Bravo Teachers

midcan5

liberal / progressive
Jun 4, 2007
12,740
3,513
260
America
For the laborers who often influence us the most. Bravo.

'In Honor of Teachers' By Charles M. Blow

"Since it’s back-to-school season across the country, I wanted to celebrate a group that is often maligned: teachers. Like so many others, it was a teacher who changed the direction of my life, and to whom I’m forever indebted.
[...]
And we as parents, and as a society at large, must also acknowledge our shortcomings and the enormous hurdles that teachers must often clear to reach a child. Teachers may be the biggest in-school factor, but there are many out-of-school factors that weigh heavily on performance, like growing child poverty, hunger, homelessness, home and neighborhood instability, adult role-modeling and parental pressure and expectations." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/03/opinion/blow-an-ode-to-teachers.html?src=me&ref=general
 
Great piece midcan. Teachers often feel under-appreciated, (esp today) and an occasional "atta boy" goes a long way. Two things struck me though: Mrs Thomas, his favorite teacher, gave a pop quiz his first day and
then embraced him when he did well. Today, pop quizzes and hugs are frowned upon and even prohibited in many schools.

Perhaps we should bring back hugs as part of school reform?
 
Nice job of whipping up some cotton candy there midcan.
Whoohoo teachers...yay!

Not so fast.
The American education system is a national embarrassment.
All across the globe nations do it exponentially cheaper and equally better.
I will sing the praises of teachers when they start looking out for their students as much as they do themselves. Beginning with removing the shackles of teachers unions.
 
Nice job of whipping up some cotton candy there midcan.
Whoohoo teachers...yay!

Not so fast.
The American education system is a national embarrassment.
All across the globe nations do it exponentially cheaper and equally better.
I will sing the praises of teachers when they start looking out for their students as much as they do themselves. Beginning with removing the shackles of teachers unions.

Teachers in other countries do not have collective bargaining? Is that why you are saying their educational system is better?
 
Nice job of whipping up some cotton candy there midcan.
Whoohoo teachers...yay!

Not so fast.
The American education system is a national embarrassment.
All across the globe nations do it exponentially cheaper and equally better.
I will sing the praises of teachers when they start looking out for their students as much as they do themselves. Beginning with removing the shackles of teachers unions.

Teachers in other countries do not have collective bargaining? Is that why you are saying their educational system is better?

I can't think of another profession in where employees are so removed from accountability.
Bad teachers are either moved around different schools Uncovering the Lemon Dance - Oprah.com, placed in "rubber rooms" Joel Klein vs. New York City teachers : The New Yorker or most often - just put up with.
The American teachers unions is a system that not only coddles incompetence, but rewards it.
 
Nice job of whipping up some cotton candy there midcan.
Whoohoo teachers...yay!

Not so fast.
The American education system is a national embarrassment.
All across the globe nations do it exponentially cheaper and equally better.
I will sing the praises of teachers when they start looking out for their students as much as they do themselves. Beginning with removing the shackles of teachers unions.

Teachers in other countries do not have collective bargaining? Is that why you are saying their educational system is better?

I can't think of another profession in where employees are so removed from accountability.
Bad teachers are either moved around different schools Uncovering the Lemon Dance - Oprah.com, placed in "rubber rooms" Joel Klein vs. New York City teachers : The New Yorker or most often - just put up with.
The American teachers unions is a system that not only coddles incompetence, but rewards it.
Well, there are teachers out there who give other teachers a 'bad name'-I'm sure those of us who teach can name one or two in our building. And you are correct, accountability is something that takes a LONG time to get rid of the 'bad ones.' That in itself is something that needs to be reformed imo.

But.....I, and I'm sure other teachers can attest to, work with very caring, dedicated teachers who really want what's best for their students, and work long and hard hours every day to meet their needs. Some teachers are working 11 hour days right now to make sure everything is done for the next day. Most of us drive at least 40-50 miles round trip to the school where we teach, and get there early and stay late, along with taking work home with us since there's just not enough time in the day to do everything required. I took work home with me this weekend, and have been doing a little bit every day.


Don't judge all by a few bad apples....I'm sure you would be pleasantly surprised if you visited a classroom and saw just how hard these teachers work.
 
Teachers in other countries do not have collective bargaining? Is that why you are saying their educational system is better?

I can't think of another profession in where employees are so removed from accountability.
Bad teachers are either moved around different schools Uncovering the Lemon Dance - Oprah.com, placed in "rubber rooms" Joel Klein vs. New York City teachers : The New Yorker or most often - just put up with.
The American teachers unions is a system that not only coddles incompetence, but rewards it.
Well, there are teachers out there who give other teachers a 'bad name'-I'm sure those of us who teach can name one or two in our building. And you are correct, accountability is something that takes a LONG time to get rid of the 'bad ones.' That in itself is something that needs to be reformed imo.

But.....I, and I'm sure other teachers can attest to, work with very caring, dedicated teachers who really want what's best for their students, and work long and hard hours every day to meet their needs. Some teachers are working 11 hour days right now to make sure everything is done for the next day. Most of us drive at least 40-50 miles round trip to the school where we teach, and get there early and stay late, along with taking work home with us since there's just not enough time in the day to do everything required. I took work home with me this weekend, and have been doing a little bit every day.


Don't judge all by a few bad apples....I'm sure you would be pleasantly surprised if you visited a classroom and saw just how hard these teachers work.

Aye, I do the same in my profession as does many others in their respective vocation.
The difference is that in most other professions you are rewarded/punished according to your abilities and work ethics. In our education system it is simply not that way unfortunately. A teacher such as yourself and those you mention - it is a crime against students that you are paid exactly the same as the bum down the hall who merely shows up for class - and God help the next teacher in line who has to spend valuable time reteaching students that came from his class.
Merit based pay and accountability should be the absolute main focus of education reform, next is dismantling the outrageous text book system that teachers are forced to teach from - even knowing they are wrong.

You know of my daughter, when in high school she had the misfortune of having the bad Latin teacher. Students in the bad class actually got with students who were taught by the good teacher after school/weekends etd. so they could ensure their GPA...that is absurd.
Now that my son is a junior in high school - luckily he has the good teacher - but that bad teacher? Yep - still there.
 
I can't think of another profession in where employees are so removed from accountability.
Bad teachers are either moved around different schools Uncovering the Lemon Dance - Oprah.com, placed in "rubber rooms" Joel Klein vs. New York City teachers : The New Yorker or most often - just put up with.
The American teachers unions is a system that not only coddles incompetence, but rewards it.
Well, there are teachers out there who give other teachers a 'bad name'-I'm sure those of us who teach can name one or two in our building. And you are correct, accountability is something that takes a LONG time to get rid of the 'bad ones.' That in itself is something that needs to be reformed imo.

But.....I, and I'm sure other teachers can attest to, work with very caring, dedicated teachers who really want what's best for their students, and work long and hard hours every day to meet their needs. Some teachers are working 11 hour days right now to make sure everything is done for the next day. Most of us drive at least 40-50 miles round trip to the school where we teach, and get there early and stay late, along with taking work home with us since there's just not enough time in the day to do everything required. I took work home with me this weekend, and have been doing a little bit every day.


Don't judge all by a few bad apples....I'm sure you would be pleasantly surprised if you visited a classroom and saw just how hard these teachers work.

Aye, I do the same in my profession as does many others in their respective vocation.
The difference is that in most other professions you are rewarded/punished according to your abilities and work ethics. In our education system it is simply not that way unfortunately. A teacher such as yourself and those you mention - it is a crime against students that you are paid exactly the same as the bum down the hall who merely shows up for class - and God help the next teacher in line who has to spend valuable time reteaching students that came from his class.
Merit based pay and accountability should be the absolute main focus of education reform, next is dismantling the outrageous text book system that teachers are forced to teach from - even knowing they are wrong.

You know of my daughter, when in high school she had the misfortune of having the bad Latin teacher. Students in the bad class actually got with students who were taught by the good teacher after school/weekends etd. so they could ensure their GPA...that is absurd.
Now that my son is a junior in high school - luckily he has the good teacher - but that bad teacher? Yep - still there.

Trust me, I know about 'bad teachers'-my daughter had one in eighth grade for history that would just put on power points during class and play on his iphone. He was mean and crass and would roll his eyes if someone asked a question, and never really 'taught.' She did awful in his class. The NEXT year (her freshman year at the high school) she had a wonderful history teacher who engaged the students and recommended her for AP History, which she excelled in, and now she wants to be a history teacher. Point being, teachers Do make a difference...and yes, that 'bad one' is still teaching, and I'm sure doing the same things to those poor eighth grade students. (And yes, I called and talked to him, the principal.. but nothing was ever done)

And then there are the ones just 'waiting' to retire, knowing that in a few years they will be out of there, and not caring one way or the other what their students do. This makes me mad too, but again, nothing can be done. Reform and accountability should be reassessed for these kinds of teachers....hopefully it will be so things can change.

But.........I am proud of the staff I work with (98% of them) and know they ARE making a difference in our students lives.
 
It won't change until the teachers seek to change it.
Beginning with rooting out a union that is obstructive, stubborn and in complete contrast to educating children. Collective bargaining does not belong in education...we cannot stand for a system that removes culpability and treats every teacher the same regardless of their performance. We have GOT to remove bad teachers from the system. And until the good teachers stand up for what is right...this will never change, in fact it will likely continue to get worse.

BTW - I know that teachers are not the only reason education is failing our kids. There are many other reasons.
 
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Nice job of whipping up some cotton candy there midcan.
Whoohoo teachers...yay!

Not so fast.
The American education system is a national embarrassment.
All across the globe nations do it exponentially cheaper and equally better.
I will sing the praises of teachers when they start looking out for their students as much as they do themselves. Beginning with removing the shackles of teachers unions.

Teachers in other countries do not have collective bargaining? Is that why you are saying their educational system is better?

I can't think of another profession in where employees are so removed from accountability.
Bad teachers are either moved around different schools Uncovering the Lemon Dance - Oprah.com, placed in "rubber rooms" Joel Klein vs. New York City teachers : The New Yorker or most often - just put up with.
The American teachers unions is a system that not only coddles incompetence, but rewards it.

Except for leaders of the Republican Party.
 
What do right wingers care about teachers? The right doesn't even like "education". Too "elitist".
 
I think any teacher worth their salt knows that it takes more than standing in front of a classroom, writing on a chalkboard.... a blanket approach... to teaching, if they don't, IMO, they've chosen the wrong profession. Indeed, it takes a special person to become an effective teacher and just the desire to be a teacher is not enough. The best teachers are those that are willing to target and seek out effective measures to address the needs of students who are having troubles, put in some extra hours and take work home. For me, though, these are not extraordinary measures that warrant special recognition, they are or should be considered part of the job. For me, the ability to be inspiring and a positive influence comes with the job. Even with the best of efforts, still, they are always going to be students that are unreachable.

I think the teachers who are willing to do this are already amply rewarded through their unions, unlike those of us not belonging to unions, nor are we protected by a union if we are incompetent.

This is not to say I do not appreciate or recognize teachers who made a positive influence. For me, though the mistake comes when we regard them as heroes, exceptional for doing so, when in actuality all teachers should be held to this standard, it should be a given, not extraordinary. Seeing a child excel should be a reward in and of itself, but again, that should not be regarded as exceptional, it should be expected. If teachers do not understand this when they enter this profession they are doing a disservice to all students.
 
Teachers in other countries do not have collective bargaining? Is that why you are saying their educational system is better?

I can't think of another profession in where employees are so removed from accountability.
Bad teachers are either moved around different schools Uncovering the Lemon Dance - Oprah.com, placed in "rubber rooms" Joel Klein vs. New York City teachers : The New Yorker or most often - just put up with.
The American teachers unions is a system that not only coddles incompetence, but rewards it.

Except for leaders of the Republican Party.

CONGRATULATIONS!!
You have just made 1,000 off-topic, meaningless and predictable post in a row.
:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:
 
Tomorrow school starts for one teacher I know too well, she'll do math for two middle school grades this year for a change and it may be the last year even though she loves it. Well loves the teaching, parents can be a royal pain you know where.

Have a great year those who really do touch our future - and also have a greater impact in a society so materialistic today it forgets what's important: learning.


"Not surprisingly, in a land where literacy and numeracy are considered virtues, teachers are revered. Teenagers ranked teaching at the top of their list of favorite professions in a recent survey. Far more graduates of upper schools in Finland apply for admission to teacher-training institutes than are accepted. The overwhelming majority of those who eventually enter the classroom as a teacher make it a lifelong career, even though they are paid no more than their counterparts in other European countries."

"At the heart of Finland's stellar reputation is a philosophy completely alien to America. The country of 5.3 million in an area twice the size of Missouri considers education an end in itself - not a means to an end. It's a deeply rooted value that is reflected in the Ministry of Education and in all 432 municipalities. In sharp contrast, Americans view education as a stepping stone to better-paying jobs or to impress others. The distinction explains why we are obsessed with marquee names, and how we structure, operate and fund schools." Lessons From Finland: The Way to Education Excellence | CommonDreams.org
 
The Finns have it figured out. Its gonna take the US a couple of hundred more years to figure it out. Lets just say we're a little slow when it comes to valuing education.
 
Teaching was the hardest job I ever had.

My hat's off to those who teachers stay in the trenches despite all the crap they have poured on them from clueless and cowardly administrators, out of control students and of course, their idiot parents who simply cannot imagine what rude little shits they're sending off to school every day.
 

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