I Need to Blow Off Steam!

I am so frustrated by our education system. Years of trying to advocate for my children - and why is this? Shouldn't educators be in the profession because they want the best for the children?? Why would parents need to fight for what is right for their kids? We had middle school orientation this evening and once again I was frustrated beyond belief. If nothing else, I will be so glad when my kids graduate and I will no longer have to deal with public school!!

I was AMAZED to find out my kid's school (Forest Hills Eastern) scores in the top 6% of the nation. If this is the top, I am horrified to even consider what a school in the 10th percentile looks like, let alone less than the 50th percentile. During orientation this evening, the principal, 2 counselors, and the "student dean" spoke briefly. Afterwards, as near as I could tell, all but 1 made themselves very scarce (I think maybe they left out the side door!). Hundreds of parents and children milling around with questions, scheduling issues, etc. and not one person to help. All there were was 2 office assistants left alone to try to handle the line of people that went out the door. When the woman in front of me asked when the counselors would be available, she was told "They have an inservice tomorrow and they won't be here until next week because they aren't paid to be here." Well. I was left standing there wondering what they are paid for.

My sister teaches high school in Maryland. She's there already, full-time (before the students!). Michigan teachers are some of the best paid in the country, yet they aren't around. I want to homeschool very, very much but both my boys want to stay in school to be with their friends, experience school athletics, electives, and school activities. As most of you know, I already pulled Harrison out of all math and homeschool that (and he did GREAT this summer - his teacher from MSU actually wrote me a letter sharing how very much she enjoyed having him and what a great kid he is). My sister is one of the "good guys" when it comes to teaching. She works in a state that doesn't pay teachers great and has mediocre benefits, yet she is willing to tutor students during her prep hour, her lunch hour, and her time after school hours. I wish I could find more like her! So far, my experience here has been a few (very few) awesome teachers, let's say 5%, and about 15% just OK, and 80% shouldn't be anywhere near a school. (OK, I admit I'm worked up right now - I might be a mite kinder in the morning!).

Here is an interesting article I will share that highlights the fallacies of poor pay for teachers; what this means is teachers must be intrinsically motivated:


Civic ReportNo. 50 January 2007
How Much Are Public School Teachers Paid?
by Jay P. Greene and Marcus A. Winters
Executive Summary
Education policy discussions often assume that public school teachers are poorly paid. Typically absent in these discussions about teacher pay, however, is any reference to systematic data on how much public school teachers are actually paid, especially relative to other occupations. Because discussions about teacher pay rarely reference these data, the policy debate on education reform has proceeded without a clear understanding of these issues.
This report compiles information on the hourly pay of public school teachers nationally and in 66 metropolitan areas, as collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in its annual National Compensation Survey. We also compare the reported hourly income of public school teachers with that of workers in similar professions, as defined by the BLS. This report goes on to use the BLS data to analyze whether there is a relationship between higher relative pay for public school teachers and higher student achievement as measured by high school graduation rates.
Among the key findings of this report:
According to the BLS, the average public school teacher in the United States earned $34.06 per hour in 2005.
The average public school teacher was paid 36% more per hour than the average non-sales white-collar worker and 11% more than the average professional specialty and technical worker.
Full-time public school teachers work on average 36.5 hours per week during weeks that they are working. By comparison, white-collar workers (excluding sales) work 39.4 hours, and professional specialty and technical workers work 39.0 hours per week. Private school teachers work 38.3 hours per week.
Compared with public school teachers, editors and reporters earn 24% less; architects, 11% less; psychologists, 9% less; chemists, 5% less; mechanical engineers, 6% less; and economists, 1% less.
Compared with public school teachers, airplane pilots earn 186% more; physicians, 80% more; lawyers, 49% more; nuclear engineers, 17% more; actuaries, 9% more; and physicists, 3% more.
Public school teachers are paid 61% more per hour than private school teachers, on average nationwide.
The Detroit metropolitan area has the highest average public school teacher pay among metropolitan areas for which data are available, at $47.28 per hour, followed by the San Francisco metropolitan area at $46.70 per hour, and the New York metropolitan area at $45.79 per hour.
We find no evidence that average teacher pay relative to that of other white-collar or professional specialty workers is related to high school graduation rates in the metropolitan area.
About the Authors
JAY P. GREENE, Ph.D., is Endowed Chair and Head of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas and a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He has conducted evaluations of school choice and accountability programs in Florida, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and San Antonio. He has also recently published research on high school graduation rates, social promotion, and special education. His articles have appeared in policy journals, such as The Public Interest, City Journal, and Education Next; in academic journals, such as the Teachers College Record, the Georgetown Public Policy Review, and the British Journal of Political Science; and in major newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and USA Today. Dr. Greene is the author of Education Myths (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005). Dr. Greene received his B.A. in history from Tufts University and his doctorate in political science from Harvard University.
MARCUS A. WINTERS is a Senior Research Associate at the Manhattan Institute and a Doctoral Academy Fellow at the University of Arkansas. He has performed several studies on a variety of education policy issues, including high-stakes testing, charter schools, and the effects of vouchers on the public school system. His op-ed articles have appeared in numerous newspapers, including the Washington Post, USA Today, and the Chicago Sun-Times. He received his B.A. in political science with departmental honors from Ohio University in 2002 and an M.A. in economics from the University of Arkansas in 2006.


As a teacher myself (well, technically, a college instructor), I am appalled by what goes on in 6th through 12th grades. Yes, students are different than they used to be (I've taught for 16 years). They question more now (even authority) and are much more cynical. However, they are also able to do amazing things. I have consistently seen students rise above their own imagined ability to obtain excellent grades, and more importantly gain knowledge. I design new tests every semester so my students can have their test back and see their mistakes (something my highschool student isn't allowed - he gets his scantron back so his teachers don't have to make up a new test- EVER). If I see a student struggling, I'll stay and help. I'll come in to meet with them. I'll set up tutoring - even if it's not in my subject (when they're struggling in another course). Heck, isn't this my job?? I love teaching and I feel each and every one of those students deserves the best I can give, just exactly as if each one were my own child. I honestly have to say, teaching is like the ministry. Those who have no faith shouldn't be ministers and those who don't believe in their students and enjoy giving their all to them shouldn't teach. Hard line, I know.

I've read and heard so much about how HARD it is to teach now-a-days. Well, tell me how hard it is to get your child to respect their teacher that refuses help when the kid asks for it. Tell me how hard it is to get your child to respect their teacher when she comes to a parent/principal meeting wearing a peasant skirt, 2 layers of tank tops, a nose ring, and flip flops. Tell me how hard it is to get your child to respect their teacher when he comes to class and describes how he and his wife enjoy bondage games and last night he locked her in the closet, tied up, with a rubber ball in her mouth, for hours, then took her out and spanked her. Hmmm (all true stories from FHEHS, one of the top schools in the nation!). It's a two-way street. While I agree students do need to respect elders and authority, I also say those in authority need to respect themselves and others as well. Our children (and I mean all our children - the future of our world) both need and deserve better than what they're getting now.

If you wanted to play basketball in the olympics, wouldn't you search out the best coach possible? Olympic teams don't employ the local rec-league coach - they get the best. In the same fashion, those who are TEACHING should be the BEST. I mean they should be the top of their class - overall college gpa at least 3.0. They should be upstanding, respectable citizens. They should adhere to a professional dress code. They should be people our children look up to, admire, and aspire to be like. Maybe I'll take this on statewide after I finish my PhD!