[etni] compromise solution
- From: "Debora Siegel" <deborass@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Etni" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 09:10:19 +0200
Dear fellow teachers,
I have been trying to think up a creative compromise agreement that could get
us back into the classrooms with dignity. This is what I came up with:
The teachers agree to lengthening their classroom hour to 55 minutes instead of
45 minutes -- that's an increase of twenty percent classroom time but it's a
minimal increase of preparation and grading time. Planning a 45 minute class
and a 55 minute class is different but not that different and grading is the
same. In return for these extra ten minutes we would get an immediate 20% pay
rise and agree to return to work. In reality we wouldn't have gained anything
-- as we will be teaching more frontal hours for that amount of money but
remember that frontal hours is less than half of our work -- and we would all
be earning 20 % more. The authorities might agree because suddenly they are
getting a longer school day -- the increased teaching time they are demanding
-- just not in teh form of more hours but in longer hours...
Another suggestion I have has to do with new teachers. Most new teachers leave
the system within the first three years because of the low salary and because
of the stress. Obviously salary for new teachers has to increase but that's
not enough as it does not deal with the stress that breaks new teachers (and
old ones). Teaching has to be recognized as an art that takes many years to
master. My plan is that new teachers should be completely subsidized by the
Ministry of Education for at least two years after graduating. During this
period, the new teachers would not be assigned their own classes but instead
they would be assigned to a particular school and to a master teacher in that
school. A master teacher is a teacher who has been teaching for at least a
decade, has the correct credentials (teaching certificate / MA) and has some
kind of teaching training background such as mentoring courses or being a
department/grade head. The role of the master teacher would be as a model for
these new teachers to learn from (It is possible the new teachers could change
master teachers each year) . These new "green" teachers would be added manpower
in the school and their function would be as a second teacher in problematic or
large classes, a tutor for kids that need remedial help and as these new
teachers master the art of teaching, they would gradually be given increased
classroom teaching time but always under the direct supervision of their master
teacher. The master teachers would be given a stipend from the ministry for
their role as mentors. What I am proposing is the equivalent of a "staj" -- a
paid apprenticeship. The main difference between my plan and what happens
today is the two year training period without being responsibile for your own
classes and the fact that these new teachers are not actually employed by the
school and therefore do not take the place of experienced teachers -- they are
additional staff not replacement staff. .
What do you think???
Debora
Other related posts:
- » [etni] compromise solution