Teachers or Baby Sitters?
How important is the profession of elementary education? How difficult is it? Could you do it? How much do teachers deserve to get paid?
I think a lot of people have the belief that elementary education is very important but not that difficult. Paradoxically, many people in the field say it is very difficult and impossible to be prepared for the first day of teaching. Interestingly, these two views and the questions posed above are all actually related. They are symptoms of a larger problem, a problem of ideology (if we take ideology as a system of beliefs, political or otherwise).
What We Believe: Teacher are Baby Sitters
For the most part we look at education of the youngest of students as banking. Teachers, those who possess knowledge, deposit knowledge in to students. When we think of a classroom we usually think of a room, chairs in rows, with the teacher in the front dispensing information. The students are learning if they are quiet.
What ideas or beliefs are we harboring if we think the above scenario is ideal? It shows that we think elementary students are empty vessels, sponges, just waiting to absorb knowledge. This ignores motivation and all of the factors that may contribute to it, as well as the prior knowledge, experiences, and dreams students enter the classroom with.
If you enter a classroom or if you think back to your own elementary years you will agree that what I am saying is true. Teachers have teacher’s guides and all kinds of programs that map out exactly what teachers should be covering and when they should be covering it. This seems great except that everybody--yes every child--is different. What works well for one student or for one group of students does not work well with other students. But since we believe that every child is a blank slate, we believe that a program that works well for one should work well for all. And since we think teachers simply have to deposit knowledge, we give them guides, and since they are following guides in this easy task of education, they really don’t need a high quality education, and since they aren’t well educated and they are not working all that hard they don’t deserve very much money. It’s all connected. And it becomes a cycle.
The Truth: Teachers are Baby Sitters
There is a saying, “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach; and those who can’t teach, teach PE.” People hear this, they see the way teachers are treated, and they see how much teachers earn and they start believing that the profession truly is easy. Many people, I believe, that enter into education end up going into it because they had no other options, they think the money is good enough for the little work they will be doing, and they think working with kids will be fun. (Pet peeve of mine: when somebody answers they want to be a teacher because they love kids! Yeah you should love kids, we all should, but you can baby sit if you like kids, or perhaps that is what you think teachers are?)
So many people, but definitely not all, that enter educational programs are actually lazy, unmotivated, and do not like to take risks (they see teaching as a safe bet). These are also the people that are least likely to challenge the status quo since they think that elementary education is already good (“I made it to college,” they proclaim). So these people enter teacher programs and they find them difficult, the professors take note and so they have to reduce the work load of their courses. These teachers get to the classroom and are totally unprepared and do a horrible job their first 3, 7, or 40 years of teaching. The government, made up of non-educators, start point out inept teachers and so they require that teachers have teacher’s guides and programs in their class. The college then begins teaching to these programs rather than to the underlying philosophies behind education, and even if they had a choice, professors wouldn’t because their students wouldn’t want to read them or be able to understand the material. Then the cycle continues.
The Solution: Money is the root of all…
So how do we solve this problem? How do we end the cycle? We change our beliefs about children and education. To accomplish this, one thing the government can do is begin increasing teacher’s pay. Although, I would say that not al teachers deserve to get paid as well, yet at the same time, we can’t simply blame teachers. So, I suggest we increase their pay if they take progressive educational courses. Currently a teacher’s salary cap, with something like 10 years of experience and a master’s degree or better is $80,000. That is a good start, but definitely not enough.
We could then introduce paid sabbaticals so that teachers can continue their professional development, the way professors do.
While we are doing this, we have to improve teacher’s educational preparation at the college level. These teachers, with a better, longer, perhaps more difficult education would be paid better than the current starting salary of around $40,000. I personally don’t like waving around money as rewards for excellence, but in our society, I think it is called for.
As for this education, I would love to outline it in another blog. I would say that elementary teachers should double major, they should receive a major in educational psychology, philosophy, or the sociology of education and they should receive a degree in one area of study like Language arts, math, science, history, the fine and performing arts, etc. Rather than having one elementary teacher teaching all subjects, I think elementary schools should be like middle and high schools. Except students would not be moved around and separated every period, instead the teachers would rotate. I’ll discuss this next time.
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I've never heard anybody saying teaching was an easy job or that they went into teaching to avoid greater responsibility that another field brings. Yes, elementary school level education may be easier to teach as an adult because the subject matter is less complicated but it is not an easy job. In elementary school you are dealing with kids who are easily influenced and you are shaping them into social beings. You are teaching them basic skills, such as: reading, writing, good grammar, spelling etc. Also, at this level a lot of your basic social skills are developed. I believe it is not a teacher's job to completely shape a child or else there would be no need for parenting, but children spend a great amount of time at school.
I do agree that teachers are underappreciated for what they do. I've had teachers who have impacted me in ways that have changed my outlook on the world and others who were just there feeding me information. Teachers have guidlines to teach certain information in a given period of time because they are required to do so. In my mind, a good teacher is one that goes above and beyond what they are required in order to teach children more than just facts written in a book.
Also, having elementary school being taught like high school or even college is not a good idea. That's why we have high levels of learning.
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All the believers, they were smiling and winking at each other, I could honestly say I was scared for my life.
Perhaps what I have heard from people or what I see around me is different from yours but perhaps it is just an issue of perspective. I am currently finishing up my K-8 teaching credential and my Liberal studies/Elementary education degree and I have noticed enough around me to believe that people do feel that the teaching profession, especially elementary, is easy. I've noticed it when reports come out about the amount of money that teachers get paid (supposedly too much), or when teachers are criticized for being part of unions or for striking, and from the saying "those who can, do; those who can't, teach." I've also noticed the students around me in my college courses who complain about the work load or who change degrees because they were failing (for example going from a math or engineering major to a math teacher). I've even heard college professors tell students that they should work in low income shools or as education specialists (special education) because they make more money. Something else to think about, why are there fewer men in the lower elementary grades than women? Can it be (and I really am just guessing) that the lower grades are seen as more like nurturing or baby sitting and therefore more of a women's job?
I would also like to point out a few words that I would rather not see when speaking about children. First, children are not shaped nor molded. This makes it sound as if they are shapeless, blank slates, empty vessels waiting to be filled. This is untrue as every child will undoubtedly amalgamate external and internal stimulus (nature and nurture).
I also take issue with the term "basic skills." This is just symantics or rather pragmatics but I would prefer to call the "three r's" (reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic) foundational rather than basic. While the two terms are interchangeable, I believe "basic" carries with it the connotation "easy."
One last thing, we can have "high levels of learning" in an elementyary classroom. Even toddlers are capable of high learning, ever hear the high level questions of a child? Or how about the persuasive abilities of a three year old?
But perhaps you meant that we have different stages and these supposedly correspond to developmental stages. If that is the case, I would question the validity of our current system of education. Do children really need to see the same teacher for all 6 hours of the school day for all 180 days in the school year? And is this really the best thing to do socially? I feel that currently schools fail to create a community of learners because they have the teacher as the leader which students feel must be impressed leading them to compete against each other.
I also feel that if teachers could specialize a little bit more then students would be more likely to have their needs met. For example, I cannot play an instrument, students that come to my classroom with a musical passion or ability will not be able to receive the kind of education they deserve. So, having cohorts of students with rotating teachers would be a good option.
I would hate to think that people are going into teaching to escape harder work. I think teaching should be treated as any other level of work and people should be working hard to excel in their field.
I did not mean to say that children are just bodies with empty minds. I'm saying that at a younger age you are taught things that will help you as an adult. Such as good communication skills, sharing, treating others kindly etc. These are good skills to have as an adult. I know that every child is naturally different, but many things are learned and when I child spends hours of their day at school, it is necessary that they are getting the proper education from a good teacher.
Also, when I said "basic" I did not mean "easy." At the time, when I child is learning the "three r's," as you call them, it is extremely difficult. I've helped young children with homework before, and I know that it is very difficult. When I said basic, I mean the basic skills that most people need to succeed in the world. To move on to the next level of learning or get a job, one must learn those skills.
I think that when children are very young, they shouldn't be changing rooms every hour. Maybe in the later stages of elementary school this should happen. When I was in elementary school, we had a different teacher for music classes, one for english and math, and one for social studies and science. This happened around 4th grade. I do agree that having teachers specialize in one subject will enhance learning.
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All the believers, they were smiling and winking at each other, I could honestly say I was scared for my life.
I never thought of teaching as an easy job. Like you said, teachers have to babysit an entire classroom of kids, or adults, while teaching them. And although some subjects and some age levels will be less complicated to teach, it wont be a walkin the park. I think that teachers should help individual students at their own pace. Just by checking up on them and see if they are able to keep up with how fast the subject is being taught. I havent had a lot of teachers that do this, which is sad, but it would definately help the problem of teachers grouping students even though they are all different . Or that "those who can't , teach"? just another reason not to believe everything you hear.
The salary cap depends on your district. In the Chicago area, $80,000 is believable. In most districts, it is far below that. In some districts, with a Master's degree and thirty or more credits BEYOND a Master's degree and so many decades of teaching, you won't bring in more than $50,000.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Saying that elementary education may be easier to teach because the information is less complicated is a completely ignorant statement. I have taught Kindergarten, First, Third, and Fifth grade. I know my material as well as a highschool chemistry teacher should know his or her material. Each teacher should know their material to the point that it is uncomplicated to them. However, children develop at different rates. This is never more apparent than in an elementary school. The material we are teaching IS complicated to our students. Just like any teacher, K-12, we have to figure out how our students learn and uncomplicate it for them. Unfortunately, the state rarely takes into consideration whether elementary school-aged children are developmentally ready for the curriculum that has been set, and that is a much more difficult job. It's hard to uncomplicate something for a child when his or her brain has not developed to the point where he or she can understand the concept. This is something that Middle School and Highschool teachers have to deal with less and less as the children get older. Although, they do have to deal with their own set of problems. Bottom line, teaching is not easy, no matter what grade/age you teach.