There are many misconceptions about teachers by the general public. I know this because I use to believe them. Some of these misconceptions are that teaching is easy, and teachers are guaranteed summer vacations and holidays off. Due to these misconceptions, teaching is one of the least respected professions. The general public is comfortable limiting funding in education while blaming the education system for issues in society. The media has fostered the distrust in our educators, and I hate to sound crazy, but I am starting to think it is a conspiracy. The media has its political biases and they probably receive dividends from politicians for portraying the schools to be the cause of the societal issues. I have not conducted any research to support this notion; it is just something that crossed my mind.
It is pertinent for teachers to continually strive to increase the general public’s investment in education. Even if teacher salaries were not affected by these increases, students would benefit by having necessary materials available to them in the classroom. On top of the limited salary teachers earn, they must dip into their funds to furnish their classrooms with paper, pencils, dry erase markers, and various other essentials. Just by supplying classroom with more tangible resources, learning would increase. Also, if the school can hire more teachers and have smaller teacher-students ratios students will be able to learn better. This is common sense.
As a future educator, I must take into consideration the working conditions that teachers face. From the perspective a student, I was unaware of the legislation that limits teacher autonomy and the decrease in job security that accompanies it. I hope that I will be able to teach effectively and, without robbing my students by focusing too much on the standardized tests, receive passing test scores. It is very scary and the situation does not seem to be improving. However, I feel confident that I will be successful.
I agree that teachers are underpaid and discredited. It is a well known fact that on average, teachers do not make very much money. I plan to teach because I feel a divine calling to do so, which many teachers do. In efforts to gain credibility as a professional, I plan to go the extra mile to communicate with my students' parents and ensure them that their children are receiving quality education in my classroom. I have faith that things will improve in America's schools.
I wish you would send this to a newspaper - this positive yet realistic message of what it is to be a teacher is wonderful. Now, as to the conspiracy theory: I never thought of it like that before, but you may be onto something. Why do we put all the focus on our schools as the cause of society's successes and failures, what about the larger political and economic forces that are creating the circumstances that are simply revealing themselves in our schools? Good dissertation topic for you one day!
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