A teenager was brought into the Principal's office to be
disciplined. The Principal spoke.
"Your teacher has told me you are ignorant and apathetic. What do you have to say for yourself?"
The teenager thought for a moment and then replied.
"I don't know what that means and I don't care!"
Do today's teachers exhibit the same mentality?
Are they ignorant of how much effort was required of their predecessors so as to enable them to enjoy the benefits of today's
teaching profession? (Benefits which are rapidly being eroded.)
Are they apathetic to the fight to maintain those benefits?
Do they merely take them for granted?
I wonder!
Over the past two years I have posted close to a hundred
items. They primarily dealt with my observations and experiences pertaining to
education.
During my forty years of teaching, at both the secondary and
college level, I witnessed tremendous improvement in the status of the
profession.
When I started in 1965, bargaining and negotiations were
non existent. It was pretty much we went "hat in hand" to the Board
of Education and relied on their largess.
In the years following, during the seventies, teachers
worked hard to change those circumstances. Many engaged in political action,
many walked picket lines and endured strikes and some even went to jail.
In the end, after much strife, the profession gained fair
wages and benefits as well as renewed respect from the public, administrators
and the politicians.
It took a good twenty years of hard work but it was worth
it. People gained pride in themselves and in their profession and were eager
to say "Yes, I'm a teacher". It came to a point where teachers were
actually invited to participate in decision making regarding education and
their opinions were valued.
I retired in 2004 and since then I have seen a rapid decline
in all that for which we worked so hard.
Today, when some say "Yes, I'm a teacher" he is
perceived as greedy, lazy and possessing poor work ethics. All these negative
stereotypes are constantly reinforced by the media and self serving politicos.
Teachers are no
longer asked to participate or make
suggestions as to the improvement of our schools. They are merely being held
responsible for the poor outcomes of the plans and schemes implemented by
"educational experts" and politicians.
All programs and regulations of the past, proposed and
enacted by these "experts" have been abject failures as evidenced by
the fact that they are continually replaced by new programs and schemes.
Additionally, the State's two decade
takeover of the poorest city schools has resulted in no progress what so
ever.
Now, since none of the aforementioned has worked, the only
plan left seems to be, blame the teachers and then transfer the schools into
private, for profit hands.
All this has occurred since 2004 and is accelerating.
You might ask me, "Why do you care? You're
retired".
Here's why!
Teachers have become like abused children lacking self
respect and fearful. They are constantly required to succumb to the dictates of
arrogant, condescending supervisors. Rarely are they allowed to pursue their
own worthwhile approaches in educating our children. I find it depressing to see the profession in which I spent my
entire life being reduced to that of an unappreciated, ridiculed field hand.
I would like to begin to use this blog as an outlet for
teacher's daily frustration and anger and help the profession to regain the
pride that once existed.
It pains me to see all that has been achieved over the past
forty years being erased without some much as a whimper.
I've said this before. ( I am sure you know, as a teacher
you say things over and over again in the classroom and the habit just follows
you into your social conversation without your even realizing it.)
Ross Perot, when at Ford once said, and I paraphrase,
"Unless a manager goes down to the factory floor and puts a wheel on a car
once in a while, he can't be a good manager".
I would like to see the opinions and thoughts of those
"on the factory floor" heeded and respected. Those people are you who read this blog.
I am considering posing questions about education and
teaching and asking for your comments and suggestions. I would then like to
post them, with or without the author's name, and get a conversation going
about the real problems and solutions in education.
This, hopefully, could be the start of an effective way to
stem the tide of teacher bashing and disrespect. I think it could serve the
cause better than just my constant diatribes and ranting.
Having your voice
heard, I believe, will lead to greater
self esteem and promote challenges to the forces that would destroy our
profession.
What do you think?
A good idea or not?
Something in which you would be willing to participate?
Drop me a line and tell me what you think? Thanks.
Walt
Walt
Click here to Email
PS
I really see NJEA doing little to fight back. (I don't even
see their sappy ads on TV any more!)
It is disheartening to say the least when a
"powerful" union as they would like to call themselves, doing little
or nothing for their members. (Members who send them tons of money each and
every pay day!)
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