Originally Posted by
akiko_kalla
The problem isn't better teachers, it's better resources. I teach in the hallway, on a stage with PE going on on the other side of the curtain, in the cafeteria...and if those places are taken I teach outside. We had a business give one of my schools money to buy dictionaries because every classroom did not have a set. The focus is totally on math and reading, because of those tests, and not on learning and problem solving.
Don't get me wrong, there are teachers who shouldn't be teaching and there are people who don't care, but most of the time this is not the case. It is however, the common perception. Those who go into teaching go into it knowing we are going to be paid poorly for what we do, knowing we will have to spend hundreds of dollars to reliscense, and knowing we are going to have to put up with things like No Child Left Behind. We don't do it because it's convient, we do it because we want to help students learn and improve their lives.
The problem is, as you said, many leave the profession because of the toll it takes on your health, your life, and your finances. I have to work a second job and a few odd jobs on the side to make ends meet because I teach. And yet I still have to make sure my kids pass the assessments, perform up to their level, behave, and keep myself "highly qualified." The students where I teach often don't have food, electricity, etc. (Although oddly they have Nike shoes and Hilfiger jeans...but that's a different rant) Their parents can't help them with homework because they often don't understand it, nor do they see the point of it. They need glasses, but can't afford them, they need someone to tell them to do their homework but their parent(s) works nights, etc. Definately not the ideal situation for learning.
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