Teaching

Once again I turn to the New York Times for inspiration for today's blog. In an editorial entitled, "Classroom Distinctions" by Tom Moore, the author, himself a 10th grade history teacher in the Bronx, goes on to discuss the portrayal of teachers in Hollywood. He decries the fact that Hollywood frequently tells us, "In order to be a good teacher, she has to be a hero." What is the implication here?

As one who is, even now, told that I should be a teacher, and who has 'been there, done that' I can tell you that our society seems to be torn as to what we expect of our education system. I can assure you that there are plenty of "heroes" out there who do give their heart and soul to teaching. My mother did it for her whole career, my sister-in-law taught in one of the poorest sections of NYC for years, and I went to school with dedicated men and women who did it because they believed in what they were doing. They are out there and work at it every day. Why then do we have to portray teachers as heroes? Why are Coach Carter, Erin Gruwell, and Jaime Escalante shown to be the exception? Why did I only teach in a middle-class suburban school for only one year before deciding that I wouldn't do that again even though I loved being in the classroom?

Two reasons, 1) Unions and 2) The Public. One of the worst things to happen to American education is the teachers' unions. They promote mediocrity, laziness, apathy, and protection of the lowest common denominator. In the school in which I taught, the union president was a man whose lesson plan consisted of, "What film will I show today?" Even the students laughed behind his back. They knew that every day they would waste 45 minutes of time that they would never get back. It was obvious to them that he didn't care so why should they? There was no education there and yet he would pontificate at union meetings and negotiation sessions about the vital need for planning time and trips for continuning education in order to facilitate the highest level of educational expertise. The worst part was that when he talked, many other teachers nodded in agreement and the adminstration cowered in fear. What a bunch of crap!! This is why Johnny can't read, write, or do 'rithmatic!

The second is the general public. There are two camps of people who are equally to blame. The one side believes that all teachers are to be revered like Jaime Escalante. They treat teachers as sacred keepers of truth and thus idiots like the one mentioned above are never questioned and their egos keep getting fed and they never have to improve.

The other camp consists of those who believe that all teachers are over-paid, underworked, morons. They subscribe to the philosophy that "Those that can't do, teach." This is reflected in their children's total lack of regard or respect for their teachers. They are allowed to pick and choose what they do and will dictate what the result should be. I had a student that received a "D" grade on a research paper which was assigned on the second day of school in September and collected the third week of April. The class worked through the process all year long and each step was explained. The report the student turned in was a collection of randomly associated footnoted quotes with no thought or independent analysis. In my opinion, he deserved a "D". I was called to the office to meet with his father (a member of the local school board) who informed me that I should let his son rewrite the paper because he "must have misunderstood the assignment"...for seven months!?! The principal reminded me that the father was on the school board, I was not tenured, and told me to do "what I thought was right."

The fact of the matter is, the majority of teachers are in the middle. They try to do what is right and they work hard at what they do. They want the support of their students, their administrators, and their parents to do the best for their students. It is up to society to do their part by questioning bad behavior and supporting good behavior by both students and teachers. Before you go storming in to ask your child's teacher, "What's wrong with you?", look in the mirror and ask, "What's my role in this?"

Thoughts anyone?