Why are Teachers Getting a Bad Reputation?

Recently there has been a lot in the media about teachers due to the situation in Wisconsin where the governor is attempting to cut teachers’ benefits. Unfortunately a lot of what has been said has been negative and uninformed. Teachers have been attacked for the amount they make as it is simply a “part- time job.” People have called it easy due to the fact that supposedly it is over when the school day ends. Also the due to the prevailing discontent with America’s education system more and more teacher horror stories. If someone had never had contact with a public school teacher only could base their opinion on the major of what they hear, they would think that all teachers were lazy, ineffective monsters so stuck in their ways that they were obsolete.

Amid this fad of bad mouthing teachers there are people who remind us of the good a teacher does. They acknowledge how difficult it is to make children care about a future which seems to be so far away. They see that teachers don’t end their day when their students leave but rather give most of their time to making sure those few hours that the children are in their classroom have the biggest impact. They understand that teachers continue to think about each of their student and how they can best help them. They know that teaching is a hard job.

One person has spoken on the value of teachers is Michelle Obama. To her teacher are the second most influential force in a child’s live (after families). The single most important factor affecting how a student does is whether they have a good teacher. Good teacher have the qualities of a leader: lots of energy and patience, a vision, creativity to see the world in a different light, and commitment to their student doing their best. With the important that education has gained in the job market and large number of teachers hitting the age of retirement, their need to be more people who will step up to the challenge of teaching. Michelle Obama calls for university better there teacher education, for states to expand ways to certify teachers, and for the government to find ways to recruit these new leaders to and retain high- performing teachers at needy schools.

Have been searching for ways to insure that become a new leader for the children I will teach. I think that I do possess those traits that are needed and hope that I can be a truly amazing influence on the life of a child. As to the people who are currently bashing the job that teachers do, I think they need to have a long chat with a teacher and spend at least a day seeing what happens in a school on any given day. And I believe that while we are certainly in need of more good teachers, I also believe that the majority of teachers are good at their if given the means to do it.

References

Obama, M. (2009). America's future lies in its teachers. U.S. News & World Report,         146(10), 36-37. Retrieved March 6, 2011, from EBSCOhost.