Teaching Me About Teaching
By CHARLES M. BLOW
Next week is National Teacher Appreciation Week, and, as far as I’m concerned, they don’t get nearly enough.
On Tuesday, the United States Department of Education is hoping that people will take to Facebook and Twitter to thank a teacher who has made a difference in their lives. I want to contribute to that effort. And I plan to thank a teacher who never taught me in a classroom but taught me what it meant to be an educator: my mother.
She worked in her local school system for 34 years before retiring. Then she volunteered at a school in her district until, at age 67, she won a seat on her local school board. Education is in her blood.
Through her I saw up close that teaching is one of those jobs you do with the whole of you — trying to break through to a young mind can break your heart. My mother cared about her students like they were her own children. I guess that’s why so many of them dispensed with “Mrs. Blow” and just called her Mama.
She wasn’t just teaching school lessons but life lessons. For her, it was about more than facts and figures. It was about the love of learning and the love of self. It was the great entangle, education in the grandest frame, what sticks with you when all else falls away. As Albert Einstein once said: “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”
She showed me what a great teacher looked like: proud, exhausted, underpaid and overjoyed. For great teachers, the job is less a career than a calling. You don’t become a teacher to make a world of money. You become a teacher to make a world of difference. But hard work deserves a fair wage.
That’s why I have a hard time tolerating people who disproportionately blame teachers for our poor educational outcomes. I understand that not every teacher is a great one. But neither is every plumber, or every banker or every soldier. Why then should teachers be demonized so much?
I won’t pretend to have all the policy prescriptions to address our country’s educational crisis, but beating up teachers isn’t the solution. We must be honest brokers in our efforts to fix a broken system.
"[O]ur country's educational crisis?" Not entirely sure just WHAT that educational crisis is. This is a highly explosive phrasing. CRISIS sounds like a very bad thing. But, let's take a quick look at some of the facts on the ground for some of the school systems that I have ties to: Streator High School, Streator, Illinois, Barrington Consolidated High School, Barrington, Illinois, and Glenbrook South High School, in Glenview, Illinois (my father taught at all three of these school and my brother in law taught at Barrington High School).
Student of the Month
April 2012
Career and Technical Ed.
Student: Mike Tafoya Year: 12
Parents: Ms. Belinda Alexander
Nominating Teacher: Mr. Lyle Peterson
Course: Vocational Welding
Future Plans: Welding Career
Mike is my best welder. He did most of the welding on the “Grill” Project. Congratulations to Mike on being the Career & Technical Departments Student of the Month.
English
Student: Amberly Walter Year: 12
Parents: Sherri & Matt Walter
Nominating Teacher: Mr. Ray Yanek
Course: English IV-A & Creative Writing
Future Plans: X-Ray Technician
Amberly’s natural love of reading and writing shines through in the classroom. She is inquisitive, imaginative, and original. She has come to use the skills taught to her in her English classes to express those parts of her, not just creatively but academically as well. She has never once settled on choosing a clichéd or overused essay or creative writing topic. Also, Amberly had truly come to understand that real writing occurs in the rewriting.
Fine Arts
Student: Allyson Grabowski Year: 12
Parents: Teresa & Joe Grabowski
Nominating Teacher: Mrs. Janelle Garcia
Course: Drawing & Printmaking II
Future Plans: Attend IVCC and study English
Allyson is highly talented in the area of Drawing and works hard to improve upon her skills as an artist. She is an inspiration to others and works hard to do her very best on each project assigned.
Foreign Language
Student: Bridget Parr Year: 9
Parents: Kathleen & James Parr
Nominating Teacher: Mrs. Alison Clausing
Course: Spanish I
Future Plans: Attend College
Bridget is an excellent student. She is enthusiastic, motivated and talented on many levels. It is a true joy to have Bridget as a student.
Guided Program for Success
Student: Anthony Gray Year: 10
Parents: Robert Gray & Kelly Carl
Nominating Teacher: Ms. Erin Knuffman & Mrs. Tina O’Brien
Course: GPS Resource
Future Plans: Undecided
Anthony has made great strides in GPS since joining us a year ago. He is on top of his grades and extremely organized. Anthony comes to class prepared and works quietly and diligently without having to be told. He frequently helps other students and is known for being a voracious reader. Anthony is a great example of the other GPS students.
Health, PE, and Driver’s Ed.
Student: Jeremy Griffin Year: 12
Parents: Ms. Teressa McNeal
Nominating Teacher: Ms. Kari Hagerty
Course: P.E.
Future Plans: Plans on becoming an electrician
Jeremy is very active in physical education. He is a class leader. His effort is outstanding and he is respectful to his classmates. Congratulations to Jeremy on being the Physical Education Departments Student of the Month.
Math
Student: Payton Billups Year: 12
Parents: Mr. Dunuvan Billups
Nominating Teacher: Mr. Doug Harris
Course: Calculus
Future Plans: Attend Lincoln Land Community College on a softball scholarship
Payton was chosen because she is consistently one of the top performers in Calculus. Whether its test scores, thoroughness of daily work, or overall average, Payton is always at the top of this advanced class.
Science
Student: Brian Kerestes Year: 9
Parent: Colleen & Timothy Kerestes
Nominating Teacher: Mr. John Burke
Course: Biology I
Future Plans: Go to U of I and study Ag Science
Brian is an exceptionally gifted student of the biological sciences. Congratulations to Brian on being selected as the Science Departments Student of the Month.
Social Studies
Student: Martha Montes Year: 11
Parents: Martha & Javier Montes
Nominating Teacher: Mr. Ken Carlson
Course: Basic U.S History
Future Plans: Attend College, maybe become a bilingual educator
Martha is a hard-worker. She is very organized and self – disciplined. She is a joy to have in class and has a bright future ahead of her.
Student Services
Student: TJ Fleming Year: 10
Parents: Ms. Peggy Fleming
Nominating Teacher: Mr. Rob Beck
Course: Economics/Government
Future Plans: Undecided
This month the Student Services department is selecting a student that has made huge improvements and gains that have not gone unnoticed by all of his teachers. TJ Fleming has shown what it takes to be an outstanding student. He goes above and beyond of what is asked of him. He will research and report information on a topic that is part of the curriculum when it is not even asked of him. He is a sponge for information. He shows leadership in the classroom and mentors other students when they might need extra help. He makes wise and healthy choices on an everyday basis. With his motivation, insightfulness, maturity and work ethic the student services department is proud to have TJ Fleming represent them as April Student of the Month.
Jack Wilson Academy
Student: Devonta Hunter Year: 10
Parents: Mr. Peggy Hunter
Nominating Teacher: Mrs. Deb Bain
Course: Alternative Education
Future Plans: Undecided
DeVonta Hunter is the most improved student I have ever had in Alternative Education. He came to us at the beginning of this school year, angry and bitter, believing the whole educational world was out to get him. Over an eight month period, Devonta has developed into a fine student and someone you would like to know. He always has a kind word to share when a fellow student is down or worried. DeVonta is a self-appointed peer coach, who is the first to help when the need arises. He has earned a full credit over the regular credit courses offered in Alt. Ed this semester. He has had excellent attendance, is always on time, and is carrying a B+ average. DeVonta is a hero to me, his teacher, because he lives our motto of "Failure is Not an Option." He refuses to hand in mediocre papers and strives to be the best.
Do we need teacher accountability? Yes.
Must unions be flexible? Yes.
Must new approaches be tried? Yes.
But is it just as important to address the poverty, stress and hopelessness that some children bring into the classroom, before the bell rings and the chalk screeches across a blackboard? Yes.
Do we need to take a closer look at pay and incentives for teachers? Yes.
Do we need to lift them up a bit more than we tear them down? A thousand times, yes!
A big part of the problem is that teachers have been so maligned in the national debate that it’s hard to attract our best and brightest to see it as a viable and rewarding career choice, even if they have a high aptitude and natural gift for it.
A 2010 McKinsey & Company report entitled “Closing the Talent Gap: Attracting and Retaining Top-Third Graduates to Careers in Teaching” found that top-performing nations like Singapore, Finland and South Korea recruit all of their teachers from the top third of graduates and then even screen from that group for “other important qualities.” By contrast, in the United States, “23 percent of new teachers come from the top third, and just 14 percent in high poverty schools, which find it especially difficult to attract and retain talented teachers. It is a remarkably large difference in approach, and in results.”
According to the report, starting teacher salaries in 2010 averaged $39,000 a year. Let’s assume that federal, state and local taxes eat up a third. That would leave a take-home pay as low as $26,000. However, according to the Project on Student Debt by the Institute for College Access and Success, a college senior graduating that year carried an average of $25,250 in student loans. The math just doesn’t work out.
Furthermore, jobs in education were slashed substantially from August 2008 to August 2011. According to an October White House report: “Nearly 300,000 educator jobs have been lost since 2008, 54 percent of all job losses in local government.”
If we want better educational outcomes, we need to attract better teachers — and work to retain them. A good place to start is with respect and paychecks. And a little social media appreciation once a year wouldn’t hurt either.
So, on Tuesday, I plan to send this message on Twitter: To the teacher who taught me what it means to be a teacher: My mama. Everybody’s mama.
What will you tweet?
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