Different states have different rules, so I can only speak for California. Here, I guess you COULD get a BA in fashion but in order to teach anything outside of that you have to get a single-subject credential first - so this fashion major would need to somehow prove to the district that they'd taken the requisite classes in computer science or the like before they'd let him teach this class. I have a multiple-subject degree which you need here for K-5 and teaching mini-house classes beyond 6th. I could NOT teach a single-studies math class but I COULD teach social studies, art, computer science, and digital arts because I have credentials for them. In fact, we need someone to teach one period of science but my credential won't let me - and that's not a union issue; it's an admin rule. You're not entirely wrong but only because in California there's almost no way we can hold back anyone anymore - and that comes from the VERY top. I've seen kids get straight F's and yet off they go because that's the way the DO and above wants it. The what the what now? I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that the unions have any say in who gets hired - that's a decision made by the principal and HR at the DO. I can't believe you just made me defend my own union because mine is so corrupt it would make demons blush - and yet it has ZERO say in who gets hired; any hiring issues or racism thereof should be squarely placed on admin. Perhaps you should post links detailing this because my district has no such issues. Granted it's mostly Hispanic - my school population IS 70% Hispanic - but I'd say a third of our staff is Black including the Black male principal.
Im a teacher. I teach real people to really save lives. Public education is a joke, the only question is how low those teachers will go.
Show me where 85% of qualified black teachers were denied jobs. That is such bullshit, schools want minority teachers and more men . I work with thousands of teachers every year and there is a tremendous increase in black teachers. Stop making up ridiculous “facts”.that lack commonsense
I too taught in one of the most difficult schools in Brooklyn New York and my experiences were a lot different. No principal is allowed to change grades and if the principal did that you had an obligation to report it. That is cheating .... Kids who assaulted teachers were kicked out of the school. I do agree schools are not what they used to be..it’s now teaching to the test. I wrote a book on classroom management and it’s in a third edition because many strategies in the first two editions are obsolete. I described the AVID program...every school should have it
Yes, those benefits like lowering class sizes from 40to 30 in difficult schools. Like getting more materials for classrooms, like special ed programs....you have no idea what you’re talking about
There is truth in some of what you say. Today's 'parents' are little more than adult-children themselves... a gaggle of Millennials who were themselves badly or inadequately educated in public schools. They've produced a newer generation of school pupils whose life at home is more like that of mindless ANIMALS than anything that would have been recognizable as "normal" thirty years ago. And we expect public school teachers to deal with THAT?! Decades ago, students were ranked according to scholastic achievement, intellect, mental aptitude, and the corresponding likelihood to successfully absorb higher and higher forms of education. Thus, we had different class-divisions, with sections for the 'very bright', the 'nominally intelligent', the mentally or educationally 'less developed'. And students who did nothing but cause trouble and disrupt the class were permanently expelled. With that kind of structure and enforced discipline, a teacher COULD actually teach! But, today everything has been manipulated into a big 'social-engineering' project in which the majority of emphasis is on "inclusiveness" and "diversity". Teachers are forced to tolerate disruptive, distracting nonsense in the classrooms because it has become very, VERY politically-incorrect to EXPEL students who behave like animals! So, the teachers understandably become calloused and indifferent. After years of trying to teach in these kinds of environments, usually with NO useful support from public school administrators, many of the teachers who were worth a damn in the first place simply give up, and start counting the days until they can retire. They 'pass' students who should not (NOT) be allowed to go to higher grades. They ignore the troublemakers, not wishing to have angry confrontations with irresponsible parents, the ACLU, the gutless school administrators, and others who see public schools as laboratories for 'social-experimentation'. The teachers become weary and dispirited, consoling themselves with a bittersweet employment reality that gives them secure jobs (so long as they play the political games), excellent vacation time, excellent health benefits, excellent retirement benefits, etc., etc. And we who own property are more and more heavily taxed to PAY for the whole damned, wretched, miserable thing! Look at what percentage of your annual property taxes goes directly to whatever public school district you're in! It's typically somewhere between 70% - 80% of the total which is supposed to be rationally distributed among other things, like roads, bridges, and other city or county infrastructure -- things from which ALL taxpayers benefit, not just the schools. Want to look at a vastly superior way of educating students? Look at the way public education is handled today in GERMANY!
I guess I need to make it clear that I taught mostly in areas of high poverty. I also did about five years in a high-end school, and the situation was not as extreme; however, drugs were a significant issue.
First of all, the pay scale is not an accurate reflection of a teacher's situation. In places like NYC, $100,000 might be just enough to pay the rent. The cost of living varies greatly. I just retired from teaching high school, and I did not make what those averages say. May last years got me just over $40, 000/year. The averages are inflated because many states are upping the starting pay of new teachers much more so than those who've been teaching for many years. My income alone would not have paid the bills at my house, and we don't live a lavish lifestyle. My wife is a nurse, and she makes much more than I did. That's the only way we get by.
We have to consider the past tense in this case. You've said before that you taught long ago. It's a different world now. I have a shelf full of books on classroom management. I find that they all have something useful in them, but what worked for you may not work for me. The single biggest problem with those books and programs is the assumption that each author has some magic potion that will change the world. I find it interesting that the strategies in your first two books are obsolete. Why is that? Personality differences between us can make all the difference. AVID is a good program, and we have used it for a long time. The class sizes are very limited and it's definitely not a universal tool. I found what worked for me, yet in talking to other teachers it's clear that we all have our own way. And as I said previously, we are not always aware that the principal has changed the grades, and even then, the district did not seem to care because it's no longer about actual learning, but about school ranking. A strategy that helped me a lot was something my old mentor suggested back in the '90s. She liked to end each day by writing a reflection of what worked and didn't work that day. I've gone through some of those recently, and got a few good laughs. Anyway, kudos to you for doing what you do.
That's not what the union does, at least in FL. We have a class size amendment in our Constitution, and 30 is the largest class you can have in a core class (and for that teacher, the teaching load has to average out to 25 a class). It's smaller for grades 3-5, and yet smaller for K-2 (18 I believe). The union is not concerned here about materials for classrooms. that's the job of principals and superintendents, not the union.
Well, what do I know? I'm not in the teaching business... I'm still learning! This thread has been interesting, though, because it showed that teachers don't have an easy life, be it salary- or workwise. I wish you a happy retirement. Perhaps you can afford a trip to and through some of Europe. Would those countries and cultures interest you?
My book came out In in 1997.it had 200 strategies the second one had 250 tips.and the third 300 that’s because the earlier ones didn’t mention much about computers and electronics . One tip that became obsolete was about going with the roll...like if you’re teaching about the pony express and the Holocaust comes up...go with it. Some of the best lessons happen. We can’t do that any,more sadly because we have to stick to the curriculum. This book has 300 tips, some people would disagree with aome and there are always some worth trying. To brag, the book has sold over 100,000 copies and was translated into Indonesian and Chinese. I still don’t understand why China would buy the book as there are some strategies that are a little off the wall but what it has done is get me invited to keynote. I did several counties in Florida.maybe we met I agree we all have different styles...and class dynamics plays a great role also. You can do a great lesson with one class and the same one can bomb with another
Why did you get so little? The median pay in Florida is 48k and you were probably at max...Florida is one of the lowest paying states
I've actually been to England and France some years back. My son was stationed at Lakenheath. He loved it there. We went to visit him and spent a couple of weeks doing the tourist thing. It was cold, but I loved it.
