Assault on Teachers

I became a teacher at age 40.  I went back to school at night while working full time for a corporation, quit my job to student teach and started teaching at half my previous salary.  I knew my career would not be prestigious, but I wanted something more meaningful.  I have always worked in schools with a majority of low income students and in districts that were thought to be challenging. I became used to patronizing, condescending or dismissive reactions at parties when I told people what I did for a living and where I worked.  I just enjoy working with students. 

Lately, however, I have come to realize that a large group of the public is not only condescending and dismissive of teachers, but actually hate us. I understand that these people think we are not only incompetent, but greedy, lazy, over paid, have gigantic pensions and  are socialists. 

As a teacher I have gone through endless trainings and re-trainings. I have spent hundreds of hours taking required classes to teach ELL students and others. I have spent thousands of dollars for tuition to get credentials. I have always done what I was told. I have worked late, spent a great deal of my own money on supplies and students and taken several pay cuts.   My salary is lower now than it was 12 years ago. 

The people who hate us, some who taught for a very short time,  seem to want to replace us with young people from “elite” universities.  The suggestion is that those of us who went to state colleges are less qualified they young people form elite colleges.  Experienced teachers are held in such low regard that these young teachers are not required to conform to the standards and qualifications insisted upon for the previous generation of teachers. 

My hope is that this blog will help provide a response to this assault on the profession, because it also feels like a personal assault as well.