Facing Layoffs, Teachers Need to Advocate for Themselves

Like many states, New York is struggling with how to manage a bloated budget. Unfortunately, rather than trimming fat and implementing ways to spend wiser, education has become the target of severe cuts in state spending (my school in particular is currently forced to operate next year with a massive 17% cut in funding). Last year, states laid off 58,000 teachers nationwide, and projections for the 2011-2012 school year don't look any better.

Sadly, I have a personal connection to this. My sister-in-law, Amanda Wagner, is one of those teachers whose job will not be in the district budget for next year. Rather than be angry, she took the chance to share her insight via an editorial in The Buffalo News. Her overall message is a call to action; a plea for parents, students, teachers, and community members to take an interest in their schools. Too many see education as an almost invisible part of their community, and this can be dangerous as conditions slowly and quietly decline.

A few days after Amanda's editorial printed, someone posted a negative comment. Maybe this guy was just trolling, but I took the bait and we have been sparring back and forth. My goal isn't to make this person look foolish; I have a much deeper motivation.

I'm proud to be a teacher, and I truly believe that what we do on a daily basis makes a tremendous difference in the lives of our students. I have used the comment section of my sister-in-law's editorial to hopefully dispel some of the popular misconceptions of teachers. My hope is that immediately after reading my blog post, you will read her article and the comments. Think about what makes you valuable as an educator, and add your own comment. As professionals, we need to advocate for ourselves.

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3 Reasons Why Teachers Deserve Adequate Pay

Money and taxes are always topics of hot debate, but in light of the recent financial meltdown conversations surrounding these topics have become highly volatile. Take, for instance, Teachers are learning Economic Reality 101, an article that appeared yesterday in the Sunday edition of The Buffalo News. The comments on the online version were suspended less than 8 hours after the article ran due to "a high volume of submissions that violate The News’ guidelines."

If I can’t post comments on their website, I’ll do it on mine instead.

Reason #1 – Permanently or Professionally certified teachers in New York State have at least two degrees, one of which being a Master’s. It’s a simple equation – if you want highly qualified teachers, then you have to pay the going rate for a highly qualified professional. Some states (most, to be honest) only require a bachelor’s degree.

Reason #2 - New York State has extremely high expectations when it comes to standardized tests and the rigorous curriculum that it encompasses. I don’t expect gourmet when I order something off of the McDonald’s value menu (and I certainly know Curtis Stone isn’t the one preparing it). If you want a high quality product, it’s going to be reflected in the bill.

Reason #3 – While some may argue that this last point is a broad over-generalization, the sad truth is it is often too true – Teachers spend more time with your child than you do. We do more than teach the 3 Rs. It is in us that your child learns social skills, consequence, discipline, self-esteem, leadership, and a myriad of other skills that are needed to be a successful human being.

Teachers are worth Every Penny.

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Internet Filtering - Restriction or Protection?

I still believe we should be teaching Internet responsibility and digital citizenship to our students instead of trying to hide all the bad things behind a big iron curtain. But the fact remains that the Internet is a complex and sometimes seedy beast. It’s easy to forget that fact when search results for well-intentioned lesson plans get blocked, or when you watch students spend a period trying to sneak their way onto a gaming website. This is when the frustrated teacher throws his/her hands in the air and declares the filter to be the work of the devil. But for every game blocked, that filtering software is also blocking potential predators, unsavory images, and God knows what else.

I was thinking about this more over the weekend while flipping through the Black Friday edition of The Buffalo News. There were two stories on the front page of the City and Region section that highlighted someone using the Internet. One was about a Michigan man using a Genealogy website to find his long-lost birthmother. The other was about a local filmmaker getting arrested for having downloaded more than 1300 child-porn images. These articles create an interesting juxtaposition.

So what’s the answer? Is it to open the floodgates and hope no one gets swept away in the current? Is it to turn off the lights and sit in darkness? Perhaps it’s a bit of both, but where to draw the line is as big (if not bigger) or a question that whether filtering is needed in the first place.

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