Thanks and appreciation are not enough. Teachers need respect, resources, and support.
My message to OFT members and teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day.
Happy Teacher Appreciation Day! Thank you for giving your best through this very challenging year. As you go through this day today, I hope you will reflect upon all the lives that you have influenced over your career. Across our state, country, and perhaps even world, there are adults who developed confidence to reach their goals, because of you. There are people who work in fulfilling and essential careers, because of you. There are people who have overcome challenges, because of you. You have had an impact on this world and our future beyond anyone in any other profession, and you continue to do so every day that you continue to choose to step into the classroom. Thank you!
Thanks and appreciation are not enough. As we hear more and more about teacher shortages and lower enrollment rates in teacher education programs, it is imperative that we double down on declaring what educators really need and deserve to keep you in the profession and demanding that policymakers meet those demands.
You need autonomy and voice. You are professionals who have been educated in your content area as well as in the art and science of teaching. You continue to refine your craft as you move throughout your career. No one knows your students and what they need better than you do. Instead of being handcuffed by state testing, needless paperwork, and useless mandates, you need the autonomy to make decisions in the best interests of your students. Furthermore you need to have a larger voice in decisions that impact students that are being made in your school, your district, and at the statehouse.
You need time for planning, professional learning, and collaboration. We often hear naysayers spouting statistics about where the U.S. ranks in education, but these critics rarely delve into the data to get at the heart of the matter. One critical difference between the U.S. and other countries is the amount of time that teachers have for planning, professional learning, and collaboration. As you well know, U.S. teachers generally only get about 3–5 hours per week for planning. Yet your counterparts in high achieving countries spend about 15–25 hours per week planning and collaborating. About 80% of your time is spent on instructional delivery as opposed to about 60% in other countries. As a result, you are exhausting yourself after school hours to prepare for classes instead of spending quality time with family and friends or simply relaxing like you deserve to do.
You need resources. We got a step closer in the last budget cycle when our activism got the Fair School Funding formula inserted into the budget; however, it is still not fully funded and no guarantee was given that it will be fully funded in future budgets. You should not have to spend money out of your pockets to provide for students in the classroom nor should students be denied learning materials, elective classes, smaller class sizes, and wraparound services because of a lack of funding.
You need support. Under the best of circumstances, teaching is a difficult job. It is even more difficult when political agendas drive wedges between teachers and parents. As teachers, we have always wanted parental engagement because we know that students thrive when parents and teachers are working together as a team. With that support, we experience the joy and satisfaction of seeing students make progress and grow which is what attracted many of you to teaching in the first place.
You need fair compensation. You are a professional. You have invested in your education so that you can teach others. You deserve to be paid comparably to other professionals with the same level of education.
You deserve respect. Our children mimic what they see on social media and from the adults around them. Unfortunately, distrust in institutions and the inability to have civil discourse seems to be becoming more and more commonplace in our society. Is it any wonder that we are seeing an escalation of behavior problems in our classrooms? When children do not see adults treating each other with respect, then they do not learn how to show it themselves, even to the teachers who are there for them as positive role models every day. This is especially true when they hear teachers being ridiculed or bashed as part of a culture war agenda. You deserve better.
I am so proud of all of you for choosing to continue to be educators. I hope you still feel a little happiness in the smile that your students give when they see you. I hope you still find joy in watching a student grasp a difficult concept. I hope you still get a sense of satisfaction when you see your students finish another year ready to move on to the next grade. I hope that as we finish this year and head into the summer, you will find the time to rejuvenate and rekindle the passion that led you to want to make a difference in the world by educating children.
Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!
