Having an epiphany...

I am on the verge of an epiphany…

Recent discussions and debates with friends have forced me to ask myself,

“What do I really believe about our educational system?”

I have fought the notion that we are a failure because I may have taken that too personally. How do I feel about this system I am a part of? When looking at the system, as a whole, is it a success or is it a failure? It really cannot be somewhere in the middle, can it? How do we pick where it succeeds and where it fails? Which kids do we just chalk up to collateral damage?

Now I honestly believe that there are teachers who need to be replaced. I have worked with some, and my children, for a brief time, have had some of them. The place I am not hearing a call for change in though is our educational leadership. We need leaders who will take a stand on behalf of all children and not just their pet interests. We need leaders committed to where they are now and not those that are just waiting to step “up” to something more. We need leadership that inspires and demands respect when it is earned. We need leaders with vision, who have ideas that teams of people can build a plan around.

Where does the union stand in all of this? Tough question for me to answer. Have I felt their impact in building a future? I must admit that I have not. I think their role has become more of a stop measure – don’t let things get any worse than this. Instead of being proactive, they have become reactive. And yet, I am afraid to be without them.

I am rethinking many things. I do have a core value of what I believe. I know education is our best investment in our future. I do think we have to prepare for great change, and that if we are wise, we will embrace it. Now how do we inspire it?

The Myth of 3 Months Off

Thoughts on Teachers getting 3 months off a year…

By Cynthia Nagel

Take the “average” employee  and

take 52 weeks in the year x 5 day = 260 days worked

minus 3 weeks vacation = 245 days

minus 5 holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas, President’s Day whatever.

=240 days worked by this average employee

I think I calculated that fairly.

Take the teacher now

190 days though only paid 185 now thanks to furlough, (we still show up) and reduced prep days before school.

Most of us work summer school jobs because we can’t afford not to, they average 16-25 days, but we’ll just add 16.

=206 days

We have to acquire 180 hours to recertify every six years so that averages about 30 hours per year so add 4 days

=210 days

Now since we are pretty busy during the day, most of us grade papers at home and so I will conservatively estimate that at 2.5 hours per week (I know fellow teachers, stop laughing. I am trying to play this in an extremely fair manner) that comes out to 90 hours per year, so we will add in 11 days.

=221 days

We also show up for the chili cook off, the carnival,  take kids to science camp for three days, in addition to the reading night at school we planned for your family and the Fine arts festival to showcase your children’s incredible talents. Let’s add three days for that.

=224 days

Hmmm, that’s about a 16 day difference between us. Let’s call that the 3 week vacation I will get but won’t be paid for and call it even. We won’t talk about the time yet spent planning lessons, writing parents e-mails, or going to your kids’ soccer games.

3 months off – the myth is busted!