I read this yesterday in the Times and said 'Yes!' to myself. This is what I've been saying for years and I was quite happy to see that someone with writing talent was bringing these thoughts to the pages of the NYT. A good one!
The thrust in education in the past twenty years has been wrong, wrong, wrong. And this article states it clearly and well. My husband, retired fighter pilot, retired teacher, tireless calculus tutor, will welcome this article and thank you. The problem isn't our teachers; it is ourselves.
but you knew this already, didn't you? Do you ever feel like you're beating your head against the wall? Teaching, at public schools, does not have a long history. And from the very beginning, the teacher was given no respect...long hours and low pay. Because...in most cases, it was the only job SHE could get. The whole issue of pay and respect are tied into the role of women in society and until we change that, nothing will change for teachers. You could say that plenty of men are teachers but I say that the 'perception' by the bill paying public is that teachers are almost always women. And so it's okay to pay them less. Perception is everything. Where am I going with this comment? I don't know; it's early, I've had my first Norco and I'm already rambling.
The thrust in education in the past twenty years has been wrong, wrong, wrong. And this article states it clearly and well. My husband, retired fighter pilot, retired teacher, tireless calculus tutor, will welcome this article and thank you. The problem isn't our teachers; it is ourselves.
ReplyDeletebut you knew this already, didn't you? Do you ever feel like you're beating your head against the wall?
ReplyDeleteTeaching, at public schools, does not have a long history. And from the very beginning, the teacher was given no respect...long hours and low pay. Because...in most cases, it was the only job SHE could get. The whole issue of pay and respect are tied into the role of women in society and until we change that, nothing will change for teachers. You could say that plenty of men are teachers but I say that the 'perception' by the bill paying public is that teachers are almost always women. And so it's okay to pay them less. Perception is everything.
Where am I going with this comment? I don't know; it's early, I've had my first Norco and I'm already rambling.