic in my reading selections.  I will endeavor to read any genre and any author. 

How do you choose you reading selections?  I choose by author, sometimes by genre, many times I choose simply because of the title, and sometimes by the illustrations on the cover of the book.  I don't know about other folks, but I love a good book store.  I love to browse and see what strikes my fancy.  That is why I really am not a fan of reading digital books and books on line.  I love the feel of a book in my hands.  There is so much more to reading than the ease of the digital format.  Now, I have read books on line and have enjoyed it, although, I have a tendency to read only authors I am familiar with for example Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and others. 

Comment and let me know how you choose books or why.  Happy reading!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

So, just how many people are teachers?

As a teacher, I always cringe when someone who is also a teacher makes the news in a negative story.   The media has influenced how the public views teachers.  At one time, I did not tell anyone I was a teacher.  If I was in a social situation, outside of school, and the conversation turned to the topic of careers, I did not participate.  I had, on too many occasions been verbally challenged about the public school system and "why didn't teachers do a better job."  After a while, that became really "old."  So, I didn't tell anyone what my chosen career was, a job that I frankly loved.

I was younger then and not as confident as I am now.  I tell people I am "just a teacher."  I do not elaborate or encourage any discussion, because I know it will degenerate into negativity. I wonder if someone else feels this way? I wonder just how many people in the United States are employed as teachers?  I wonder what is the percentage of "bad teachers" that make the news?  So, I have tried to find out.

I can not really locate a good firm number.  One number that I have discovered is:

"7.2 million

Number of teachers in the United States in 2009. Almost 3 million taught at the elementary and middle school level. The remainder included those teaching at the postsecondary, secondary, preschool, kindergarten levels, special education and other teachers or instructors.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011, Table 615 <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/>"  Retrieved May 2012 from: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb11-ff15.html.


That is a lot of people.  So, now when I see a news story that is negative about ONE teacher, I will not feel quite so bad.  I know that our schools employ great teachers, who day in and day out do their job without recognition from the media, public, administrators, and communities.  There are hundreds of thousands of teachers who continue to return to their classrooms, day after day, without any praise, pay raises, or incentives.  (I know in my district teachers have not received a raise for 5 years, and this year our contract is being cut by 2 days).  I am really discouraged by our political leaders who creates legislation to make everything better in education, when those political leaders are not veteran educators (the specialist in the field, the people in the trenches).

Yes, I am sure with a group as large as 7.2 million, you might find some mediocre or even bad teachers, but for the most part, we are all trying to do our best by working in a system that is broke and is becoming more so as each new piece of legislation is passed.

The one group of "stakeholders" that does recognize our efforts and our caring and our selflessness is our students.  That is what makes a teacher go back into the classroom day after day, our kids.  Even when we feel defeated. Even when we feel no one is going to do the right thing. Even when we can not see the good we are doing anymore.

So, long and short, think twice before you "dis" another teacher.  We are doing more with less, and we are only doing what we are directed to do.