It's been a LONG time since I last blogged, and my fingers are gettin' itchy to type a bit more. I haven't been into blogging for the last month, because for one reason or another I have been swamped with life. The more important things have occupied my time and attention.
In addition, there hasn't been much to say about my life in the way of crises. Life has been good for us lately, and if I were to complain I'd be an ingrate and a wart.
I have now been teaching at West Jordan Middle School since 1995. I am about to conclude my 11th year. This year has been a unique one, and I daresay that over the summer there will be huge changes occurring in our school and perhaps throughout Jordan School District.
* Reason #1: The district has limited retirement benefits to employees, effective at the end of this school year. As a result, many, many teachers are opting to retire, and numerous others are transferring out.
* Reason #2: The school climate among WJMS' teachers this year has been particularly grumpy, with an enmity between teachers and administrators. We're not on the same page. There has been a lot of gossip and grumbling, and several teachers are seeking reassignment because of this.
Long story short: At a mere 11 years of teaching experience, next year I will be one of the veterans at our school. The turnover rate over this summer will be about as high as I can remember ever. It also means we will have numerous young teachers at our school. Experienced teachers are leaving.
This might not seem like much to you, but to us in the profession it's huge. Imagine if the medical profession had a mass exodus over the summer and next year the hospitals were stocked with only limited-experience physicians and interns. Yeah, it's still medicine, but you know that there'd be a lot of problems.
There is a lot of bad occurring in our schools and in education in general, and not just money wise. While Utah is still tops in the nation in graduation percentage and test scores, it's not because of the teachers. It's because of parent support! You, the parents, are the #1 reason why your child succeeds or fails in school. As an example, I like to draw two different scenarios.
Scenario #1: An eighth grade girl has a supportive family. Her parents have firm but fair guidelines and expectations, read with her, and expect her to succeed academically. Whenever she shows signs of slacking, they step in: privileges revoked, teacher contact, or whatever it takes. They make it perfectly clear that education is important.
Now, let's say girl #1 has an extremely lazy history teacher. On the first day of school, Mr. Lazy hands her a textbook and, in essence, instructs her to study the entire textbook and do X amount of exercises from it per day. He will only tell her this once, and expect ALL work to be completed on the last day of school, when she will also be tested. For the next nine months he won't teach her anything. I can guarantee you that by the end of the year, with her supportive parents, she will have completed all exercises and passed the test with flying colors.
Secenario #2: An eighth grade girl with an indifferent family. Her parents both work, complain about being tired all the time, couldn't care less about school, hated it themselves, and view it as government-supplied day care. They never ask her about her homework, don't show up to parent teacher conference, and never check the school's web site where her grades are posted. If a parent ever calls, they might not even return the call.
Now, let's say girl #2 has an extremely proactive, organized, high-level history teacher. On the first day of school, Mr. Proactive Teacher greets her warmly, gives her individualized instruction as necessary, maps things out, keeps grades updated, has scheduled conference time available, invites her to work, uses incentive programs, sends home progress letters, gives her supplies for free, etc. etc. etc. In other words, he breaks his back for her. I can guarantee you that, regardless of how awesome a teacher he is, she will still fail 999 times out of 1000 ---- all because of lacking parental support.
As you can see, in either case it wasn't the teacher who was the deciding factor. It was the parent! You are the key!
While I'm on this soapbox, I'd like to give two suggestions to those of you who are parents, and whose children are or will soon be teenagers:
1) Read with them every day! Especially you fathers. It makes a gigantic difference in their ability to succeed academically. They think better. They understand better. They solve problems better. School is easier for them.
2) Check their grades, with them by your side, on a regular basis. Don't believe them when they say they don't have any homework! It's a lie!
There is so much evil in the public schools: sex, swearing, sarcasm, drugs, disrespect, gangs, ... you name it. However, there is reason to hope when parents are heavily involved in their kids' lives, because those kids make it. They do. I've seen it every year as a middle school teacher. Kids with a secure home life, structure (which is love), accountability, dinner at home, etc. make it. Like a duck in water, they seem to impervious to the evil that often surrounds them.
As a final note, I encourage you to check out www.aft.org. Click on salary surveys.
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