FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Jul 31

New World For Teachers in Parts of America?

by bcurry

Let’s just say that I’m a teacher in the great state of Florida, as an example.  Each and every day I enter the school, I’m faced with a slew of state rules and regulations as to what I can teach and which non-banned books my students can read.  By not adhering to these new requirements, I could be taken to court by parents with a complaint, suggesting that I’m now “grooming” my students — whatever that means?  Or I’d simply lose my job.

Let’s not talk about teaching sex education classes, especially given the severe restrictions imposed by the state with respect to any discussion of things like sexual orientation and gender identity.  Instead, I’m forced to tread very carefully in order to adhere to guidance on topics when considered “developmentally appropriate”, which in the context of the new law has yet to defined by the state’s Department of Education as to what it actually means.  This despite the fact that public opinion surveys show significant support for sexual education in the state.  According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), such support is particularly the result of reports which show that Florida has the third-highest rate of new HIV infections in the country and is ranked 23rd for teen pregnancies.

Unfortunately, there is also a teacher shortage in most schools, including the availability of substitute teachers.  According to the Florida Education Association, the state is already facing a dire teacher shortage, with 9,000 open teaching and staff positions unfilled as the new school year begins. The shortage is severe enough that Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed a law that allows military veterans to teach without the required teaching certificate or a four-year college degree.  Maybe, we should be saluting each other in the hallways?  After years of college and teaching courses, I’m beginning to feel a little overqualified.  On top of which, Florida’s new laws have made the profession less attractive for experienced teachers and new college graduates alike.

Oh, and now I may be expected to carry a gun.  After a gunman tragically killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018, a program was started to train school staff members to serve as armed guardians.  According to state officials, there are more than 1,300 such armed guardians in 45 school districts in Florida, out of 74 in the state.  As far as I know, studies on school employees carrying guns have been limited, and research so far has found little evidence that it is effective.  However, arming teachers is obviously an approach that aligns closely with an argument that has become a hall mark of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the gun lobby: “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”  I guess that a good guy in this case is a teacher.  I just hope that no one gets accidentally shot, especially one of our students or a colleague.

Needless-to-say, the vast majority of teachers are dissatisfied with the current situation.  In addition, a teacher’s current pay is nothing to brag about.  According to the Florida Education Association, as of 2022, Florida ranks in the bottom five nationally for teacher salaries and many of its education staff professionals are deemed to be earning poverty wages.  On top of which, there is little in the way of employment security given that most teaching contracts are only for one year and there are few provisions for tenure.  The so-called “culture wars” have led to teacher firings with qualified, experienced educators getting a “pink slip” every year.  It’s hard not to consider resigning given the lack of respect, overcrowded classrooms, poor pay and the constant villainizing of teachers by state officials and radicalized parent groups.

As a reference, I would refer one to the Web site of the Florida Education Association (Teacher and Staff Shortage | Florida Education Association (feaweb.org), and to excellent articles by Lori Rozsa of The Washington Post (July 31, 2022) entitled Florida teachers race to remake lessons as DeSantis laws take effect and by Serah Mervosh of The New York Times entitled Trained, armed and ready to teach.

Education in U.S. US

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Jun 18

American Public School Teachers Facing Several Challenges Depending On Where They Teach

by bcurry

For decades now, many American primary and secondary school teachers have faced low wages and poor working conditions.  When adjusted for inflation, the national average salary for teachers has only somewhat increased over the past decade, according to the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union.  This is unlike in Canada where most teachers are members of strong provincial unions and are considered to be well paid and to have excellent benefit and retirement plans.  In many instances, there are long waiting lists for recent graduates from Canadian teachers’ colleges to become fulltime teachers.  In the U.S., several states are apparently loosing teachers for a number of reasons — low salaries being among the most important.

However, what has become more of a concern in American schools is the evident attempt within certain states, such as Florida, to inject politics into the state’s non-partisan school boards.  For example, under Governor Ron DeSantis, the Parental Rights Education Act was passed into law.  It has been dubbed by some critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill for its restrictions on what teachers can say about sexual orientation and gender identity.  Then in 2021, DeSantis signed an executive order banning school boards from enacting mask mandates during the pandemic and threatened to strip state funding from ones who did.  Such measures have encouraged some parents to replace school board trustees with more conservative members and to launch book bans within the school district.  Teachers perceived as teaching anything related to politics, race, history, gender identity and sexuality are often attacked and frequently forced to resign.  Teachers in some states believe that they are caught in the crosshairs of the current culture wars, and are increasingly being forced to leave their jobs at a time when good teachers are in short supply.

In recent years, administrators, teachers and school staff are facing increasing threats of violence to themselves and their students.  Mass school shootings, such as the most recent tragic one in Uvalde, Texas, appear to be on the increase.  Recent research by The Washington Post reveals that more than 300,000 children have experienced gun violence at school since the Columbine High School massacre of April 20, 1999.  They found that last year there were 42 school shooting incidents – more than in any year since 1999.  Already this year alone there have been 24 acts of gun violence on K-12 campuses during the school day.  Since Columbine, the total amount of children, educators and other people killed during such traumatic incidents stands at 185, with another 369 injured.  Disconcertingly, in some states, they are putting forward arguments that teachers should be armed to protect themselves and their students.

For years, many school boards and administrators supported racial equity programs in their school districts.  However, more recently, even such programs are being challenged by conservative factions to the point where plans to beef up recruitment of a diverse teaching staff, to address the implicit biases of teachers and to overhaul discipline practices are all now dead or in limbo.  The Washington Post reported that, across the U.S. last year, school board elections became the epicenter of a culture war over race.  Conservative victories led many boards to fire superintendents and curtail racial justice initiatives.  In some districts, white teachers continue to far outnumber black teachers disproportionately to the schools’ black populations.  Discussions of “systemic racism” are even no longer permitted within the school districts.

All in all, although several states have given wage hikes and signing bonuses to teachers, the ability and freedom to teach within the curriculum has been greatly restricted.  In this day and age, it is not easy being an American in the teaching profession.  They must feel that they are constantly under attack and their teaching methods questioned at every turn.  No wonder so many are contemplating leaving this worthy profession.  A sad commentary for sure!

Education Education in U.S. US

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