Reply to NY times op ed on the teacher crisis

Forum Index » Schools and Education General Discussion

Reply to "NY times op ed on the teacher crisis"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Let's say everyone here is right: teaching has perks that outweigh the negatives, and if teachers are complaining it's just because they don't know what it's like in other jobs. Even if that's so, the shortage was grossly apparent in 2019 (https://www.epi.org/publication/the-teacher-shortage-is-real-large-and-growing-and-worse-than-we-thought-the-first-report-in-the-perfect-storm-in-the-teacher-labor-market-series/) and has only gotten worse.

So you say, "teachers shouldn't be complaining and they shouldn't be quitting because the job isn't that bad." But the reality is, [i]they are[/i]. Experienced teachers are quitting, new teachers are quitting, and enrollment in teacher education programs is way down (https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/what-teacher-preparation-enrollment-looks-like-in-charts/2023/08#:~:text=Teacher%2Dprep%20enrollment%20over%20the%20past%20decade&text=From%202009%2D10%20through%202014,of%20the%20pandemic%2C%20Fuller%20said.).

Saying it [i]shouldn't[/i] be happening doesn't make it [i]not happen.[/i]

[/quote]

I agree we need to make sure teaching is a desirable profession, both in order to attract great people into teaching and also to ensure the people teaching our kids have high job satisfaction and like their jobs. Both are very important to me.

What I wish is that teachers and parents viewed each other as allies in making that happen, and in making schools great places to learn AND work. It is disheartening to see teachers saying that parents are the primary reason they are leaving the profession, or engaging in arguments about who works harder or has it tougher, parents or teachers. The truth is that most parents do not have high paying, easy, flexible jobs. They are also struggling in their own ways.

[b]When we see each other as adversaries, we all lose[/b].[/quote]

Agreed, but I have no idea how to solve this.  The problem we are facing as teachers is that parents don’t want real life (it’s real ups and downs) to happen to their children.  They are trying to protect their kids from all ills, not seeing that interacting with others brings about its own stress because kids make mistakes.  Parents then try to hold teachers responsible for every slight, bruise and bump that happens during childhood because childhood should be so “protected.”  It isn’t really about being allies because there is no way to keep life from happening to a kid.

Teaching the kids is really fun, but parents have an expectation that everything be “happy and positive” but that isn’t life. Life is about dealing with crap AND being happy and content too. So, I am looking for another job after 24 years. I’m not changing the attitude of parents, but it has definitely changed since I started teaching in 2000. I may make another 6 years, I am only 45, but I am looking to get away from parents and still work with kids (ESL maybe or interventionist).

[/quote]

These are solvable problems, but because you insist on viewing parents as your adversary, you avoid solutions.

WHY do some parents seek to protect their kids from any adversity? Is it because parents are selfish and stupid? No. It's because parents are under intense pressure to ensure their child succeeds, and we live in a culture that punishes people for mistakes forever.

Parents are afraid. They are afraid that if their child struggles in 2nd grade, they won't have the same opportunities in 6th or 9th or college, and they'll be limited and struggle in adulthood to. Parents are also under constant pressure to prove their kids are "thriving," Also, and this one is mom-specific, parents get blamed every day in ways big and small for anything that isn't perfect in their kids' lives. It leads to guilt and anxiety.

And finally, sometimes parents are right. Sometimes kids should be protected. Sometimes a kid is actually being bullied and the school needs to intervene. Sometimes that "quirky" kid actually has special needs that aren't being addressed. Sometimes a parent really does know better what their kid needs, because while you are the education expert, they know their child better. Sometimes listening to a parent could be a gift, not a burden.[/quote]

I feel this in every fiber of my being, even as my kids are now adults. One reason parents and teachers can't come together is that we have created school environments where it feels like there is no room for kids to fail and pick themselves up, yet teachers say that's what is needed. At the same time, student failure is blamed on parenting, there's no room in the discussions to point out areas in which kids aren't getting what they need and deserve from adults in their lives who aren't their parents. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics