Re: Hey, Gumboman (NBC)



William Innes wrote:

"Evolution" <myname@xxxxxxx> wrote in message news:UNmdnUu4n6aba5_YnZ2dnUVZ_tGdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxx

My son went to school in the UK after 10th grade, and he took a maths class and was completely lost. They were so far ahead of him, and there is a reason they call it "maths" instead of "math". They take an integrated approach to maths, including algebra, geometry, trig and calculus all through middle and high school. We really need to do better, and we should start by paying teachers more so we can attract good ones.


While I know salary can certainly be a factor, I think there's more to it than that.
I've known a good many men and women, who spent a sizeable number of years working in the private sector, and then
(after retiring from their corporate jobs) went back to school to get Teaching Credentials so they could teach Math and/or Science.

For them it was a matter of already having a pretty secure/regular pension coming in....but not quite ready to sit on the
porch and watch grass grow. They pretty much knew that the salary they'd get from teaching in the K-12 public school system would be a tad bit lower than what they made in the private sector.
And a good many of them left teaching after only being in the classroom for a short while.

It wasn't the lack of money that drove them away...it was the school climate (discipline problems, lack of support from school administrators/district leaders
when it came to dealing with disruptive students, pressure from principals receiving heat from parents to give better grades to students who were undeserving of
better grades...and the list goes on).

Yes, to some extent, hard as work as it might be when in the middle of a school year (even though the weeks/months of time off are glorious, a lot of us spend a good chunk
of our waking hours...from the start of the day to the day's end...doing something work-related), teaching can be a fulfilling for those of us who can afford to take on a job
such as teaching in the public school system...

However, it's often the non-monetary matters (mentioned above) that drive many a good/high qualified teacher out of the education biz.

Granted, these issues are going to vary substantially depending on what area of the country one teaches...but until we manage to deal more strongly/effectively
with the small percentage of students who trample on the rights of other students to learn and teachers to teach, then good teachers are going to seek other pastures and
many hard-working/cooperative students are going to continue to get the short end of the stick.

From elementary to middle to high school, I wish this country would set up a boot-camp like school for the unruly students who (as of now) can pretty much
destroy a sound academic/safe learning environment for so many others. 30+ years' worth of failure in trying to establish a more compassionate/empathetic approach towards
dealing with such students (and their parents....often the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree) should be enough to know that it doesn't work.
And, as a matter of fairness to those who truly want to learn and those who truly want to teach,.it's time to play hardball with disruptive students.

Really, it kills me alive to see...and I see this on a daily basis....kids who don't give a damn (who get this attitude from parents who don't give a damn) and knowing that I, along with my colleagues & the students who work their butts off, are going to be supporting these kids in a decade when they're on the dole or in prison. And this isn't hyperbole or histrionics. After having been in this biz for well over a decade, I'm starting to read the names of those students who really could have benefited from a rigid/regimented learning environment. Their names are starting to show up in the obituary section (having met a violent death) or in relation to a crime. It doesn't come as any great surprise to a lot of us when we read of this sort of fate...but one does wonder if their fate might have taken a turn for the better had they been given an alternative school where some "tough love" had been administered and mandated to them
(as opposed to condescending empathy that verges towards being enabling/crippling self-pity) .

This year I am very fortunate that I've got parents who are 100% in my court when it comes to the high standards & expectations that I have for behavior, social skills, academics and responsibility.
Even with only four weeks into the school year, I've already seen a major turnaround with the behaviors, work-habits and sense of responsibility in a great many of my students...and I tip my hat to the parents of these children for supporting these high standards & expectations. As is, I may not come home with a king's ransom at the end of the month...but I surely do enjoy going to work each day. Having worked in the past at a job where I made twice the money and had zero intrinsic joy/fulfillment, I'll take enjoying my job over making a king's ransom any day of the week

Wow. I guess I managed to digress and veer down Tangent Avenue....
Anyway, ms. Evolution, it isn't just money that keeps a good teacher away from the education business...I know I'd be exploring other career options if I didn't have a
principal with a strong backbone, along with a great group of supportive parents in my corner.

Well, it was a nice trip down Tangent Avenue, and I agree with you... there are many issues which turn teachers off, and we need to address those, too. And I admire all those teachers who choose the profession because they feel called to it. However, there are many, many more bright minds who might just be attracted to teaching were it to pay more. It doesn't mean that they would only be in it for the money; it just means that a lot of people who do feel called to teaching won't consider it as a career because they have families to support.

I don't know where you live, but in California, in the Bay Area and LA, teachers cannot afford to live in the communities where they live; cannot afford a home. Who can afford a 2 bedroom condo at half a million even on two teachers' salaries?

Laurie






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