Chapter 1: What are We Doing? How Should We Feel About This?

I find after reading, that I actually have more feelings about the Change article than the chapter in general.

In terms of the chapter, most of the talk was about pay. It would seem that there is more than a little bit of discouragement thrown towards potential teachers in the form of low wages. An overwhelming majority teachers responding to the surveys said that they teach because it is what calls to them and what they enjoy. They take pride and joy from educating the nation's youth, and in some cases were even influenced to become a teacher by one of their own teachers earlier in life. Not one of these responses included anything about pay-satisfaction, and perhaps with good reason. The national average teacher salary is around fifty thousand dollars a year, but from state to state, the average varies wildly. By state, this number may vary anywhere from sixty thousand, to as low as thirty seven thousand. I don't know much about cost of living expenses in many other states, but enough on this list fell right at below the forty thousand mark that perhaps an important question is in order: How much do we really value the education of our children?

The Change article talked about a vastly different issue in american society as a whole, that also applies well to education specifically. It discussed issues with valuing professionalism over feelings, and letting dread of repercussions get in the way of inciting needed change. While true, there is maybe a bit of heroic recklessness to what was being suggested. It is of course important to be careful to establish a good report with administration and other teachers. What I mean to say is that it is important to ensure that doing the right thing isn't a decision that will result in one's firing and removal from said position where they can help.

If I were to sum up two of the most significant good/bad aspects of the american school system, it would be related to both teacher impact, and the administrative system behind it all. I find it wonderful that here in America, teachers have the opportunity to make such a difference for their students. These educators spend large portions of each day with their students over the course of the year, and in some cases, even spend multiple school years teaching the same children. On the flip side of things, one of the biggest roadblocks to much improvement in the field of education can often be the impenetrable bureaucracy that is embedded in the administrative aspect of the american education system. There can be quite the perplexing amount of paperwork, even for something as simple as having class outdoors one day, and quite often when there is a question that needs to be posed to administration with regards to proper procedure, the average teacher doesn't even know which administrator they should be asking.

All of these different pros and cons come together to create a dream job for some, the perfect storm for others, and for some people, both at once. Being a teacher can be the most rewarding and/or the most frustrating job out there for a person, but given the experience all of us have in this class, it's safe to say that the rewarding part is the deciding factor in each of our minds.

I know that my feelings aren't quite in line with public perception however, as I have experienced the career from behind the teacher's desk, and find myself quite often disagreeing with many of the misconceptions that I hear.

Questions

For each of my fellow students, which of the pros stood out to you the most?

Which is the worst con in your opinion?

What do you feel gets in the way most when it comes to teachers being able to help their students in need?