Saturday, May 31, 2014

Who cares?

We have just completed another school year.  I begin my period of long reflection (summer break) and as I work in my garden and yard, I ask myself, who cares?  Who really cares?  I don't know the answer.

Yes, I think some of my students care while they are with me.  Yes, I think some of the parents care while their student is with me.  The key words in both of those sentences are "with me," in a school setting.

We've all heard that old axiom, "put your money where your mouth is,"  and I have tried to do that.  Yes, once upon a time, I was greatly disturbed by an article written about education and all that was wrong with it.  That was back in the '80's.  Now, when I look back the 1980's was 30 years ago.  In the 1980's we (society) were questioning "why can't little Johnny read?" That question is still relevant today.  That question is the reason I went back to college and earned my teaching certificate, then returned to college and earned my Master's degree, then completed my National Board Teacher certification, then returned to college and earned my Educational Specialist degree.

And I'm still asking, why can't John read?  I put my money where my mouth was, I went back to school and educated myself and began trying to educate our children. What I have found, through these years of experience, is that the problem has not improved, but only gotten worse.  We hear about all the programs, initiatives, funding, and legislation enacted and made available to help our children succeed, but they are preforming at levels that are not acceptable to me as a teacher.

That makes me think of another axiom, "What is the definition of insanity?  Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  Teachers are loosing more and more control of what and how they teach.  In some cases, it is needed.  Although, in the majority of cases it is not.  We are professionally trained and certified by our state institutions to be teachers.  Let us do our job!

Each of these new initiatives, grants, funds, (whether they originate from public, private or government) sources, bring their own set of mandates.  So our leadership acquires these for us, and then demands that we meet all the criteria.  It becomes a game of compliance.  Teachers are overburdened with making sure we document, explain, prove, that we are meeting all the criteria for the programs, and ultimately loosing instructional time.  The one thing we need more than anything else.  We loose time with our students.  We loose time to teach them.

After years of seeing money poured into the system, I still have students coming into my classroom that can not read on grade level, and some who simply can not read.  The majority of my students are average readers, there is only a handful that excel at reading.

Oh, I won't even start writing about the ability to physically write on paper with pen and or a pencil.

Yes, I know exactly what my students need to excel, although I am busy proving that I am doing my job.  It is a "catch 22."  I enjoy having a house, clothing, and food on my table.  If anyone in the private or public sector thinks any teacher is living at any standard that is above lower middle class then they haven't walked in a teacher's shoes, or a spouse of a teacher's shoes, or a child of a teacher's shoes.

Put you money, and or time, where your mouth is. . .go to your local boards of education, call your representatives, but really what you need to do first is come to school and help us.

Rant over.




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