Isn't it great to be a teacher?

from http://perceptionvsfact.com/13to 

Yes, it is great to be a teacher. However, unless you are a teacher or know one very well, it's probably not for the reasons you think. The one example that I am constantly having to explain to people is the whole misunderstanding about the summer pay thing.

"Isn't it great to be a teacher and have a paid summer vacation every year?" asks a person I just met when she/he finds out I am a teacher. 

I explain that the money I get paid is deferred from what I earn during the school year. Much like a pension or Social Security, it helps me make it through a time I would not normally be earning a salary. Also, it helps most districts to spread payments out over the year. Win-win, right?

But what happens if the district is in financial trouble and runs out of money before paying the deferred salary to teachers? This is not a hypothetical question. It is happening right now in Detroit. And state politicians are having a hard time understanding why the teachers are worried about their summer pay.

Let's do the math. Imagine a Detroit teacher works for 9 months, September to May, for $36,000 (These are rough estimates. I am simplifying the problem to make it easier to follow.) The teacher can take the payment across 9 months, $4,000 per month, or 12 months, $3,000 per month. If a teacher in Detroit chose to spread her pay over 12 months and the district runs out of money at the end of June, then she will receive 10 months of pay or $30,000 of the $36,000 she earned. This translates to 7 1/2 months of teaching or through the middle of last month (April). In other words, if the legislature does not come through with the necessary funds, Detroit teachers have already worked for roughly 10 days for free. 

The governor's office tells teachers not to worry - that a $715 million aid package is moving through the legislation. Unfortunately, according to the New York Times: 

A year ago, Mr. Snyder, a Republican, proposed a $715 million aid package for the Detroit district, but it has been bogged down in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

No wonder Detroit teachers feel too sick to go to school.

Oh, Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!

Update [5/4/2016]: I was a bit off with my estimation of connivence, but it was close.

Update [5/5/2016]: Michigan House approves $500 million funding plan for Detroit Public Schools - but there are concerns.

Who you gonna call?

Please excuse me for sharing another story about my father. I promise to return to writing about teaching and learning soon. But as I process Dad's passing and what comes next, it's hard to concentrate on anything else. Besides, this story seems appropriate for Teacher Appreciation Week.

Dad and Kathy at the house

The other day I was agonizing about cleaning out the family home. Dad did nearly all of the work last year. I just needed to finish the job. Some of the furniture was coming to live with us, and a few other pieces were going up to our cabin. The rest was either going to charity or to the dump. I had talked to a local charity about stopping by to pick up a few of the gently-used items, but I was struggling with making a decision about how to dispose of the remaining pieces.

There were too many choices. I could try taking it to the dump myself, or hire a dumpster, or call a hauling company to pick it up. Paralysis crept in and nothing was getting done. Then I remembered a receipt in my dad's papers for "Acme" Hauling. He had done some business with them during the initial clean-up - twice. Dad obviously trusted this company, so I decided to call.

It was the right call. The owner answered and he agreed to give me an estimate. As I was getting ready to say good bye, ...

Owner: I was sad to read about your dad's passing.

Me: Thanks. [I was getting good at this - keep it short and end the conversation]

Owner: I went to MSHS. My name is "John Doe" and your dad was one of my math teachers.

Me: Oh, hi "John". [Can I hang up now?]

John: I wasn't the best student in school. I got into a lot of trouble. But I liked your Dad. He always gave me a fair chance. No matter what happened the day before, each class was a fresh start. I never had a teacher like that before. It's probably not surprising that math was my best class in high school.

Me: [silence - I bet you can guess why]

John: Anyways, call me when you want me to stop by and give you an estimate.

Me: Okay. Thanks.

Later, I told Kathy that I had learned a valuable lesson that day: Trust Dad. Who would Dad call? When possible, one of his former students. Someone he had built a positive relationship with and prepared for future success.

Dad and the MSHS Science Olympiad Team

Thanks, Dad, for another life lesson.

What matters?

August 2014 - my dad, Charles, was diagnosed with a stage four, glioblastoma multiforme. Because Mom had passed away almost two years earlier and my brother resides in another state, Dad came to live with us. It made sense. Dad has had University of Michigan season football tickets for over twenty years, and cancer was not going to keep him from watching his beloved Wolverines. Although an aggressive treatment of radiation and chemotherapy left him weak, he went to every 2014 home game except for the night game against Penn State (its start time was after what had become his bedtime). The only other concern Dad had besides Michigan Football was that he not be a burden. When I asked him what his goals were during his time with us, he said, "I want you and Kathy to be successful." That was easier said than done. 

Having a stage four cancer patient in your home is difficult. When it's your strongly independent father, even more so. Kathy and I knew we were in over our heads, so we sought out and got support. Still, we were not being as successful as we had planned before Dad's diagnosis. In particular, my teaching was not getting the attention I typically give it. Feedback drafts were being given back later and later. And a teaching experiment I wanted to conduct was placed on hold. My Grand Valley colleagues and administration were extremely supportive and understanding, but I felt like I was not attending to Dad's wish.

December 2014 - my first grandchild, Vance Charles, was born. He and his parents live about an hour away, which means we get to see him quite often. Because my dad was having a hard time getting around, the new family usually came to our house to visit. Dad always lit up when he saw his great-grandson. One day, Dad and I even got to babysit. We had a great time, but when I returned to my papers and planning, I asked myself, "Am I being successful?"

After spending an amazing morning with my father and my grandchild, I hated that question and all it represented. In retrospect, I do not blame my dad for planting the idea of "success" into my thoughts. He was a teacher, too, and he was simply passing along the message that teachers get in our culture: "Your teaching matters more than anything else in your life." Truth be told, he didn't plant it. I had heard it before, but the present circumstances seemed to make it all the more powerful.

A few years back, I attended a panel discussion where a group of superintendents talked about (then) pending tenure reforms in Michigan. The audience was mostly preservice secondary teachers and one superintendent was particularly vocal about doing away with tenure. His point went something like this: "New, young teachers work hard. After awhile, though, around the time you get tenure, you often get married and have kids and then you might start slacking on your teaching. Without tenure, you'll have to keep working hard - no slacking off." I was incensed at this message that teaching was more important than family, but here I was giving it to myself. So, with the help of my friends and colleagues, I gave myself a break and made my family a priority.

Dad passed away earlier this week. Until the end, he and Vance had an amazing bond. Life is such an incredible journey, and we have so much to learn from our traveling companions. Dad taught me so much about being a parent, a partner, and a teacher. And I'm sure Vance will continue teaching me in the years to come. Together they have shown me what matters.

When it comes to my relationship with Dad, I firmly believe we experienced success.

Where's the fire?

I was reminded today of the study from Darley and Batson (1973) about some students at Princeton Theological Seminary. From the abstract:

Examined ... the helping behavior of 40 theology students in an emergency situation suggested by the parable of the Good Samaritan. Ss going between 2 buildings encountered a shabbily dressed person slumped by the side of the road. Ss in a hurry to reach their destination were more likely to pass by without stopping. Some Ss were going to give a short talk on the parable of the Good Samaritan, others on a nonhelping relevant topic; this made no significant difference in the likelihood of their giving the victim help. ...

What I had forgotten, or failed to notice before, was the role that being in a hurry had on the students' choices in regards to the person in need. Here is one person's summary of the results:

Overall 40% offered some help to the victim. In low hurry situations, 63% helped, medium hurry 45% and high hurry 10%. ...

And the conclusion:

Ironically, a person in a hurry is less likely to help people, even if he is going to speak on the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Some literally stepped over the victim on their way to the next building!). The results seem to show that thinking about norms does not imply that one will act on them. Maybe that "ethics become a luxury as the speed of our daily lives increases". Or maybe peoples cognition was narrowed by the hurriedness and they failed to make the immediate connection of an emergency. Many subjects who did not stop did appear aroused and anxious when the arrived at the second site. 

They were in a conflict between helping the victim and meeting the needs of the experimenter. Conflict rather than callousness can explain the failure to stop. 

This brought to mind the conflict teachers are facing with the end of the year rapidly approaching: preparing students versus nurturing learners. There is content to cover, content that will be on next year's standardized-test, and teachers want their students to be adequately prepared because the school's adequate yearly progress may be at stake. But the teachers also recognize that all this cramming is taking the joy out of learning, and many of these teachers would rather be exploring content with their learners rather than force feeding it to them. What wins out? Well, there are high-stakes and very little time.

Are we, as teachers, stepping over the victim (students) to meet some important appointment we think we must meet (curriculum)?

One last connection before I let you have your say. An old friend used to remind me whenever I was complaining about all I had to get done, "there is enough time." When I would begin to argue, listing all the important stuff I still had to do, he would reply with something like this:

"The only thing you HAVE to do today is breathe in and breathe out. You could survive the day without food or water or sleep. The things you have listed are things you want to do - things you or others find urgent. But at the end of the day, everything that must get done gets done, and that begins and ends with breathing. Anything else you accomplish is just frosting on the cake." 

So teachers, please take a breath, slow down, enjoy Teacher Appreciation Week, and accept that everything that needs to get done will get done.