I’ve written a number of articles about a growing teacher shortage and about the need to use compensation as one way to address that shortage.
While I certainly believe teachers should be paid significantly more, Nashville education blogger TC Weber makes a great point about pay and the overall climate of teaching in a recent blog post.
Here’s his argument:
I oft talk about our failure to consider unintended consequences when developing policy, in this case, the unintended consequences inflicted are staffing issues. You can call it a “shortage”, or a “lack of people willing to do the job for the current rate of pay”, either way, schools are facing increasing staffing challenges partially due to the micromanaging of teachers. One principal told me that this has been the most difficult year for staffing in their 20-plus years of service. I know that’s an anecdotal tale, but when all anecdotes have the same thread and are credited to long-term professional educators, you might want to listen.
Most of the focus for attrition has been placed on salaries, and while wages have been chronically low for all too long, it ain’t all about money. Look at it this way, if I’m paying you $100 dollars a day to repeatedly beat you with a baseball bat, you are going to tire of it quickly. So then when you are about ready to quit, I raise the rate to $1000. You look at the money and try to convince yourself that for that kind of money you could handle getting beat with a bat all day. But, after a little while, it’ll start to sink in, you don’t want to get hit with a bat for any amount of money. That’s where we live with teachers.
A logical person would listen and try to figure out how to make the position a little more palpable. Maybe only one whack per hour, or maybe a softer bat. Something that would make people think, “Yea, I can do this.” and then allow them to do it.
MORE from Weber on the state of education in Tennessee>
Librarians Strike Back
One Tennessee librarian took to the pages of American Libraries to explain the plight of librarians as it relates to the current “culture war” being won by proponents of evangelical exceptionalism at the Tennessee General Assembly.
Here’s some of what Nashville’s Lindsey Kimery has to say about the attack on the librarians inside our public schools:
We can’t help but see school libraries and school librarians as collateral damage in the wake of midterm elections and extremism against public education. Being a school librarian is an honorable profession, but some have attempted to align it with criminality. We know we are trained professionals, and we work tirelessly to tailor our collections to our students’ needs and the needs of our school communities.
The chilling effect of this legislation will linger as we watch and wait for what’s next; though the bill is dead for the rest of the year, it could resurrect in some form next year. School librarians and administrators may feel pressure to think twice about purchasing materials for our LGBTQIA+ students and for students of the global majority who are minorities in their own communities. Their narratives have been especially targeted by supporters of this legislation. School librarians are concerned about the level of support they will receive from their school district should they face a book challenge. In January, the graphic novel Maus was removed from the curriculum by the McMinn County School Board, and Newbery winner Walk Two Moons was removed from the curriculum in Williamson County. What will be the first book to be removed at the state level?
What will be the first book to be removed at the state level? That is, indeed, a fair question.
Indeed, another fair question: Will the relentless attacks on our public schools by the like of Gov. Bill Lee and his acolytes pave a clear path to a fully funded school voucher scheme?