20 Things Learned about Education from Reading Online Blog Posts

Within the last six months, teachers have been vilified by politicians, media, and the general population. Specifically, public school teachers have been blamed for current economic conditions due to their “lavish” pay and benefit package and have been told they are the primary reason for a lack of student achievement on standardized tests. These are the beliefs that have help contributed to the decrease of educational funding of many school districts in a number of states. The following is a list of 20 themes that have been repeatedly emphasized by members of the general public on online blog posts of one Midwestern community newspaper. These are not the attitudes or beliefs of this author.

1. Teaching is one of the most lucrative professions. In fact, it is so lucrative that everyone is jealous and angry about exactly how much teachers make and how good are their benefits.

2. Teachers only go into education for the salary and benefits.

3. All teachers retire at the age of 55

4. Teachers really do not like children. Teachers only think of the needs of themselves and other teachers. “It is not for the children.”

5. Teaching is only a part-time job. Somehow there is a “teaching fairy” that writes lesson plans, grades papers, writes IEPs, makes phone calls to parents at night about their children, works on committees, and attends almost every function of their school at night on their own time.

6. Teaching is the cushiest job in the world. Teachers sit at their desk all day, drink coffee, write blog posts online to the local newspaper, and hand out worksheets that magically appear on their desk each morning.

7. While teachers only work 180 days a year, they also receive payment for the rest of the work days of the year just like vacation pay.

8. Teachers personally are stealing from society by being compensated for their time, expertise, and work products. In the private sector this is referred to as a wage.

9. Teachers are personally accountable for what students learn in their class to each taxpaying citizen. Each taxpayer is the boss of their child’s teacher.

10. Teachers are “owned” by the taxpayers.

11. Teacher should receive no pay but rather volunteer their services to educate other people’s children because they love children. This also helps parents in the community by providing free childcare services while they work in the “real world”.

12. While teachers also pay federal, state, and local taxes-they are not considered to be taxpayers like the rest of the general population.

13. All teachers are” thugs”.

14. All teachers belong to unions whose primary goal is to decimate the US into a country with no moral fiber.

15. Having any liberal tendencies is a very bad, bad thing. There is even a special place in hell for people who claim membership to the Democratic Party.

16. All teachers are liberals and democrats.

17. The primary job of teachers is to brainwash children of today with liberal thinking.

18. All that is wrong with today’s youth is because of bad teachers. Parents do not bear any responsibility for the behaviors or actions of their children.

19. People really do not need the majority of stuff that is taught in school, especially math. (It is amazing to see a person adamantly argue that in the last 30 years that they have not used one skill that was taught in a math class.)

20. Being able to stand in front of 30 children teach six or more subjects a day while maintaining order and creating an environment conducive to learning takes no skill or formal preparation. Anyone off the street can be a teacher.

VIA