Teachers’ Feelings About Education

Are you in public education? How do you feel about your job, salary, and various policies and testing going on in public schools today?

I think politicians and other writers of policies have no idea what it is truly like to be in the classroom, with kids ranging the gamut in ability, comprehension, background, etc., and having to get through certain concepts / ideas / lessons in 45 minutes. Though some may be well-intentioned, having some experience in the classroom should be required of anyone making decisions about our education system.

Often times as teachers, we get handed down new rules that look really good on paper, with great ideals of what will happen and our first reaction is “what planet are these people from?” Sure, it always sounds wonderful on paper, and implementing in the classroom, with 25-35 kids, is a whole different ballgame. Now we are not dealing with numbers and facts, but with a certain amount of unpredictable factors that, more than not, throw all good planning aside for on-the-spot adjustment and adaptation.

That’s what makes a good teacher too. Planning and ability to adapt to students.

I ran across poll results of surveys conducted with teachers K-12 throughout the country.

Discipline:   My school & its discipline policy

Clearly stated, consistently enforced:         1995: 43%        2008: 38%
Clearly stated, NOT consistently enforced: 1995: 46%        2008: 50%
NOT clearly stated:                                      1995: 9%          2008: 11%

A slight negative trend regarding discipline enforcement in school. My experience in our school is that the kids themselves have progressively become more rude and disrespectful in general, with a lack of pride in their work, desire to put up effort rather than what they like to call “good enough,” and also a lack of respect for anything in the classroom. By that I mean writting on desks, breaking supplies, having to be asked to throw something away rather than leaving it on the table or on the floor, not picking up something that falls on the floor, etc. Details maybe, but very noticeable in my years of teaching -and we are still considered a somewhat “small” school at just over 700 kids this year. (high school) 

I’d like to also point out that we have some tremendous kids, who are respectful and behave in what I would consider to be normal, descent human being manner.

Teacher Satisfaction:   very/fairly satisfied, in 2008

Quality of teaching                                    81%
Professional development opportunities   71%
Class size                                                  53%
Salaries, benefits                                       45%
Discipline, behavior                                  36%
Level of stress                                           25%

No Child Left Behind (NCLB):        its effect on education

Positive            2003: 22%             2008: 10%
Neutral             2003: 26%             2008: 21%
Negative          2003: 39%              2008: 64%
Not sure          2003: 13%              2008: 5%

64% of teachers today think NCLB is having a negative impact on public education! You can count my vote in there as well.

Here are a couple more noteworthy facts.

Teachers feeling that students are being tested too frequently: 71%
Schools put too much emphasis on preparing for state accountability tests: 69%

This past May, for the entire month, there was not one single day with all of my students in the classroom. Not one! Covering a new concept with half the class means you’ll have to cover it again 3 to 5 times with individual students are they rejoin you class. Same goes with reviewing for semester exam. It’s extremely frustrating. I’ve had conversations with teachers at my school who basically quite teaching at the end of April because of this.

During the end of May, students were gone for:

• TAKS;  3 full days with entire school, then singled out classifications (Fr. Soph. Jr.). This spreads over a good 2 weeks.
• Benchmark tests; individual teachers’ testing
• AP tests: extended 1/2 day testing, am and pm. 
• Field trips: UIL, Band, Theater, Sports
• EOC: End Of Course Exam (different from semester exam)

During all this, we are often times reminded as teachers that the “year is not over” and we are expecting to keep teaching until the last day… hmmm…

And then off course, the last 4 days of the month are spent administering Semester Exams, which we have reviewed the best we could amidst the rest of all the happenings.

These poll results fairly support what I see to be true at my school: too much testing, too much emphasis on standardized tests, downward trend in behavior and discipline, and raising stress levels for teachers, not to mention a growing dissatisfaction with education in general, both from teachers and students.