I came across the video linked below and it really made me think about the answers they gave in this roundtable interview. Every question they are asked, they continue to parrot the talking points that teachers feel like they need to give so that they can be seen as a "good" educator.
Talking points I've heard throughout the years that don't seem to ever go away.
- Teachers don't make a lot of money.
- We can't blame the students for their behavior because you never know what's going on in their life.
- Teachers lack the resources to be successful
- The system is set up to fail these kids
- Teachers still do a lot of work in the Summer.
- I love being a teacher because of that "ah-ha" moment.
I take issue with a lot of these answers because most of them simply don't hold true.
Firstly, in Utah, the starting salary for a new teacher is between 50-60k. It may not seem like a lot compared to a Tech or Finance Bro, but it's a livable wage right out of college. Some states are still far behind that number, but every teacher jokes that they didn't get into it for the money. If that's the case, don't complain about it.
We can definitely blame students for their actions and behaviors. Full stop.
Teachers don't lack the resources they need to be successful, they lack the will to ask for those resources. If your administration is unable or willing to give you what you need, there are dozens of grants and organizations out there that you can write to and receive funds. I was able to purchase thousands of dollars worth of resources. Some teachers I worked with resented me for it because I had a classroom set of Chromebooks and iPads. These teachers could've also had these same resources if they had just written for the same grants I did.
How is the system set up to fail the kids? Many of them receive free meals throughout the day, daycare after school, food and supplies for the weekend, and a free education. I lived in a poor African country for a couple of years and most were too poor to afford school. What is the definition of "failing"? The only failure I see is when we continue to move students through the system when they haven't shown that they are successful with current grade level content. But I am not allowed to say that because failing a kid only hurts them in the long run...so they say.
Most teachers I know choose teaching and refuse to leave because of the summers. Almost everyone that applies for a job at the State Board of Education will always ask if we are required to work summers. The answer, of course, is yes. Just because we are in education doesn't mean we get our summers off. I loved my summers as a teacher and think about going back into teaching for that one reason alone. We recently had an employee leave the State Board for this very reason.
I hate the "ah-ha" moment. I don't mean I hate seeing that in students, because it can be rewarding, but I feel like it's a fake answer. As an educator, our job is to build off previous knowledge, not present them with some new and fascinating concept they've never thought about. My goal is to limit how many "ah-ha's" for my students because if I'm doing my job, it should come naturally to the students and they should be able to grow in knowledge gradually. I know this is kind of a stupid point to make, but I really dislike when teachers use this as their "why" for teaching. If we were being honest, a lot of teachers would refer to the paragraph above as the real reason they love teaching.
The interesting thing about this video is that throughout the video, they slowly drop their defenses and say things they are originally hesitant to say. These are things I'd love to talk about in a future post. For example, a few moments of truth that I found interesting were:
- I'm afraid of the students because they are bigger than me and could harm me.
- Teachers need help with the student's behavior
