Learning Teaching

This is time of concern with a teacher's strike happening. Of course, people take sides. That's natural. Some of the issues presented by the non-teacher side are, at best, uneducated guesses about what the profession is all about. First, let's get real. Teachers have school-aged children and are tax-payers, too. They are very well educated persons, about as well educated as yes, the top twenty percent of wage earners. And why not?  Most highly paid workers do not have twenty-five clients at one time in front of them. They are not usually as intimately involved with their clients' families as are teachers. Stress? In  the classroom where you have a few dozen kids, not all have  ideal home situations.  There is often marriage break-up, illness, ethnic and language issues, religious matters and the child's own social stresses to deal with.  All of these have to be handled by the teacher along with trying to educate each child in his or her own learning pattern. Apart from that, while there are manuals stating the curriculum, the teacher is a professional who designs the method for use in his or her own classroom and that takes time which is usually done during off-classroom hours and of course while "on holiday". Time off? Of course, don't you deserve weekends and holiday periods on your job? Teachers don't get the same coffee breaks or lunch hours as most workers. They are responsible for their clients all day long.  Another unfounded charge is the "huge" pension the teacher receives at the end of a career. A teacher salary is annual and from that amount, there are deductions including taxes and benefits. The amount paid into the pension fund is large. Like the salary of anyone, these amount to a sizeable number of dollars every month. You get nothing for free. Pensions and benefits don't come from thin air. A teacher is a worker like anyone else. Yes, they are paid through tax dollars just as members of various parliaments and other government employees are.  Another role the teacher has taken up is babysitting as evidenced by parents who complain "what am I going to do with my kid - I have to go to work". Your child is your responsibility including its care. The teacher happens to be around to be considered a babysitter but in truth he or she is not that. Child care is your job, parents. I doubt that you could afford a teacher as your babysitter. Does your child care worker have as much formal education and training and operates under as strict an ethical system?  Educating a teacher is no pittance. Teachers are university educated and at ten or so thousand a year plus living expenses out of ones own pocket, it is no mean expense to have to make up after the at least five years  it takes to get a degree in Education.   Some say, when I went to school, there were fifty in a class. What's wrong with teachers these days? Do you want your child to be in a class of fifty? Total up how many minutes your child would have of the teacher's time if there were fifty in a classroom. Go ahead and do it. Then factor in dealing also with children who have learning problems and those who speak English barely and those who have personal control situations. Help for these children is gradually shuffing away leaving the classroom teacher with the whole matter that really calls for specialized training. Those in business complain about the easy life of the teacher and that they should get REAL. Reality is many things and teachers chose to go into the life of being educators because they believe that a nation's value is in its people and the people should be as highly educated as possible. Teachers chose and value their profession and those they teach. If one is not of that mind, it is highly unlikely he or she would last in the classroom everyday for forty or more years. And when teachers demand a fair salary and it seems a lot, think about what that money is spent on. It isn't about "those teachers who have too much time off" or about "how easy teaching is" or "padding the teacher's big pensions". It's about raising the standards of education and educators.  Is it worth spending money on a good education for your child? Is your child worth it?