My First Day Back:
My first day back is always good after winter break. It seems the students are more mature and ready to learn unlike September when they wearily look out the window planning their escape at 2:45. First graders always have plenty to tell me after their time off. I am amazed how many actually say they miss me and tell me they love me and how they just couldn't wait for school to begin again. That usually lasts about a day when we get right down to business. We are a lucky country that we put a high value on our children and education and provide the best possible environment for them to grow. We give them the opportunity to believe and hope to become someone and then provide the resources to meet their dreams. I've included my picture today of me when I was in first grade. I wanted to be a teacher then. That later changed to becoming a veterinarian, a pediatrician, a dentist, an artist and a scientist. I had the grades 3.8 GPA in college with a major in science. The determining factor came to me one day when I decided I wanted to make a difference, not an income. Not too many years ago you could make that type of decision to work for the greater good. I read lately that the average teacher will leave college owing $30,000 in student loans with beginning pay only $33,000 per year. Today, many new teachers I know end up moving back home with their parents in order to pay for their loans, make a car payment, and then face paying for their coursework right away for a Master's Degree or Professional Certification or National Board Certification. These advanced degrees and self accreditations, take all the extra time a teacher has which doesn't leave much for life. What happens to young teachers who are not able to move back home after college? They get a job in the private sector. The bottom line is public policy makers say there is a crisis and we don't have enough highly qualified math and science teachers, well we don't have very many teachers period. The students who graduated with math and science degrees led the way years ago. And if new teachers didn't find a way to leave, we are burning out the young ones on endless trainings and have-to requirements from No Child Left Behind that leave little to make rent payments on a cheap apartment. As my own boys enter and finish their college education, it was okay if they didn't want to become a teacher, as much as I love what I do and have a vision to contribute to society, it is a price I know they cannot pay. They are biology majors wanting to work in the pharmacy industry and firefighters, and electrical engineers. They will find success, have some outside time and extra money to enjoy life in balance. It's all because they had good public schools, good teachers and they more than likely didn't want to move home with me.
My first day back is always good after winter break. It seems the students are more mature and ready to learn unlike September when they wearily look out the window planning their escape at 2:45. First graders always have plenty to tell me after their time off. I am amazed how many actually say they miss me and tell me they love me and how they just couldn't wait for school to begin again. That usually lasts about a day when we get right down to business. We are a lucky country that we put a high value on our children and education and provide the best possible environment for them to grow. We give them the opportunity to believe and hope to become someone and then provide the resources to meet their dreams. I've included my picture today of me when I was in first grade. I wanted to be a teacher then. That later changed to becoming a veterinarian, a pediatrician, a dentist, an artist and a scientist. I had the grades 3.8 GPA in college with a major in science. The determining factor came to me one day when I decided I wanted to make a difference, not an income. Not too many years ago you could make that type of decision to work for the greater good. I read lately that the average teacher will leave college owing $30,000 in student loans with beginning pay only $33,000 per year. Today, many new teachers I know end up moving back home with their parents in order to pay for their loans, make a car payment, and then face paying for their coursework right away for a Master's Degree or Professional Certification or National Board Certification. These advanced degrees and self accreditations, take all the extra time a teacher has which doesn't leave much for life. What happens to young teachers who are not able to move back home after college? They get a job in the private sector. The bottom line is public policy makers say there is a crisis and we don't have enough highly qualified math and science teachers, well we don't have very many teachers period. The students who graduated with math and science degrees led the way years ago. And if new teachers didn't find a way to leave, we are burning out the young ones on endless trainings and have-to requirements from No Child Left Behind that leave little to make rent payments on a cheap apartment. As my own boys enter and finish their college education, it was okay if they didn't want to become a teacher, as much as I love what I do and have a vision to contribute to society, it is a price I know they cannot pay. They are biology majors wanting to work in the pharmacy industry and firefighters, and electrical engineers. They will find success, have some outside time and extra money to enjoy life in balance. It's all because they had good public schools, good teachers and they more than likely didn't want to move home with me.
No comments:
Post a Comment