[Vision2020] School support

[George Potter]

As a teacher, I couldn't resist writing in to express a few opinions.  First, educational achievement is based on two things:  motivation of the student, and opportunity.  No matter how much money you spend on schools, to a large degree, you are not going to affect student motivation.  That is something internal that is developed over time, with families and peers playing a very large role in its development.  Teachers can help with motivation, but only for small numbers of students, and only at certain opportunities.  Gadgets, computers, money, etc. is not going to change motivation--communities, parents, and children need to realize that a world-class education is not a right that is just given to them and that they automatically deserve just because they are a warm body and they bother to show up.  Until those attitudes (and others) change, "school reform" is not going to be very successful.

The second factor for student achievement is opportunity.  Opportunity costs money.  Exposure to high-quality teachers, supplies, labs, equipment, etc. costs money.  I am an Idaho native, attended the University of Idaho, earned my teaching license, and went straight to work teaching in Boise (which, by the way, is the best paying district in the state).  Meanwhile, my wife, children and I had to live in subsidized housing because we couldn't afford a normal apartment at my teaching salary.  So, I took a position in Indiana, in a town the size of Moscow, and immediately earned a 45% pay raise.  Now, is overall student achievement better here than in Idaho?  Not necessarily, because motivation to learn is very low.  However, for any students that are motivated, the opportunities are far greater.  My science lab has better equipment than I used as an undergrad at Idaho.  We are required to spend 40% of our class time doing labs--I didn't even have a lab to use in Boise!

Until Idaho residents are willing to spend more money, young, high-quality teachers are going to continue leaving the state.  The opportunites for Idaho students are going to continue to be limited.  Equipment is not going to be bought, experiences are going to be missed, and students are going to suffer.  Teachers that stay in Idaho have to work all summer at other jobs just to make ends meet or to buy luxury items (like a house).  Working all summer prevents them from improving their own knowledge and teaching abilities.

Again, these are my opinions.  Maybe they are wrong, maybe they are not.  But I think that as long as Idaho continues to let education in the state suffer by shortchanging their schools, improvements in achievement are going to be small.

Just my two cents.

George Potter