A Teacher’s Trials

What's new in the world of education? Cut, Cut, Cut!

Cut teachers from staff. Then cut the conference periods, salaries and benefits of the rest.

And the irony….the administration and school district expect the teachers to do even more with and for students despite all these cuts.

Despite having less time to plan and grade and less money for resources, teachers are expected to do more paperwork, to be responsible for the test scores of students, and to get to know each one personally. Is the absurdity not obvious? They cram 15 more bodies in classrooms with too few desks and expect the teacher, to juggle teaching 35 talkative, often disruptive and disrespectful kids with placating their feelings and badgering them to do better.

We had a training session that was called “CARES”. The focus was on what more the teacher could do to make the student feel valued and motivated and be successful. Now in elementary school, a reminder of these goals might be good, but this was on the high school level. At what point do we expect the students to care about their own education and to do what is expected of them for their own good.

I have a colleague who now teaches almost 225 students. They are not the honors kids or the self-motivated. They are in fact the opposite. They are out of control, not interested in education, and belligerent, and this is in one of the only good schools left in what was once a stellar district. Imagine how that scenario would play out in a really tough school.

The students, whether they have earned it or not, demand to be treated like adults. I say high school is the time to CUT the strings. Expect them to behave like adults and give them adult consequences when they don’t measure up. Decide which ones value their education and have earned the privilege of going to college and prepare them for that eventuality. Send the others to technical training schools and teach them a skill that will make them employable and keep them off the welfare rolls.

Then take care of the teachers. People don’t choose this career for the money. They choose it because they want to make a difference in the lives of their students and because they want to pass on their knowledge to the next generation.

Who do you imagine will take on this mantle if the job becomes impossible to do? It is already an incredibly demanding job to teach in today's society. It cannot become more dangerous or difficult. A shortage of teachers is already expected. I suggest that there will be an epidemic need for teachers in five years.

Compared to most of the other school systems throughout the world, America’s is now considered only mediocre. Where will we be when the last of the good teachers get out and there is no one to replace them?