Inspiration is where you find it. So let me preface the following piece by saying that it is both an honor and a privelege to work with your children.
It has long been my belief, particularly after having children of my own, that we, as parents, entrust the most valuable creations in all the world to our teachers, our children. Educators have the responsibility of preparing the next generation to be successful contributing members of our society. It is an awesome responsibility. I say that as a teacher, a former administrator, and a parent.
It has also long been my belief that for as valuable as our educators are, we don't value them enough. I could go into the whole politics of education, funding for education and the state of education in this country, but that is beyond the scope of my dicussion here. I think my best friend, yes my best friend from high school summed it up best when he made an off the cuff comment many years ago. He said to me, " Those who can't do, teach." While those words hurt me deeply, I take solace in the revision to that nasty sentiment which states, " Those who can do, those who can do more... well, they teach."
When I decided to go into education, about 25 years ago, I did so for a very idealistic and cliche' reason. I enjoyed working with kids. I remember saying the same thing that my niece, who is pursuing teaching as a career now has recently said, " If you are doing what you love, what you enjoy, the money isn't so important." I still believe that If you are doing what you love, and what you enjoy, than you are luckier than most. The money part is beyond the scope of this article.
It wasn't long after beginning my career as a teacher, that my idealism flew right out the window. Like many, if not most of the educators I know and have known, I have always been humble, if not a bit insecure. I've always been a bit of a people pleaser. I digress. Teaching, I soon learned after getting out of school was a hard hard job. I had ups and downs throughout my career. There were times that I thought about getting out of it, during the downs. During those times I questioned whether the hard work was worth not getting paid what you were worth. Then there were the ups, the years when I felt I was truly making a difference in the lives of the students I touched, and the other teachers whose lives I touched, a feeling that ultimately led me into administration, what the academics would prefer to call educational leadership.
I finally, twenty five years after making that decision to become an educator, have levelled off with a feeling that I enjoy what I do, am pretty good at what I do, and make a difference doing what I do. The money thing, I am still negotiating, because unlike when I was an undergraduate, when you have a mortgage, kids and car payments, the money is important.
So where is Mike going with this? Every so often someone says something or does something that inspires me to write, ignites a passion in me. I won't divulge the source or sources of my inspiration because it isn't important, and a writer never reveals his sources. But this evening I got to thinking, " why is it, that educators are the people we entrust our most precious creations, our children with, yet society in this country seems to have so little respect for them?" I'm not talking about patronization because there is plenty of that. I'm beyond the point in my career of being bitter. I am just observant, and at times fascinated by what people say and what people do to their educators. If I had a dime for every time I've heard, " What you do is so special. I couldn't do what you do?" money wouldn't be an issue either.Nowadays, educators are either patronized, or they are criticized. I have been thrilled since joining Soar, that there is a legitimate recognition and appreciation for what we educators do. It is rare. Then again, that's part of what makes the climate of Soar so special.
As a former administrator, I can speculate what the issue is as far as underappreciation and less respect for educators as professionals. For I have worked with and evaluated some great teachers over the years, as well as some that shouldn't be anywhere near our kids. At Soar, I have seen your children, whose previous educators having failed them in some way is what has brought them to Soar. So education as a whole in this country has its problems. It has its issues.
Education, as a profession doesn't garner the respect of say law or medicine. I've always wondered why? It's beyond dollars and cents, and it is beyond the respect educators have for one another within their professional learning communities. Most of the educators I know have gone to a university from 4 to 6 years, if they haven't pursued their doctorates. So a lack of education isn't the reason.
We don't patronize doctors or lawyers. We don't say to our doctor, " What you do is so special. I couldn't do what you do?" because it is understood that you couldn't. You'd need to go to school for nearly a decade first.
We also don't typically question a doctor or a lawyer's professional judgement. Other than the "2nd opinion", and the occasional " firing of our counsel", we tend to revere our doctors and our lawyers as seasoned experts in their field.
We don't tend to act as our own legal representative in a court of law. When people do that on TV, they are portrayed as a little off kilter, or a tad bit unstable. If we try to be a doctor to our own children, or self- medicate, we see in the news all the time how this gets people thrown in jail or into a psychiatric facility.
Homeschooling in this country is completely acceptable and legal. I haven't quite wrapped my head around the concept of homeschooling, and don't condemn something I don't completely understand. On one hand I can certainly understand parents wanting the absolute best for their children, and ascribing to the philosophy, " If you want something done right, you need to do it yourself." On the other hand, having been an educator for 20 years, and still feeling as though with all my experience and training, I have yet to master it, I question how those without training in the field feel that they can provide the best education for their children. The homeschooling movement certainly doesn't speak to a "reverence" for teachers in America like the way other professionals are revered.
Perhaps this political cartoon below summarizes best how I feel about how educators in this country are treated. Does anyone disagree with me?
