Teachers

It seems that I can't take a breath without hearing bad news about teachers.

Michelle Rhee claims that if you fire the bottom 8% of teachers across the board (based on test scores), then automatically your school district will improve.  This from the same woman who openly admits she taped her students' mouths shut and pulled the tape off and made them bleed.  Albeit while her moves in DC sparked Waiting For Superman, we now find out that the data behind that movie was false.

Our newly elected governor in Florida wants to cut per-student funding (a direct contradiction to his campaign promises--didn't take long, did it), make all state employees fund their retirement while the big whigs in the state get to increase their pay and benefits.

Wisconsin teachers are facing huge cuts and the loss of their right to have a Union.

Anytime a student struggles or has problems, I hear that it's because of the teachers.  If only the teachers would teach rather than sit at their desks...  If only the teachers would stop playing videos and letting the students draw, then they would learn.  If only the teachers would....
Let me ask you, when is the last time your kid came home from school and told you that all they did was sit and watch movies and draw all day?

I know that there are some teachers who do not do their jobs.  That don't follow best-practice, that do allow students to draw, that do show movies rather than teach.  Those teachers, just like any employee in any job, need to be given fair warning and then let go if there is no improvement.

But to state that it's all because of the teachers?

Every teacher I know, myself included, works hard.  I do not currently personally KNOW any teacher that just flat out does not do their job.  I personally work so hard that I'm going grey at 32 years old.  My students are taught from the second our morning show ends until they call for dismissal.  I don't take breaks, there is no down time and there's no "free time" to do anything else.  In fact, we rarely go outside at this point.  Please don't think I'm the only one in this boat, because I am not.  I call parents, email parents, and send communication home in attempt to get the students in my class to put forth 100% effort every day.  I work HARD.  I come home to my own family at night and I'm exhausted, but my family also deserves my 100%.  I don't make a lot of money.  It's taken me 11 years and a Masters Degree to break over $40,000 a year.  I spend money on my own classroom, spend my own gas to go out to the public library to get books I need to teach with, spend time I should be spending with my family to work on lessons for my class.

I am so tired of hearing how much teachers stink.  I am tired of being blamed for all of the ills of society.  It's time our citizenry stand up for teacher's rights and start treating them like honored people who do the dirty work that no one else wants to do.  Stop blaming it all on us and start standing up for us.


(Please do not post negative comments regarding Teacher's Unions, the President or any political party.  These are my feelings.  Negative comments will be deleted.  Please rant somewhere else or on your own blog.  Thank you.)