Low-income schools + many students - motivated Teachers = A need for someone like you

(http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs009/1101793155518/archive/1102563242266.html)




We constantly hear in the news (at least I do as a metro Detroit resident) that schools are closing because they just can’t afford to stay open. When I hear that more schools are closing, this makes me think of all the students that need to be bused further away from their home schools if they want to continue their education. It also makes me think of how hard it must be if these kids must then be crammed into other classes like the one below, where some students don’t even get a desk because classes are so overcrowded.

(http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ed-cuts20-2009sep20,0,2312077.story)

But, despite the fact that some classes become overcrowded, this is not really the norm, especially in low income districts. And, even more, especially not in higher level grades like 12th grade. By then, most of the students will have already dropped out. When I think of high school graduation, I think of it being a necessity in order to get a decent job. Hell, when I think of getting a good job, I wonder if an undergraduate degree is even sufficient. Right now, I am on the verge of graduating from college and wonder what it is that I will do once I graduate. So, why aren’t high schoolers getting it? Why don’t they push themselves to get to graduation? Do they just not care? From what I have learned in the Teach for America application process and in reading numerous articles in developmental psychology as well as on the news on this subject, these kids do care, or at least want to care. The problem is that the kids either aren’t challenged enough, and when they are challenged, they are not given the support they need to reach those high expectations. When they aren’t challenged they either know it and feel that they are being treated like kids; they feel that they are undermined. Or, they think that they are up to par, and then they find out when they get a difficult teacher, that they have been betrayed all these years, that they really don’t know what they thought they knew, and then they start to feel like they aren’t smart enough to make it any further. They feel that they are too far behind, and begin to think that it’s not worth pushing forward if they are going to keep failing. So, they quit. Like many of their parents, they end up dropping out of high school, getting a minimum wage job, and live pay check to paycheck like much of the rest of America.

But, is this what they want? No. Who wants to struggle? I’m going to venture to say, no one. Therefore, these kids need to be challenged every step of the way. And, when they fail, someone needs to be there for them to say, “it’s alright. We’ll work together on this. You can do it.” Therefore, motivated, dedicated, caring teachers need to go into the classroom and turn things around. But many question whether it’s really worth becoming a teacher.

Sure, being a teacher can be difficult. That’s why so many teachers drop out of the field within the first few years of teaching. According to Mei-Lin Chang of Ohio State University (UM fans, don’t hate me for using an OSU scholar’s argument!), studies have shown that as many as 40% of teachers will completely change professions within 5 years of starting teaching. This phenomenon of joining the profession and feeling the need to leave is referred to as burnout. So, why do teachers leave the profession? My family argues that teachers don’t get paid enough to deal with “those” rude kids who don’t value education. Madeline Justice & Sue Espinoza argue in their article “Emotional Intelligence and Beginning Teacher Candidates” in the scholarly journal Education. that reasons for burnout include “low salaries,…working conditions, classroom discipline, administrative support, extensive paperwork, lack of respect, lack of parental involvement, and…few career advancement opportunities” (Justice & Espinosa, 2007).

But, beyond the difficulties, there are benefits to being a teacher. If you agree with my coworker Marc, one of the greatest perks of being a teacher is getting that all that vacation time. If you get a run-of-the-mill job, expect 2-3 weeks of vacation a year. If you are a teacher, expect about 3 months of vacation a year. Then, there is the perk that you get health, dental, and vision benefits, not to mention paid leave. But, as most teachers will probably tell you, money and benefits are not the best benefits of being a teacher. If a teacher has the right attitude and emotional abilities, positive emotions are often the best reward. As found by Izhar Oplatka in his June 2007 journal article in The Teaching Record, “[w]hen teachers were asked about what they find satisfying in their jobs, they spontaneously refer to emotions of joy, wonder, and excitement.” One of the reason Teach for America targets the top college students is because they are passionate about the fields they went to college for, and when they get to instruct about what they love, their satisfaction and their students motivation both rise substantially. Therefore, if you have want the highest paying, easiest job in the world, don’t teach. But if you want to make a difference in the world and see graduation ceremonies with seats filled for all students, not just half of them, teach. If you want other students to have the same options that you had, teach. If you want to make a difference in the world, and make a decent (albeit, not rich) living, teach. Otherwise, without your passion and dedication, students will continue to fall behind, and graduation ceremonies will continue to look like the one in the image shown below.

(http://who-will-kiss-the-pig.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html)