Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Just one mom's opinion about our teacher's strike...

Amidst the chaos of our second teacher's strike, our little small town has been completely split right down the middle. It seems, everyone has an opinion about this topic and is voicing it -right down to the grocery store clerk or the gas attendant. What I've been seeing from the majority is, the taxpayers seem to have only picked the side of the board or the teachers. Social media battles enveloped over who is right and which side is wrong. But my question is, what about the students?

We are one of the few states left that allow for a strike during the school year. I'm not sure of all the logistics, but I think they can take somewhere up to 5 weeks off? Or, whatever number allows the district to get in their 180 days... The strike begun September 22 and could last up to October 19 --leaving a few extra days to strike again before the school year ends...

The demands from the teachers are as followed...


(The blotted out items are only names, the obstruction doesn't block out the points).

I'm not even going to touch on those demands, because they are not the point of this post. I do have an issue with the teachers union demanding free healthcare in 2017 and expecting the taxpayers to pay for it. Especially when taxpayers have to pay for their own insurance. And so do police officers, firemen, and EMTs. But on the flipside, I don't believe anyone, in the number 1 industrialized country in the world, should have to pay for their healthcare. So, I kind of respect the union for holding their stance... See, I'm torn with morality and personal opinion based on jealously -so, I stay out of the mess and only care about the children because, that's a lot more clear cut. Because, this is all supposed to be about the children anyways --that's why we're all here discussing this in the first place. 

Now, this is only my opinion, take it with a grain of salt... But I would never defend anyone saying to dismantle the unions. Unions are who shaped our world. They gave us the 40 hour work week, holidays, sick time, and personal time, and many other working perks. And, I even defend their right to strike, as a whole, even if I don't agree with some of the reasons...

Teachers, in theory, are the future of our children. They will be the ones who educate and teach them the knowledge regarding school work. Plus for some families, they're with the child more than the parents. So, those teachers who inspire and respect the students and go above and beyond for them (the way a family member would), deserve everything they're asking for and more. Because, those special teachers pick right up, where the parents leave off. 

But lets be real here, there isn't a high percentage like this...

That's where my next point comes in, if they remove tenure and only raise salaries based on merit, I'd bet you'd see a lot of changes within the education system. Plus, you would save money, because not everyone would be raising their pay at the same time and on the same scale. And some, not at all.

Tenure has seem to create an over-confident, arrogant branch of teachers (for some teachers). A group who aren't scared of parents or ruining a child's love for school. They're robotic in nature and have very little tolerance of what a child's normal behavior pattern should be. They want order and control and are responsible for the unschooling movement of trying to prevent a square peg child to fit into a circle hole...

A teacher has the innate ability to make or break a child, but when we keep putting these "bad teachers" in the rotation, by allowing them the advancements of free higher education and more pay, we're cutting our children short on giving them the right to have a better teacher hired instead. Especially when, you have to shuffle a "bad teacher" among different schools and grades because, they can't be fired without jumping through hoops... Again, the children are the only ones who suffer.

In fact, there is no other profession out there that has the potential to harm a child's character or help a child flourish, all at the same time.

With all that, I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want the greatest of teachers to have everything to motivate them to stay great. The same way a sahm or working mom wants recognition for how important their roles really are. There should be a way to separate these types of teachers... 

But what I want, and I think any parent would want, is for those "bad teachers" to be held accountable. To have them stop being the weak link who give great teachers a bad name. Those teachers who brag about failing kids (newsflash, if a child fails in your class, you're a failure of a teacher, especially in a wealthy district like ours where advantages are high). And those who follow blindly with the herd and the ones who won't created new ideas because it's what they've been doing for years. The ones who embarrass students in front of a crowded classroom. The ones who shame students for not knowing answers. Or, the ones who no longer inspire students, who do not move forward with the times, trends, or interests... Because, I'm pretty sure when parents are taking the Board's side in this argument, this is the image of teacher's they're fighting against. And that's not fair to the ones who truly are wonderful.

And well, I know the administration is to blame on other financials areas that my brain isn't even aware of. But the ones I am aware of are, turfing a baseball field (even professionals don't play on a turf field), installing a top of the line walk way to the parking lot (which will be ripped up to build the new school), and somehow, we pay one of the highest taxes in our area, but yet, there doesn't ever seem to be enough money...

I posted a blog at the end of last year, talking about the perks of our school (Last day of school... ) I still believe all that to be true. And I won't let a few bad apples cloud my opinion of how good this district really is. And when I say that, I'm not talking about our test scores or rankings. I'm talking about its structure and implemented design. Because, I give a lot of the credit of high test scores and rankings to the parents/caregivers. We have one of the highest numbers of stay at home parents and our parents are actively involved on a daily basis with all school functions. So much, that there is a raffle to chaperone field trips... 

Parents are the ones left at the end of the day to teach the information to the children, because somehow, 7 hours a day, just isn't long enough to teach. Somehow, on an elementary level (2nd grade to be exact), students are forced to miss a recess to finish assignments, because for some reason, there isn't enough time. Homework is given, without having time to even touch on the topic, but parents are forced to figure it out and teach it to their children --thanks to google.

Parents deserve a lot of the credit...

We as a community, are tight-knit. Adults still attend sporting events, even though their children graduated in the 90s. Families have raised generations here and still remain here. Everyone knows everybody and kids of past classmates are overlapping once again.

There isn't a need for all this divide. There isn't a need for adults to be bullying each other and acting the same way, we as parents, are trying to prevent our children from acting.

Something obviously needs to change and one of the sides will need to budge. And right now, it doesn't look as if either side will. But like I stated in the post I wrote back in June (Last day of school...), what I fear will happen if they do give in to the teachers, is a lot of the perks that we have and make us stand out from the other districts, will eventually fall to the waste side. -Because, you just cannot get blood from a stone.

And my hope is, those parents who tell me stories about how teachers have mistreated their children and the disrespect they endured -the shaming and demeaning etc, will fight for change within the district. And the teachers who deserve the praise, get a public standing ovation.

For me, I personally do not care how long this strike lasts. I love being home with my child anyways. I love teaching her. I love the idea of unschooling and teaching her through experience. So I will never complain about that... I do feel for the working parents though, and I'm sorry for what you're going through... And, I won't even complain about going to school until June 30th either. But, I will complain and refuse to send my child over Christmas holiday break... Because, I will not allow the district to break up my family traditions and holiday get-together dinners, just to make up days that weren't even my decision to miss in the first place. 

And most importantly, remember parents, your children are always watching and listening to you. They're always going to emulate your modeled behaviors because, they admire you. So keep it kind and civil. And don't worry so much about which side you're on (board or teacher) - it doesn't really matter anyways. Just pick the side of your child... Demand respect for your child... And when you see injustices occurring in your child's life, stand up for them. Don't worry so much about what others will think. Do not care what the teachers will say about you while they're lining up in single file lines outside the main door, one minute before their contractual start time. Don't worry about what they'll say about you while they're locking kids out in the hallways because, they're wearing matching slogan shirts and gabbing about the strike. Don't worry about what they are saying about you, while they're on Facebook during class time, instead of helping your child... 

And don't worry about what the Board will say about you either, because they're trying to keep up public ratings...

Don't worry about any of it...

Because during all this, they're not worrying about you.


*Here's another link I wrote about the strike last year... After our 5 week strike...

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