Education Soapbox

First I want to say that I am awed by the 96 hits I got on the Blog yesterday. Amazing

Second I belong to a “list” which discusses mostly Masonic topics. They recently got into the subject of Teacher pay. One Brother wrote:

That's great pay for a teacher. I understand that starting salary for a public school teacher in this part of Florida is somewhere between $39,000 and $43,000/year. But that's not bad for 10 months worth of work.

Needless to say I responded.

I am going to have to "chime in" here. You said "That is not bad for 10 months of work."
As a retired teacher (38 years) Let me tell you about those "10 months" of work. In the first place teaching is not a 9 to 5 job. You don't leave it at work. You take it home with you, every night and every weekend. During the "forced layoff" (the other 2 to 2 and a half months) you are expected to go to school to improve your skills and ability as a teacher...at your own expense.

Speaking of "your own expense" the average teacher spends thousands of her/his own money to supplement the resources needed to teach, things which society should be providing.

In addition to that many teachers are hounded from the profession by incompetent administrators who do not get "laid off:" during the summer or by parents who have no idea how to parent and may consider their children as an inconvenience.

That is not to say that many of us don't find teaching rewarding. Just not monetarily. Try to raise a family in this economy on the amounts of money you mentioned and think about what the teachers go through to be able to teach other peoples kids.

I am proud that I was a teacher and proud of what I accomplished, I gave up a lot to do so and I would hope that you and others like you would begin to realize it and not make statements such as the one you made,

Masonically we say we support the public schools. How do you do so? Are you there with help for your children's (grandchildren's) school or do you let someone else shoulder the burden? Do you donate time and supplies to classrooms? Do you sponsor a Teacher of the Year program in your Lodge (Iowa does) and then do as we did in my lodge this year and give a monetary grant (my idea) to the teacher to be used in her school and classroom? There are lots of things which can be done but mostly teachers want support and respect. How about it? If you are doing something I congratulate you. If not, don't be so quick to minimize what a teacher does.

Sorry, but this is one of my soap box issues.

I got one response from a Brother He writes

I am working to raise $5,800 to keep some at risk students in an after school homework program for the remainder of the 2007-08 school year. I met them while teaching their class as part of a Global Service Day with Junior Achievement. There were 22 kids in this 4th grade class, 10 different primary languages (English, Spanish, tagalog, swahili, Hungarian, etc.); most students came from broken homes with at least one family member in prison and one of the students had just been released from a mental health ward after trying to commit suicide; another wants to become an attorney so he can help his brother and father get out of prison. I was surprised to find this school in typical middle class suburb of Chicago and hope that I am able to help these students, who have come so far from their parents roots, make something better for themselves and their children.

Another Brother wrote:

On that note, I thought I might mention DonorsChoose.org It presents projects proposed by teachers for their classrooms that require funding. It seems ideal for the Masonic Lodge who wants to support education and see the direct effect of their charity at work. You can search for projects by region and thereby donate locally. Many of the projects do not require a large sum of money and could easily be funded by a single lodge.

I checked it out there are only four (4) requests in Iowa. All of them sound worthy.


And then I got this in my mailbox this morning. It tells you in a nutshell what is wrong with No Child Left Behind. It might be funny if it weren’t so sad.

No Child Left Behind - Football Version - this was printed in the Davenport Area Retired School Personnel Association Newsletter

l. All teams must make the state playoffs and all MUST win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable. If, after two years they have not won the championship, their footballs and equipment will be taken away UNTIL they do win the championship.

2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time even if they do not have the same conditions or opportunities to practice on their own. NO exceptions will be made for lack of interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities of themselves or their parents. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!

3. Talented players will be asked to workout on their own, without instructions. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, have limited athletic ability. or whose parents don't like football.

4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will be kept only on the 4th, 8th and 11th games. This plan will create a New Age of Sports in which every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimum goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child gets left behind. If parents do not like this new law, they are encouraged to vote for vouchers and support private schools that can screen out the non-athletes and prevent their children from having to go to school with bad football players.


Well that is enough of my soapbox for today. I find that I can still be passionate about some things. Even though I do work to "subdue" them. Hugs, j