Reply to What needs to be done to repair damage of Covid/school closures/quarantines/Covid policy in DCPS?

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Reply to "What needs to be done to repair damage of Covid/school closures/quarantines/Covid policy in DCPS?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I also don’t get why we compare with other districts when we know historically teaching has been a ‘female job,’ and is underpaid throughout this nation, just as many nursing positions. If teaching was a revered field like being a doctor, I promise you would see more teachers and also in some cases better quality ones.

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I realize this wasn't your main point, but the reason we compare is that the surrounding districts are the competition for hiring teachers.

We don't evaluate every job on the basis of what it means to society and pay accordingly, because how would you do that?  It's all subjective.  Wishing we did it that way won't change capitalism.

I think the relevant point is:  DC has higher teacher salaries but can lose teachers to lower-paying surrounding districts for reasons other than pay.  That means that you want to address those other reasons (at least first).  It sounds like some of those reasons are COL and just having a demoralizing work environment.  That work environment might be cured by XYZ (insert all of the stuff regularly discussed on DCUM).

But to get back to the point of the thread, even with a beautiful work environment and higher pay, would teachers be able to make up for the learning losses of the pandemic?  Would any of that actually measurably help students?  The end goal is students' education.

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Sadly, the research is pretty clear that even the best teachers with the best support are unlikely to be able to ameliorate the effects of the closures and quarantines without funding for intensive support for the kids, including one-on-one tutoring. And that just isn't something we can provide in bulk, regardless of funding. There aren't enough potential support staff available in the entire region. I hate to be a downer but this is a generation of black and poor children in DC who will all experience lasting harmful effects.[/quote]

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