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View submission: The Mental Gymnastics is Infuriating
Thanks for the honest thoughts. I’m not by any means an expert in policy or politics, but I’ve been in the profession for about 17 years, and I have a doctorate in education and a couple masters degrees, etc. I’ve taught at every level from K-16, and I’ve been a principal. Currently a 6th grade teacher. I’ll never go back to higher ed or to admin, but only because higher ed is too boring and administration is far too stressful.
I can’t speak for everyone, of course, but what I’m seeing is that at the building level (so pretty localized), my admin has almost always been supportive. They are just as overworked as we are, and in many cases, more so. Admin isn’t just principals either; it’s deans and coaches and Title I folks and curriculum specialists and department chairs and so on and so and so on. My understanding is that Department of Education money is spent on federal programs for things like title I and title IX and special education and free and reduced lunch programs and so on. I’m confident that there is somewhat of an administrative bloat, but at least in my building a tour isn’t happening at that level. Maybe it’s happening at the district level or someplace else, but every single person in my building is working their asses off just to keep students out of fights. Yes, we need more, but the iniquity comes more from the demographics of the surrounding community rather than from any sort of other issue. The district that I work in has about half the per-pupil funding that the richest district in Colorado has, which is only maybe 10 to 15 miles from where I teach. Funds come mostly from housing, taxes, and the housing in the community where I teach is not exactly 1st rate.
It certainly isn’t anything close to equaling 30 to 50% raise or for classroom supplies or technology. I’m actually not paid too poorly. PSLF complications, the poverty in my community, the fact that we have to physically protect the children we teach from being taken from their families by ICE, and the fact that many of the loudest voices are convinced that we are indoctrinating kids and performing gender reassignment procedures during our plans, when god knows all I want to do is get the *%#^+ copier to work, but I can’t even try because we have another lockdown drill because children bring guns into schools — these things are the issue. Closing the DoE is attacking the wrong problem — much like expelling transgender soldiers similar to comrades who I served with in Iraq — it’s creating a straw man and knocking it down, claiming victory over a boogeyman.
Two final things: 1. remember that I’m no expert, to be sure. Maybe I’m completely wrong. I might be. 2. I used to be a staunch conservative, and after seeing how we marched into villages in the name of the democracy, I was fired up. And then we killed people, and I became an antiwar activist. I calmed down until this year when I began seeing trans veterans and soldiers killing themselves and children being plucked from their homes, and I may just become radicalized again. Or maybe I’ll wait till my kids leave home. But then, it’s on.
Anywho, thanks for the thoughtfulness.
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