Every single person reading this was touched in some way by a teacher. They taught you to read, write, to think—you are who you are today because of a teacher. I can name the ones that touched me, Mr. McPike, Mr. McArdle, Mrs. Sutherland, Mrs. Bayer, Mr. Sample, Mr. Smith, and Dr. Colby, to name a few. Each one of them taught me something—whether it was about life, or about love of a subject. I have met my son’s teachers over the past 12 years of formal education, each and every one of them a dedicated professional. When I was a child teachers were looked up to in the community. Teaching was something to aspire to.
Over the years the American right has attacked teachers, calling them lazy for only working nine months out the year, saying they are overpaid, and that anyone could do their job. This came to a head with the election of Scott Walker and the passage of Act 10 in Wisconsin. Now the current White House resident has carried the war on education to another level with Betsy DeVos as education secretary.
Things appear to be turning around with teacher strikes in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky. Hopefully it is not too late to turn around the disastrous right-wing reforms that have caused teachers to leave the profession in droves.
That brings me to this, an acquaintance of mine is a teacher in Arizona, a state that has the lowest teacher pay, and highest teacher turnover in the country. I sat down with him and asked him some questions about his profession, and how it has changed over the years. He is a junior high school teacher and has been teaching in the same district for twenty-seven years. He has taught various subjects: 7th Grade English Language Arts (ELA), 8th Grade ELA, 7th Grade Social Studies, 6-8 Computer Literacy/Keyboarding, and 7th grade Social Studies over the years. He has also taught various Enrichment ELA/Novel Studies courses as well. He received his Masters Degree in Educational Leadership back in 1995.
Why did you become a teacher?
I was heavily influenced by my biology teacher my freshman year of high school. On the first day of school, he pulled out a human heart encased in wax. He began to tell a story of the young man whose life was cut short … how this heart allowed him to live for as long as he did. … spoke of it being the “engine” that allowed him to be … and how we could still learn from this young man even though he was now gone. That was over thirty-seven years ago, and I remember it vividly.
What is the biggest difference you see in the classroom from when you started to now.
Technology. All first-year teachers were scrambling for something, anything to do in the classroom back in the early nineties. The only thing that was in my room (besides desks and a chalkboard) was a stack of 150 7th grade language arts texts books. Teachers today can be overwhelmed by the amount of resources that they have at their fingertips.
Do you feel you and your communities schools get enough financial support from state and local governments?
No. We are a one-to-one school district. Every student has been given an iPad that they may use for the entire year. This was funded by a grant, and I am very clear that schools/districts have different “pots” to pull from as far as funding, but our pay is absolutely ridiculous, and this is not a livable wage. Districts need to have a better understanding of the needs of their employees, and how to retain qualified teachers.
What is your biggest obstacle as a teacher?
Besides our salary? Parents and parenting. Students and behaviors. Parents are very quick to point the finger at the teacher when a child is not being successful. On the flip-side, some parents are so incredibly uninvolved and disinterested that they have no business having children in the first place. Grades are posted online and are updated at basically the speed of light. Parents can access this information 24/7 yet here we are in April, and I just had a parent say that they have not seen a progress report or report card all year. That is entirely on them. I have noticed, especially in the past five years or so, that students are unable to maintain any amount of silence. They are so captivated by the technology at their fingertips that they need to make noise (humming, tapping, pounding, etc.) if there is no noise. I am seeing this in the younger teachers as well, and it … is … bizarre.
What is the number one thing you see as a way to improve education in this country?
Funding. Arizona is reaching critical mass. My district currently has 31 unfilled positions and young teachers are leaving in droves. The quality of the teachers and leadership is diminished well beyond the point of students receiving any quality education. Maybe that is a little harsh. Many teachers (young and old) are doing wonderful things with their kids. Having said that, more and more I am seeing that anyone with an associates degree can and will be hired on the spot. Many of these individuals have no business being in the classroom. My larger classes range from thirty-seven to forty-three students per class. Approximately 866 Arizona teachers have already quit this year (2017-2018), and there are nearly 2,000 vacant positions statewide.