Post #14

John Klein’s article, Teaching Our Children Can Be a Profession, has many controversial questions for educators and anyone interested in that field. There were some things that I personally did not agree with, but then there were some that made great points. Three problems that I saw were choosing the best prospective teachers for our schools, seniority among teachers, and teachers being seen as a profession.

When administrators look for teachers, they need to find the best choice available. No one should be hired just from knowing their family, or maybe because they are an alumni of that school. Teachers have to have a solid knowledge base if they intend on getting a good job. I agree that it’s a problem that administrators need to take way more seriously.
The column discussed that newly hired teachers are normally the first to be let go in the incident of letting go teachers. This means that teachers that are tenure get to keep their job even if they aren’t the best one for the job. How is this right? I don’t agree, obviously. I believe the best way to handle a tough situation like this is to evaluate how the students are doing in the classes and go from there. You may have hired a great teacher last year, who had a successful year with his/her students and just fired that individual because they are new in the program.
Lastly, teachers need more credit. We spend so many hours with students. Students that love to learn, look forward to new objectives, and are a joy. We also teach the students that are disruptive, bully other students, and simply can’t wait to leave because they hate school. Teachers are looked at as a joke. Any time I tell someone I am going to be a teacher they always say, “You aren’t going to make any money”. When did it become about the money. Educators don’t simply wake up and say, “Hey, I think I’ll teach because it’s fun”. No. We know what we are going to make and realize it’s not about that. We want to make a change. We want students to be more successful than what we were. People don’t look at teachers as professionals. Well why not? I don’t feel like it’s right for lawyers and doctors to be the most respected professionals. Yes, they are greatly important and very critical, but how did they obtain their knowledge? A teacher is responsible for that. All teacher deserve much more credit than what they receive.