Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Thousands of Teachers Sick In Florida

Either 6,300 teachers in Miami-Dade county are sick or Florida has a bunch of lying educators.

Governor Crist sign the bill already. Tenure is a disaster for education and has been for decades. If you are not performing well as a teacher there should not be a system that guarantees you a teaching job for life.

What is wrong with getting paid based on the success of your student to learn? The answer is nothing.

I do know that the system is so corrupt that teacher are often times hampered in their genuine efforts to educate children ,but that is no reason to guarantee teachers who are not effective their job with tenure, or pay them as much, or more than other teachers who are excelling.

Update:

I talked to a friend of mine who is a little more invested in this planet as he has  a family. Although in principle my mind is the same on the matter I do think maybe I was a little harsh on the teachers regardless of their bad behavior. It is true that between the union pressures and the local and federal government they are in a very tedious position. The whole system needs to change and this is a start no matter how painful. The problem is the same as always. You cannot have pseudo-socialists systems in a democracy without the slow destruction of both approaches. you have got to choose and with a socialist administration, a democratic majority of citizens and a bankrupt nation the time to choose is fast approaching.

9 comments:

  1. You're an idiot.

    What's wrong with SB6 is that it does exactly the OPPOSITE of what's necessary to help education. It takes the teachers that are in low-income schools, who have the HARDEST job and the LEAST resources, and PENALIZES them instead of HELPING them. And those who get advanced degrees to become better teachers? Don't get one dime more than someone with the absolute lowest credentials and experience. Ever try to go to college on a teacher's salary?

    I thought not.

    IF all students and all schools were equal, the measure would make SOME sense. But they're NOT. Crist needs to veto SB6, or you can kiss public education in Florida goodbye. Education is not a standardized test. Good educators know that.

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  2. Careful now I have been educated by teachers :)

    College has all the same teacher perks to and all it does is drive up cost. Your complaining about the cost of education on one hand and then saying that teachers should be payed whatever is standard regardless of how effective each teacher is and should be given tenure based on nothing more than how long they hang around. the main problem with education is the fact that most of it is government run. Teachers are basically government employees so they get what they get and they should not pitch a fit.
    I would suggest that anyone who teaches for the money should look for another job.

    As for standardized tests I agree they are as bunk as tenure.

    It sure is a good thing I have spell check :)

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  3. I've got the answer! Home school for everyone. Fire the government from the education business then slash my property taxes. Teach your own kids reading, writing and arithmetic. How's that for a radical idea! LOL

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  4. You mean that people are not helpless unless the choose to be people can actually do things on their own and have the capability to learn without having to have their resources taken from them to given to people who choose not to do for themselves.
    Now that is a novel idea!

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  5. I went to school for Elementary Education for a while and got as far as my Associates Degree before I had a change in heart. I love working with children and have been for over 10 years. With the way the behavior issues with children are today, it kinda scared me off. I am now working part time at a preschool though and the little ones are a bit easier to persuade lol! My heart does go out to all the teachers though, I have seen everything they have to deal with: testing, evaluations, behavior problems (Which parents refuse to see or deal with), mandatory workshops, and so on. They even have to take home work a lot of times and they don't get paid for this. I cannot imagine the many responsibilities they have to juggle. As a past preschool teacher, many parents expect you to raise their children for them because they do not want to deal with the responsibilities. I believe that the most important "teacher" starts in the home, parents. When parents work with the teachers and show their support for them instead of complaining about what the teachers are not doing for them then I think things would go a bit more smoother and that you would see less teachers feeling burnt out. I think parents need to put more time into their children at home too. I think parents need to volunteer more in the schools. Teachers need help too sometimes. And the government is slashing all the wrong jobs. In Kindergarten, instead of having 1 teacher's aide per classroom, it is now 1 teacher's aide to 4 Kindergarten classrooms. As parents and citizens, we should be helping our teachers by getting involved and volunteering if possible. I really could go on about this. Great debate you sparked btw Noshoes lol!! ~;o)

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  6. Good word Rebecca I had a little experience in the class room as an aid and it was very rewarding but extremely hard work.

    Essentially what is driving me up the wall is teachers who have given up in frustration but decided to hang around for as much money and benefits they can get. This is what happens people become part of the enslavement that is the pension and benefit system. Instead of being paid what they are worth they are stung along all their lives for the pay off that may never come. They loose hart and the passion for the job they might have truly loved in the beginning. They feel trapped. They say we cannot do our jobs but please do pay us. I must say the system has been on life support for so long because it is most lucrative for the giant educational bureaucracy and unions. The people that get paid the most are not even teaching children they are running around meddling with everything. It is typical corrupt government doing what should be handled by private interest. Ever attempt to give the private sector any chance to compete have been thwarted by the liberal progressives.

    Schools have more than they have ever had and it makes no difference. Truth is schools have to much and it hampers the effort to teach what should be taught. Reading, writing and arithmetic. With these skills anyone can go on to attain whatever they are will to work for.

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  7. Maybe in a sense they are trapped. I think that when they lose their passion for teaching its called "burn out." I know because I have experienced it a couple times working at Preschools. The ratio numbers are high and the teachers are few. The behavior in children these days is just unbelieveable. And many parents do not want to disciplane their child. So teachers are stuck struggling with behavior issues (which they should not have to deal with in the first place) on top of testing, evaluations, etc. And this causes burn out. It's not that they don't love what they do, they are just tired because there is no extra help. Then their performance drops because nobody cares to help them or listen to their needs. But they are stuck because they went to school for this and they can't leave because they have to work to make a living and need health care. I am not making any excuse for them, just looking at it from their perspective because I've been there. I am very fortunate to work part time, I couldn't do it full time without becoming burnt out. I think everyone should work atleast once in a preschool or classroom for about three months to see what it is really like. If you look at the behavior in the classroom back in the 50's and compare it to the behavior today, it is sad. Teachers had much more help and support back then. Again I feel we need more parents and volunteers in the classroom, or more help in general. When you do not have enough help, then everything becomes rushed, and then nobody learns anything from the lesson or project. On the upside of it, you are so very right!! It can be extremely rewarding!! ~:o)

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  8. Being a teacher and being married to a teacher, and having 50 teaching years between us, I think I can say with all honesty that merit pay will not make better teachers. It will make a broken system worse. Teachers have no control over their students once they leave school. Compare two students’ lives at home. One goes home to a loving family were they are loved and cared for. They have the clothes, food and shelter they need. Parents who work with them to do their homework and talks with the teacher to see if they can do anything to help. The other student goes home to abuse (physically, emotionally, mentally) where they have to find and fix their own food. Where they learn to be street smart to avoid being beaten up by their brother, sister, father or mother. They come to school wearing the same clothes three or four days in a row without being washed. Where you can tell they haven't been close to soap and water for awhile. They are kept up late because of all the happenings at home (fighting, drugs, sex, etc.) And then get himself up to come to school ready to learn. You might say those families should be reported to HRS. Not counting the problems that HRS has, there are tons of paper work and other documentation, calls and reviews. It is easier buying a house than to get a child the right kind of help. Now let's say you have 10 students of the first example and seven of the latter. This has happened. From year to year the numbers shift but the situation remains the same. Besides teaching all the things you are suppose to, you now have to document and care for those who are hurting, and are full of distrust and anger. If you are a baker, and you receive a bad batch of blueberries, you can just send them back saying, " My customers only want the finest blueberry pancakes." As teachers, we cannot send students back saying we only want the best students to teach. Teachers will not be willing to accept the difficult students, because that will, in the end, affect their pay. They will not be able to make house payments, because their pay will be tied to the scores their students make. It will fluctuate from year to year. And who would want to make this their chosen career? Someone who cares about nurturing students to make the most of their lives? When it comes to tenure, something should be done about those teachers who don’t care about their students or how well they teach. But it should not be solved the way the government most always solves problems, there is no problem so bad that we can’t make it worse.
    Billy, I am sorry to rattle on so, but you did post” Make my day with a comment!”. There is so much more I could say about this, but I have gone on way to long. This was not meant to hurt any ones feelings, just to educate a bit.

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  9. Good to hear from you Keith You certainly know from the inside. All I can say is government jobs suck and this administration is determined to make all jobs government jobs the newest employees being your friendly neighborhood doctor..
    I still cannot get over paying folks for to continue to do a job they are unable or prevented from doing. I guess as long as it is taxpayer money the local and federal government will continue to waste it no matter what. No matter what a person does it is a terrible thing to spend a life in mediocrity simply to put food on the table. Our culture materialism and debt have enslaved so many. Our country is really getting a wake up call and it is good to know that our suffering is well deserved. The best news of all is that God is in control and he is full of grace and mercy!
    I really feel for you guys as I have some experience with what you are talking about at the elementary level and I respect you for slogging through this mire for so many years. My greatest wish is that things would change and you would be able to have a teaching experience that was free of all these trials. I know that it won't and I know that the nation is on the verge of accumulating a debt level it can never repay. Things are really at a tipping point. It is really time for true Americans to return to self sufficiency and community like that of the pioneer days.
    Love you guys and keep working that little farm of yours.

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