[etni] Re: Don't pity the teachers by Amotz Asa -El
- From: "Adele Raemer and Laurie Levy" <raemer@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <rnantb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2007 18:39:26 +0200
I have just written a reply (pasted below) however it is too long to fit in
the talk back. I have sent it as an attachment to the JP - we'll see if they
publish it.
Adele
In response to Amotz El-Asa's article: Middle Israel: Don't Pity the
Teachers
Ran Erez may not be a saint, and the politicians may not be geniuses, but it
doesn't need a genius to understand the following:
* If we want our kids to learn, we need to put a cap on classroom
size (not at 35 like Dovrat suggested. have YOU ever taught a group of 35
kids?! No more than 22-25 per classroom are what is needed for the teacher
to be able to give children what they need.)
* If we want our kids to learn, we need to get the best and the
brightest people into the teaching field.
* If we want the best and the brightest to become teachers, we need
to make it worth their while! And if I need to spell it out, we are talking
about their payslips. And the fact that you dare compare us to "beggars
displaying their disfigurements" shows exactly the status we teachers have
come to have in this country.
* If we were paid what we are worth, we would not have to hold down
additional jobs in order to put food on our tables - rather, we would have
the time to invest properly in lesson plans that address the needs of our
pupils: challenging our brightest and enabling our learning disabled to
overcome the obstacles that stand in their ways; we would have time for more
communication with parents, to all work on the same side, helping their
children to excel.
* 3 months of paid vacation! Hah! That's a joke! Have you ever heard
of the saying "Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." (John Cotton
Dana). Aside from the work that we do at school AFTER June 20th, when
classes break, we spend our summers taking in-service courses to improve
ourselves professionally and re-energize our batteries; which have been
completely worn down by the end of the school year. (And you do NOT want a
worn-down, burnt out teacher, teaching your kid!) We spend it doing
preparation for the coming year, going over what we will be teaching and
taking advantage of the time that we don't have during the school year, to
invest in special activities to inspire and motivate our students. And if
there is ANY time left, many of us spend the additional hours, again, at
other jobs in order to make ends meet. (How many families do YOU know that
have both parents teachers? Not many, unfortunately - they just can't afford
it!)
* I invite you to my home - or that of any other of my colleagues.:
after school hours, Fridays and- yes- for the non-religious among us - even
Saturdays. You will find me- more often than not, doing school-related work.
Ask a teacher how many times he/she has stayed up till the wee hours of the
night to mark those exams / finish preparing the lesson plans for the coming
day.
Come and walk a mile. a kilometer. even a few meters in our shoes. Come and
teach a class of 40 hyperactive, unmotivated kids, with raging hormones, and
parents who respect me- and my profession- as much as YOU seem to... I doubt
you will stay for very long. You have much better options than "merely"
being a teacher.
Adele Raemer
EFL teacher and teacher counselor
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