FORGET SUPERMAN
this field? I know you, my educated audience, understand that without teachers, no other profession is possible, but does Mr. Guggenheim realize that? Some believe teachers are glorified babysitters—“if you can’t do, teach…” If you have ever tried to teach anyone anything, you know it is harder to teach something than just to know it. “Hey, that is a job for slackers; they have off three months in the summer.” Really, it is two months, and most teachers I know work at another job, take courses for recertification, or spend much time preparing for the next year, plus we have professional development in the summer. “Heck, they get out by 3- or 4 PM!” No, we get paid until 3 or 4, most of us work 10-12 hours a day, plus weekends and holidays- and rarely feel caught up. Not to mention that most of the time we cannot go home to meet the cable man or the plumber, we can’t make phone calls, (personal or otherwise) during the day, most of us only get about 20-30 minutes for lunch (and no, we can’t leave the building—we are probably grading papers or making phone calls!) and we face constantly changing expectations. We have no expense account, no company car, and no Cadillac health insurance or retirement plans. Kind of like a superhero- but at least those guys get more praise (and they are called ‘super”).
People who praise Guggenheim’s movie may say that we only protest; we don’t come up with any better solutions. How about letting us take part in educational policy-making, paying us what we are worth (or at least better), overhauling crumbling facilities, giving us manageable class sizes, or giving us appropriate resources? Don’t expect that every school needs exactly the same thing. We don’t expect that all of our students have the same needs. Don’t assume that every person looking for a second career can teach. Why doesn’t American society treat teaching as a job of honor? Do we need more money in education? YES! Will that fix all of the problems? Probably not, but it is a start. Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon both had a an seemingly inexhaustible bank account that allowed them to create new crime fighting materials, plus they both had respect and support from the community.
Instead of waiting for Superman to save us, let’s turn our attention to the thousands of Batmen and Bat-Women who help students achieve against almost insurmountable odds. Batman was most successful when he had help from others. Provide teachers with the support they need. Provide them with solid leadership, adequate resources, and a supportive community. Implement a fair evaluation system that would weed out teachers who don’t belong in the classroom. Work with us, not against us, to fix the system. Instead of throwing up your hands and giving up, or throwing out the whole system, be proactive; help out in your local schools. Get to know your kids’ teachers. Get to know the school community. Be like Alfred, help Batman achieve amazing feats—after all, it is your children he (and the rest of us) are trying to save!
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Virginia Educational Leadership
Vol. 8 No. 1
Spring 2011
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